Figure of the Day: Day 362: Darth Sidious

SIDIOUS Chancellor's Office
Revenge of the Sith Battle Arenas
Item No.: Asst. 85241 No. 85438
Number: n/a
Includes: Display Base
Action Feature: Dueling base
Retail: $19.99
Availability: April 2005
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Recreate the battle between Jedi Master Mace Windu and Darth Sidious in the Chancellor's office on Coruscant! Only the winner remains standing when the fighting ends! (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: There were a lot of Sidious/Palpatine figures in 2005 based on the duel in which he was disfigured and was revealed to be you-know-who. It seems each had a unique feature-- one had swappable heads, one had light-up lightning, and this one, well, what you see is what you get. He has one quasi-ball jointed shoulder, an articulated wrist, but don't expect him to, for example, sit. This figure was created for "fighting," and it more or less succeeds. Unfortunately, when you make a figure for one specific function, it often fails on other levels. This one looks good (take a look at that gnarly head) but beyond that, well, uh, it's a statue. Basically. So if you need another version of this character in this costume, this is a can't-miss purchase... otherwise, you've probably got enough of him between all the other releases.

Collector's Notes: I have little doubt that this figure will show up in a multipack some day. In a way, it's a pity this wasn't used in the Order 66 pack, but oh well. Right now if you want this sculpt, it's the Arena or bust. And if it's going to cost you $20 on eBay, we vote for "bust." The figure was packaged with a pretty decent Mace Windu, but overall neither warrants the original retail price.

Day 362: May 3, 2007