Review: Star Wars Black Series Asajj Ventress (Bounty Hunter) from The Clone Wars, Galaxy Collection Wave 24
- Mephitsu
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
"These are strange times."
Asaaj Ventress was first released in the Star Wars Black Series in 2021, part of the 4th wave of the relatively new Galaxy Collection (Phase 4 packaging). This 2021 release depicted Ventress as seen in the early seasons of The Clone Wars as Dooku’s secret apprentice. Since those early seasons of The Clone Wars, Ventress has been a key part of the animated Star Wars content and has transitioned from her early ‘Dark Jedi’ persona to that of a Bounty Hunter and eventual ally to the likes of Quinlon Vos and the Bad Batch, particularly Omega. As part of Wave 24 of the Galaxy Collection, Asajj Ventress was released into the Black Series for a second time, now reworked into her Bounty Hunter gear as seen in Season 5 of The Clone Wars.
Wave 24 was released staggered across January and February of 2026 and also features new figures of Boba Fett from The Book of Boba Fett and Jango Fett from Attack of the Clones as well as a re-release of the Final Duel Darth Vader from Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Ventress is packed into the standard Galaxy Collection matt black box, and in the Clone Wars series, using the golden yellow accent colour on the text and the side art, which depicts Ventress in her helmeted Bounty Hunter gear. She is number 21 in the Clone Wars collection, the side art connecting into the Jedi Temple Guard release from 2025.
The same illustration is used on the back of the box alongside a brief piece of text that confirms her previous apprenticeship to Count Dooku and how those skills have allowed her to transition to that of a Bounty Hunter. Inside the box, the figure and inner tray are set against a colour-coordinated backdrop that includes an illustration of the lower levels of Coruscant, the location we find this new version of Asajj in Season 5, To Catch a Jedi.
The new Black Series release replicates Ventress in her Bounty Hunter gear, converted like all animated characters to a real-world setting in terms of both proportions and aesthetics. The costume is made up of a black undersuit, trimmed with blue around the inner skirt, and with beige wrapped sections at the elbows and knees. Over the top of this, Asajj wears a tunic piece, added as a softer plastic sleeve over the main torso and a matching skirt piece over the waist. The upper tunic features a textured finish, dark grey in colour, but with a beige trim and texture that gives a patterned effect. This tunic also includes a left shoulder armoured panel in blue steel, and connecting into this is an elongated pauldron featuring a serpent design added as a decal.
The skirt piece incorporates a belt in black with a silver buckle, and two looped segments that go down over her hips and feature a slot in socket to holster her twin lightsaber hilts. More steel blue sections flow up from the belt to protect her sides, while the skirt sides and front sash are the same texture and finish as the upper tunic, giving the impression of a complete tunic and masking the joint at the waist. The outfit concludes with a pair of armoured black boots, with the front armoured segmented section in the same blue steel finish.
The headsculpt is excellent, capturing the likeness from The Clone Wars while converting them to how Asajj might look in live action. The pale skin is overlaid with the photo real facial printing that both picks out her features, but also the facial tattoos and markings around her eyes, mouth, and across her bald head.
Asajj comes with her helmet, a two piece design with a rear skull cap in a gunmetal finish, with a central section in a beige finish that is also scratched to mirror wear and tear. Into these slots goes the face plate, also gunmetal grey with more intricate bone beige markings around the visor and up over the brow of the face plate.
The plate and skull cap connect via a pair of plug and socket hinges around the ‘ears’. As the helmet is a softer plastic, these slot into play OK, but fail to hold overly securely. It does allow the helmet to be worn in full or with the faceplate raised, but it isn’t great at holding position as the head is moved or posed.
The 2026 figure is brand new in its entirety, and while the head looks very similar to the 2021 ‘Dark Jedi’ version, the likeness has been enhanced, and the shape of the head has been changed to accommodate the helmet; namely slimming it down slightly and reducing the profile of the ears. The markings are crisper and more realistic as the facial printing technology continues to improve year-on-year.
The lightsaber hilts appear to be the same as the original, a pair of curved hilts cast in the steel blue colouring like the armour, with black ringed markings. Each features a plug on one side, allowing them to be holstered in the belt sockets we saw earlier. They fit in either hand and come with a pair of red translucent light saber blades that click into place, so Asajj can be displayed with lightsabers lit.
The two hilts can also be connected via a shaped socket and plug on the end of each to create a double-bladed configuration. This looks a little odd due to the S-shape the hilt creates, and it is not overly easy to pose.
Ventress features 17 points of pinless articulation, the newest configuration with the legs now having the unsightly thigh swivel removed and the rotation of the legs incorporated into the knees. The upper body swivels on a waist ball joint hidden under the tunic, while the arms are extensive in their movement thanks to the butterfly shoulders alongside the usual shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. The neck features joints at the top and bottom, which does allow the figure to mimic the mannerisms and gestures of Ventress.
The Bounty Hunter release of Asaaj Ventress is impressive, particularly the head sculpt, converting an animated character into a real-world setting that can be displayed alongside her contemporaries but also alongside any of the live-action characters. The articulation works well for a sabre-wielding character, while the sabers work well in the various configurations, albeit the S-shaped duel blade is a bit trickier to pose with.
This is very much a Clone Wars release, but fans of her appearance in Bad Batch and Tales of the Underworld can use this as a stand-in, although I would not be surprised to see the figure repurposed into a release with a new head sculpt with the hair and with a new yellow-bladed lightsaber to mirror her most recent appearances.
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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...