PADME AMIDALA On Geonosis, Nexu Pets You
The Black Series 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. A5077 No. A5158
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #01
Includes: Battle Droid blaster, Naboo blaster
Action Feature: Working holster
Retail: $9.99
Availability: July 2013
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith Bio: Padme Amidala is captured during a mission to Geonosis and must fight for her life in the execution arena. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!
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Commentary: Way back in 2013 I cut back writing these reviews - after 2,000, I wanted to stop, it seemed silly to keep going. And I guess I'm at 3,281, only doing 2 a week most weeks - so there's a lot I could go back and revisit, like
Padme Amidala. She came out in 2013 in a wave that was all updates of figures that had already had figures in the past decade, and were basically updates of updates - I was cranky, especially in panel reveals, mostly because what I want as a collector is something I don't have yet. You're not going to get me to applause for another Clone Pilot in 2013, so I was equally grumpy to see them in 2025. It doesn't mean they weren't good - it's just hard to spend hundreds (thousands) of dollars on stuff that you realize isn't going to take your collection to new heights, even if it's an improvement. I'll take a new ewok, barfly, pilot, Jedi, anything that I don't have at home seems like a good time. But Hasbro has done multiple releases of this Padme at 3 3/4-inches, and we got another one coming up in 2026 - or two, or more, who can say?
Speaking with hindsight, I can say that this Padme was, in 2013, interesting. She was a new mold, possibly based on an
existing sculpt but unquestionably a new mold with different details on any hypothetical shared parts. They're clearly not from the same mold - but enough elements look similar enough that I wouldn't doubt an old wax sculpt got reworked, or had an alternate version, or something. They're different but seem consistent enough to be from the same hands. This figure is more off-white, rather than brighter white like the Padme figures we got in
2002,
2008,
2007<2024, and others based on those molds too. There are a bunch of these, and they're all pretty great for their time. Heck, the frumpiest one is 2024, and it's still pretty good. The rest all look a
lot like Natalie Portman's head and costume, with liberties taken with the body.
For 2013, this was a more or less standard figure with the bells and whistles of the time. She has a working holster, non-rocking ankles, ball-jointed knees, swivel wrists, a
perfect mid-torso pivot joint that uses the costume to determine the articulation, bend-and-swivel elbows, and swivel shoulders. Everything is good, except I would complain the bare elbow's ring is the white color instead of skin color. Why they didn't gang mold it with the fists, I don't know - but if you poe her with the elbow bent, you won't notice. That's how she's been on my shelf...
for twelve years. I have a bunch of
Attack of the Clones figures lined up on risers and haven't touched them since putting them there. She stood, she never fell over. That's good engineering.
The sculpting itself is good, with a costume that doesn't get in the way of the articulation and abs that say "you fat loser, do some sit-ups." In addition to bodyshaming middle-age toy collectors, Padme's joints are perfect to allow her to assume a number of action poses and not fall over. Given the trouble some
later figures have with stability from their hip or ankle joints, she's impressive. The paint is also minimal, but good - her face, cuffs, and some of her skin has added pigment. I am especially impressed that she has not discolored, and her hand (molded in flesh) and arm (painted) still match after this much time. The level of detail on the costume - the raised piping, the creases - are all great. They're more pronounced than other Action Jumpsuit 3 3/4-inch figures, but they're nicely defined and her hands have different personality. This one can point! It's a little thing, but it changes up the figure's whole vibe.
Photo printing in 3 3/4-inch figures is a relatively new thing. Before they printed eyes and make-up on the heads, they had paint masks or hand-painted each one to the best of their ability. The factory did a great job here, the eyebrows look decent, the eyes aren't exaggerated much, the lops are fine, and the hair seems good. On her back, she has Nexu claw marks and the requisite blood marks. Also her pants are tight.
This figure may not be up to 2025 standards, what with rocker ankles and ball-and-socket hips with a photo-real face... but she's good. I bet Hasbro's new one will look stunning in 2026 but there's nothing wrong with this old one. She's expensive on the secondary market and generally quite good. If Hasbro didn't have a new one, I'd recommend this one to new fans (at the right price) because it's eerily good at certain angles. Obviously the face painting could be better today, and I think if Hasbro reissued this one with new face deco people would probably say "eh, good enough." I think this was only the third sculpt (but fourth release) of a "torn" costume Padme, and it's the best of them so far.
Philosophical Notes: One of the bigger questions I've had lately is "what does it mean to collect?" If you were collecting toys from or before the 1980s, most toy lines were generally new things that didn't last long. In 1994 there were only a few Optimus Prime toys, and they were all different. Battle Beasts had sticker variants (or Lasers) but they're all pretty distinctive. You could buy one of every Star Wars figure from the original Kenner line and not feel anything was too samey - not so with these today. The shift to collectors has stopped figures from being in circulation for years at a time, and now we're seeing reruns of reruns of reruns - even this Padme was a re-re-remake at her time. No child has had the chance to buy a Padme on a toy shelf in years, and won't when The Vintage Collection one comes out due to price and distribution. It's weird to see how toy collecting has been seeking out weird things on the secondary market, to hunting stores, to ordering online, to upgrading things you probably own and maybe forgot you bought. Presumably the upgrade cycle will continue as technology - and our willingness to pay more - continues to increase, but it's also why I find kid stuff and Retro so charming. It is what it is, and money can't make it better.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,281: October 2, 2025
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