Star Wars Black Series Wave 25 arrived in Summer 2020 and was predominantly based around Episode II : Attack of the Clones. It brought us four new Jedi in the shape of Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Bolstering the Separatist forces with a re-pack of Count Dooku from Wave 24 and a new Geonosis Battle Droid.
Packaging 4/5
Wave 25 arrives in the Phase 3 packaging, and is the last wave to feature the black box with red spine and cardback as the Black Series moves to a 4th Phase in the 2nd Half of 2020 with the Galaxy collection packaging split by movie.
The Gregory Titus artwork for Anakin is spot on in terms of both likeness but also expression and mannerism, with a frustrated Anakin looking out at you from the box cover. Padawan Anakin is number 110 in the Phase 3 packaging and this numbering is presented on the red side spine and the back of the box as usual.
On the back with the numbering and repeat of the Titus artwork is a short piece of generic background text.
"A hero of the Clone Wars, Anakin was caring and compassionate, but also had a fear of loss that would prove to be his downfall"
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
Anakin is a new head sculpt and utilised the face print technology. The decor is spot on and the likess to Hayden Christensen is good - it is just the proportions are a little off when viewing from the front with the cheeks wider than the forehead and hair.
The hair piece is well detailed, and painted in two tones of brown. It includes the Padawan braid as a flexible plastic piece that comes out from behind Anakin's right ear. If you look up at where it connects, the plug is quite visible and made slightly worse by using a darker brown on the braid vs the hair itself.
As Anakin uses an older body, the pivot peg on the neck is very visible. The rest of the outfit is good with multiple layers of brown and black leather. The upper body is cast in brown with the black and other colours painted, this does leave a brown edge/trim to the black leather look robes which was not there in the movie. The lower part of the tunic are a different, soft plastic, material and much glossier in black colour and these dont have the brown trim. Detailing on the belt in between is good with a two tone brown base and black, silver and gold detailing added.
The legs are cast in dark brown and the boots cast in a slightly lighter colour with the joining knee parts painted to match.
The body is re-use fully of the original Anakin figure from way back in 2014 and that was then re-released in 2019 as an Archive figure. It has had some updating though with the lower right arm replaced and a new handed added. This hasn't been executed all that well and the lower right arm has a more pronounced pattern than the upper arm above it and the corresponding left arm.
The belt too has been adjusted with a filler piece inserted into the light saber slot. There have also been some paint changes in shade and colour.
Accessories 3/5
Anakin comes with a saber accessory that initially looks the same as the one usually associated with Anakin and then with Luke and onto Rey. It is actually a new piece and is based on Anakin's first saber which would end up being destroyed in the Geonosis Droid Factory. It is coloured silver in the main with black paint on the centre ring and fins.
A small hook seems to project from the saber and I believe the plan was that this hooks onto the inserted block on Anakin's belt. Having tried this numerous times, the engineering has failed here and neither connect at all well and the saber simply falls off. If this wasn't the plan then I have no idea what the loop is for.
Like all sabers the blade can be disconnected. For some reason, Hasbro have started using a much thinner plug in piece which is easily bent and snapped if you are not careful. The saber fits into either hand for wielding, but as you will see in articulation two handed options are not possible.
It might have been nice to see the release be boosted by the inclusion of a soft goods Jedi robe, or perhaps the cape that Anakin wears as a disguise while travelling with Padme as a Refugee.
Articulation 3/5
Anakin has a total of 16 points of articulation as per the original 2014 figure. This does mean he is disadvantaged in a couple of areas to Obi-Wan from the same wave as he is missing the butterfly joints at the shoulder and the updated neck, leaving an ugly peg visible just under the chin.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : ball joint waist
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single rotating elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
Without the butterfly joint, and with single joint elbows the options are limited for a lightsaber wielding character. A two handed pose is theoretically possible, but with a now thicker sleeve on the right arm vs the original figure and the joint issues detailed above - you have to push the arms in together and then thread the saber up through the hands. By forcing this, pressure will be put on the saber hilt and on the wrist joints - and all you achieve is a very soft stance rather than a more action focus parry or strike.
One handed poses with the saber are more wide ranging with overhead strikes as well as parries and blocks available. The legs move fine under the softer rubber skirt and if needed Anakin can also kneel and sit.
All of the joints on Anakin are tight and secure with satisfying ratchets in the majority of them. He has no problem standing.
Summary
Anakin Skywalker as a Padawan is a figure that probably needed more than just a head update to make it work. The older body from the 2014 Anakin is showing its age in terms of articulation and where it has been patched with the new right arm and the plug to the belt, neither are executed all that well. The deficiencies in articulation are evident against the other Jedi in the wave and that is a shame that Anakin could not have been overhauled with the new neckpiece and shoulder articulatio.
The head sculpt is a good likeness, but a bit wide in the cheeks and the ugly neck peg does detract from the head in most poses. The costume is painted OK, but there are issues where black meets brown.
It is a nice touch that they re-did the saber to match the first one Anakin wields, it would have been relatively easy to simply repack the existing one and say no more about it. A soft goods robe or refugee cape disguise would have sweetened this release. As it stands I score it a 3 out of 5.
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, black series, attack of the clones, hasbro, jedi, knight, padawan, anakin skywalker