Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Figure of the Day: Day 1,050: Darth Tyranus

DARTH TYRANUS with Geonosian Speeder Bike
Saga Vehicles
Item No.:
Asst. 84887 No. 84934
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, bike
Action Feature: Lightsaber swinging action
Retail: $14.99
Availability: Winter 2003
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: As the battle rages between the secessionist forces and those of the Republic, Darth Tyranus wards off his enemies and escapes on a Geonosian speeder bike, hoping to elude capture long enough to flee the planet. (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: Hasbro didn't release a lot of figures with the name Darth Tyranus, for whatever reason they opted to go with Count Dooku. Which is arguably cooler, except for the fact that it has been adopted as a term for dropping the bomb per Venture Bros.

This figure does indeed seem that someone took a Count Dooku. Sure, it has knee joints, but the figure is basically worthless without the bike. If you don't have him seated on his vehicle, he looks like... well, look at the picture. This figure was one of the most poseable versions of the character as of its release, but the shorter cape, the iffy 2002-style head sculpt, and the raised-up skirt don't do it many favors. Really, Hasbro probably could have just stuck the figure on the bike permanently. Dooku's sculpt is acceptable, but the sculptors at Hasbro have done so much better that this isn't a particularly essential figure. Heck, the basic carded version with sith lightning from 2003 is probably a lot better. As such, pass on this one unless you totally want to vehicle... which you probably do.

Collector's Notes: This set didn't stick around for long, but that's OK because most people didn't much want it. Between this and its casemate, Anakin and his bike, Dooku is the better product. By a longshot. The Anakin that came with a bike is arguably the worst figure ever made based on the character of Anakin Skywalker.


Day 1,050: June 23, 2009

2 comments:

Ben Carthage said...

Of course he's made to go on the bike and never come off, and I agree he's the worst likeness of the respective Dookus that Hasbro ever made; but on the speeder he works fine. I particularly dislike Dooku as a character -- it should have just been Darth Maul -- but Hasbro had a knack for making excellent figures based off him (even the 12" version was good, compared to most of Hasbro's other work in that field). This one, with the bike, is still an ok figure, IMO.

Anonymous said...

I have a hard time believing that the anakin figure that is the classmate to this figure of the day is the worst anakin ever but I can't say as I haven't seen it. The worst in my opinion was the anakin that came with the Toys r Us exclusive TAC Genosis Arena battle pack. The one with all the arena creatures with their sound boxes removed. He was supposed to be shouting in rage but looks like he is yawning instead. Would love to see a review of that one just to hear to howls of anger. P.S. Love the site, read it everyday.