The Star Wars Black Series Archive line is an avenue for older and more sought after figures to be re-released in the Black Series line and has now reached its 3rd wave. The 2021 Archive wave is also part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Lucasfilm and it contains the winner of the Fan's Choice for Archive re-release, Commander Cody, as well as Grand Admiral Thrawn and Luke & Han from Hoth.
The Archive Series moves away from window boxes to a blister card format. The shaped backing card carries the same Black Series logo and uses a black base colour with a grey panel behind the figure window. The character name sits down the left hand side and in line with the Lucasfilm celebration this has changed from grey to gold, and the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo sits at the top left of the card.
The Gregory Titus artwork is added as an insert to the blister, but disappointingly on my review figure it is actually a Han Solo Hoth image and not that of Cody. This is not an isolated issue either with many collectors reporting the same issue. Considering Commander Cody was the Fans Choice for an Archive repack I would imagine there may be a volume of returns to deal with for stores from in box collectors.
The back of the card carries the correct image of Cody and a short piece of background text, which is again new as these were not used when Cody was first released in the Phase 2 box.
"A natural and practical leader in the clone army, Cody was a good fit for General Kenobi, to whom he was particularly loyal."
The first two Archive waves followed on from the figure detail with some archive information about the original release of the figure and included an original release year and an image of the original packaging. This has now sadly been removed and replaced with the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary timeline that plots the Star Wars Movie & TV properties from 1971 to 2021 - although it doesn't mention the Mandalorian? Under this is short piece of info about the anniversary.
"Commemorate the first 50 years of Lucasfilm with figures inspired by the Star Wars animated series"
What is interesting about this Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary text is that the reference for Cody is to the animated series, and therefore we assume Clone Wars - while the original figure was based on the Revenge of the Sith appearance of Cody. This hybrid of Archive and Anniversary Exclusive is OK - but really needed to go one way or the other. I would have preferred a traditional Archive release with the background info, or a special card series just for this 2021 anniversary.
3.0
Cody is, as we mentioned above, modelled after his live action appearance in Revenge of the Sith and includes the Phase 2 Clone Trooper helmet with added visor and helmet antennae.
The Clone Trooper Armour includes further modifications vs the usual with a further antennae on the left pauldron and a strap & component on the right bicep. The chest piece sports a rank badge and round the back is a sleek rounded backpack.
Cody is predominantly cast in white plastic with the infill black undersuit parts painted in where needed. The orange of the armour is added as cast orange plastic pieces on the helmet visor and shoulder armour, and as painted apps elsewhere. This includes a worn look - particularly on the chest markings and those on the left thigh which are painted to look rough and battle worn. A similar process has been used with the grey down either arm.
While a new Clone Trooper body is now available to Hasbro, this is a full re-use of the original Commander Cody release from 2015 (Phase 2) and of course this is as it should be for the Archive series.
Thee sculpt is identical and the paint décor is the same pattern, other than the boots which had a grey sole on the original figure and have been left plain white on this new 2021 version. The orange markings on our new 2021 Cody also look brighter.
4.0
Cody comes with the standard Clone Trooper weapons - the DC-15S blaster carbine and the longer DC15-A blaster rifle. Both are cast in black plastic with crisp detailing down the body, but with no other paint apps. As with many Black Series weapons a simple metallic drybrush or a touch of detailing in silver would have enhanced these considerably.
While newer tooled versions are available for both these weapons, Hasbro have kept the original versions in with Cody and that means they fit into the right hand where a trigger finger slots into place. There is also sufficient articulation in the arms for two handed posing.
3.5
By using the original Clone Trooper body, Commander Cody has a total articulation count of 18 points of articulation, boasting double jointed elbows and knees with a swivel above this to assist in the rotation of the limbs.
Head : ball joint pivot neck
Body : torso ball joint
Arms : ball joint shoulder, bicep swivel, double joint elbow, pivot wrist
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
While the joint count and configuration look good, in practice there remains issues with this older Clone Trooper body. The elbows while double jointed are prevented from getting past 90 degrees by the shape of the elbow pad - this was retooled on Captain Rex, but has not been rolled back into this Cody re-release. The shoulder armour also prevents the arms from being raised into a shoulder cradled shooting pose or similar.
The legs are mobile enough but thanks to the shape of the upper thigh area there is an issue with a kneeling pose as the upper leg cant come up far enough to support the kneel.
3.5
Clone Commander Cody was a clear winner in the Fan Vote for an Archive re-release and Hasbro have delivered that with no issues in this set. In fact the only gripe over the release is the card which has a big error in the included artwork being from another figure - and the card trying to satisfy both the Archive Series and this 50th Anniversary of Lucasfilm and kind of not doing either justice.
Because this is the re-release of the original Cody then it brings with it some historic issues of a figure that is now 5 years old. Sculpt and paint job are fine, but articulation is not the best and has been superseded by an initial tweak to the original Clone body elbows and then a full do-over in 2020.
Cody being an Archive release has stifled any opportunities for upgrades and I think had Hasbro pushed him into the new Galaxy Collection and delivered the new body, head sculpt under a removable helmet and that iconic holographic Palpatine delivering Order 66 we'd all be very much over the moon.
As it stands for a £20 release this is a good Cody figure, but no better or worse than the original. So if yo have that already, there is no incentive to double-dip unless you are a boxed collector and want all packaging variants. In which case be very mindful you are likely to get a miscard.
I score the Archive Collection Clone Commander Cody a score of 3.5
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...
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