Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,174: Commander Thorn (The Black Seres)

COMMANDER THORN You've Met Doom, This Is Thor
The Black Series   Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. A5077 No. B1061
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #21
Includes: 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: June 2015
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: No bio due to new multilingual packaging.

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  Taking the same mold as Doom, Commander Thorn is the clone that mashes up the Shock Trooper look with Marvel's Thor.   It wasn't a figure you needed or asked for, because it aired after the cartoon line was fundamentally dead - thus adding to the growing, obnoxious rift of two different styles of toys coming from the same media.   Some of the parts were used on Rex recently, so the kama and basic body are familiar.   The shoulder has a Cody-esque antenna and with a different belt, this would have made a great Phase II Cody.

The paint job is a bit sloppy.  The wings rest high on the helmet, certain details are missing - like the pin stripes on the visor - and the white stripes on the helmet breathing tubes don't wrap around all the way.  His thighs are missing the red stripes, his chest is missing the rank marking, and there's no "damage" paint.  He doesn't even have the gatling gun, which was another joke - he's "Thorn" and his gatling gun is "The Hammer."  Get it?   Hasbro didn't, so neither do you.  You do get bend-and-swivel wrists, non-rocker ankles, and the usual gamut of Clone articulation.   14 joints can be yours, with a swivel waist that seems like a bit of a step backward.  Then again, I'd say that The Black Series 3 3/4-inch line as a whole has been one giant step backward for what was an evolving, great line in its previous Vintage, Legacy, 30th Anniversary, and other incarnations.   From 2006 to 2012 we had pretty consistent improvement - or at least a decent status quo - until Hasbro decided that "Black" meant "premium" and that "premium" meant "not."  We did get the premium pricing, though, so I guess at least there's that.

As the only Thorn action figure, you probably know where this is headed.  You don't have options, you probably won't see much of it, so you should buy it if you want a Thorn.  And based on the Netflix-exclusivity of his appearances, odds are not a lot of fans are jumping at the chance to own him either.  This is by no means a terrible figure, but it definitely seems like a figure that went through a series of approvals that were merely shrugs, not bothering to check the reference material or either not understanding (or caring) how the deco could look. I could see the gun being a budget thing.  I can get that the grey flourishes on the visor are tough to do.  But the red on the thighs?  The correct length of the white stripe?  C'mon.   These can be better.   Given the price, an extra gun would have gone a long way, too.   If you have been cured of completism, save your money.

Collector's Notes: I got this online - you can probably score one for $13-$15.  I opened one that had only one wing on his helmet, which I realized after opening it.  So be on the lookout for that, I assume it's not a variant and just an error.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,174: August 12, 2015