Epic World of Action "Power the Force" Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G0100 (same 2024 SKU, new 2025 figure)
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: February 2025
Appearances: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Bio: Seduced by the Dark Side of the Force, Sith Lord Darth Vader led the Empire's eradication of the Jedi order. (Taken from the packaging)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!
Click here to buy it at Amazon now!
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Commentary: Death, taxes, and new Darth Vader figures are the only inevitabilities of life. It's going to happen. The question: how? The 2024 Epic Hero Series line is now the 2025 Epic World of Action line - a much improved product for the same price, or cheaper. To the average consumer, 2024 Darth Vader [FOTD #3,218] looks identical to 2025 Darth Vader. Both seem to be derived from the same basic sculpt with enhanced articulation - so this is a new tool, a new slot. It's a pretty good figure, too.
The armor is based on Obi-Wan Kenobi, featuring the gloves with the lines across the hands and shoulder armor with robes underneath. Comparing the old and new "Epic" Vaders side by side, the wrinkles and creases are all in pretty much the same places. The only giveaway that it's new is a "Power the Force" burst on the package - that's Disney's 2025 marketing umbrella - and a new energy-crackling lightsaber. 2025 Vader looks mostly the same, but now you can pose him a little bit better and adjust his center of gravity.
But what about that lightsaber? It uses the same chunky hilt and adds an energy-cracklin' blade that would make Kylo Ren blush. There's a lightsaber inside there, but it's covered in massive energy surges that make it stand apart from every version of the character we've seen so far. Hasbro's Unleashed Vader figures didn't even have a real "swoosh." Kids might dig it. For collectors who have it all, weird departures like this remind you that this doesn't have to be boring. It's surprisingly to see an "extreme" accessory in rather conservative packaging, too.
You don't have to buy this figure just to get the lightsaber. A Mech is coming with the same Vader mold, painted with red Force energy, and he'll include the same cracklesaber. (Heck, maybe just wait for that one.) I think kids will dig this version and people who poo-pooed the 5-jointed figure might appreciate bend-and-swivel joints at the shoulders, elbows, knees, and hips, with a ball-jointed neck. Counting generously - any 2 pieces of plastic that join to make a moving part as a joint - this Vader has 15 points of articulation. For eight bucks, that's really good. And just as I wrote that, the right shoulder snapped off in the joint. Well. (I bought a case with two Vaders, so time to open the other one. Time elapses, nothing broke and all the joints are good.)
Assuming the "snap" was a fluke, this is a really good figure. The articulation is just right, he stands up well, and his articulation allows him to have a bit more personalty. I'd buy this figure for a kid. I'd love to see what other riffs they can do on Vader for kid toys, especially as in 47 years we usually just get "guy in black suit with red stick" (or sometimes, no stick.) Clearly, Hasbro is holding out on us, and has lots of neat ideas. I hope the kids like this one, because making a familiar villain look dangerous again is tough to pull off. While not as articulated as The Vintage Collection, he's really good - and half price - which is going to be good enough for a lot of customers.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,228: April 1, 2025