Figure of the Day: Day 936: Darth Vader

DARTH VADER in blue
30th Anniversary Collection Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 87504 No. 87505
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #02
Includes: Lightsaber, torture droid, Rebel figure, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: Early 2007
Appearances: Marvel comics

Bio: The fearsome Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader stops at nothing in his mission to recover the plans for the Death Star, a fact that this Rebel Trooper learns to his deep misfortune. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Commentary: In order to flesh out its comic pack line early on, Hasbro took the deco quite literally from the pages of Marvel's early Star Wars comics to give us all crazy figures like this Darth Vader. Because it's such a radical departure from the rest of the line, these brightly colored figures make up a wonderful subset of toys that look more like a piece of pop art than a Hasbro toy. Modeled off a 1999 mold, the Vader isn't much of a toy but he can sit and stand (with a stand). The main reason you need to buy this figure-- and there's two variations of it, so be careful which one you get-- is because it looks super-cool. The first release (pictured) has this ridiculous bright blue on it and it's pretty stunning. Hasbro has done up about 14 Marvel-colored figures (including some new characters) and I have to say, as a collector, I'd almost be happy with just those. Put those things in a shadow box in a desk in your office and it looks like some weird little art installation rather than a bunch of goofy toys. If you can get behind the strange colors and old molds, these are wonderful figures. And as we're all big Vader fans (I assume), there's no reason to not get this one. At least if you buy this Darth Vader figure, it'll look really different for once.

Collector's Notes: There are two versions of this figure-- this one is the first release. A variant was darker blue and much more subdued, which seems to be the rarer of the two. I think this one is the best, which is why you're seeing it in the picture.

Day 936: January 14, 2009