Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,998: Darth Maul (The Black Series)

DARTH MAUL Cyborg
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Yellow The Clone Wars Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F4356
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #11 - The Clone Wars
Includes: Two-piece lightsaber hilt with two removable blades
Action Feature: Connecting lightsaber parts
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2022
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: A deadly, agile Sith Lord, Darth Maul was a formidable warrior and scheming mastermind. He wielded an intimidating double-bladed lightsaber and fought with a menacing ferocity (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!

Commentary: This is a real good 6-inch figure too. Darth Maul has no nomenclature on-pack to identify him as "Cyborg" or "Mandalore" or other outfit-specifc wording, but it's good. With this line in particular I get cranky if anything is under a pretty high bar lately, and Maul hits the high marks. The character made the jump from live-action character to reborn animated cyborg to live-action-ish action figure surprisingly well! There were plenty of places Hasbro could have cheaped out, and they didn't seem to here. It's the rare $25 figure where you can fuss with it and go "OK yeah this is worth it." This is a figure with personality to spare!

The lightsaber is made of his old weapon and new parts, and you can pop the halves together. He has no problems holding it, and the design is much like the character - part of it is what you remember, and part of it was cobbled together parts from his Jedi-related on-the-job injuries. There are some nice painted details on the silver hilt, and while there could be more it's not like I'd notice at that size. I got some black grip spots and red buttons, I'm happy. The "old half" has a little peg on it that fits in a slot on his belt quite nicely. The other half has a protrusion but I don't think it goes anywhere in particular.

Maul turned out great, starting with a new head with pointier spikes and a fantastic sneer on his mug! The eyes and horns are mostly painted very well, and his squint is just dynamite. I'd probably have been happy re-rebuying a regular Maul again if it had this much personality in his face, and thankfully, I was not asked to do this. He has a bare, partially painted chest set inside a plastic vest covering up the unpainted spots. Economical! He's ripped and the costume is no slouch either, with cyborg buttons on his belt painted in blue and yellow, evoking the look of Darth Vader. The shoulder armor is connected to the arms, so he has no problems moving and looking pretty good in any pose, with an easy-to-find center of gravity.

I love the gloves and their silver painted straps, I dig the robot legs, and the dangling part of his vest just looks awesome and won't get in the way of most poses. The elbows and wrists have a great range of movement, and much like the 3 3/4-inch version of this same outfit it's an exceptionally nicely-sculpted figure. I should also note that the multi-part neck is great, jointed in just the right places to let you change his mood based on how he tilts his head. Now I have to sit back and wait and hope they do Old Man Maul from Rebels in this format down the road, but if they never do? I'm happy with this figure. This is the best Maul in this size and one of the best Maul toys period. Snag it if you see it at retail... maybe even a few bucks higher.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,998: January 26, 2023