"This isn't the first time I beat you out on a job. There's no shame in it.”
Cad Bane has already had four releases in the Star Wars Black Series, a couple for his Clone Wars appearances (one standard, one exclusive with TO-DO 360), and another for his reappearance during The Bad Batch. His live-action debut figure following his appearance during the events of The Book of Boba Fett came in the Summer of 2023 as part of a ‘showdown’ two-pack with Cobb Banth. This same figure now gets a single release as part of Wave 16 of the Galaxy Collection themed solely around the Boba Fett series with new figures also including the Tusken Raider Chietain, Pkye Syndicate Soldier and a new Mandalorian figure. The wave started to arrive just before New Year 2023 with the bulk of orders fulfilled in January 2024.
The Wave 16 figures oddly had no promo images of their packaging for quite some time, but they are thankfully a window box release and follow on with the green accent colouration established for The Book of Boba Fett with the earlier releases of Fett and Fennec Shand. Cad Bane is number 05 in that series and the side artwork connects directly to the deluxe release of Krrsantan.
For those that already own the Exclusive 2-Pack version of Bane from TBOBF, then this Wave 16 release offers nothing new as it is a direct repack with no obvious variations other than minor paintwork differences that you might expect from different factory production runs. This live-action Bane is a new figure in its own right, not obviously using any parts from the prior Clone Wars and Bad Batch releases. He is given a much broader profile and stature, still slim as are all Duros, but more aligned to the stuntman Dorian Kingi who acted out the Cad Bane scenes while Corey Burton provided the voice.
The figure features the main elements cast in their base colour. A dark brown in most cases with overlaid paintwork to pick out key costume elements such as the components of his inner tunic picked out in re and silver, the ammo on his belt and shins with a gunmetal finish, and most starkly the electric blue of the wrist gauntlets with their trailing leads in silver and gold and their controls also featuring more red and silver buttons. Gunslingers belt is an individual piece and this flows down to twin holsters strapped to either thigh. Similarly, the overcoat is a softer plastic piece with the flow of the left-hand side pushed back over the left-hand holster to replicate that gun-slinging stand-off.
The head too is of wider proportions to previous releases and a good match to the live-action prosthetics. The skin tone is an accurate blue with orange-painted eyes with a red hue at the edges. There is also a washed element to bring out the depth of sculpt around the mouth, eyes and forehead. The remainder of the head is part of a flight suit and black in colour but with a silver painted patch over one half of the top of the head. The breathing tubes, also in silver, come down out of the cheeks and back over the shoulders to a connected box on the back of the figure. These tubes retain a level of flexibility but you should be mindful of their reach when moving the figure's head.
The look is of course finished with Bane’s wide-brimmed hat - also cast in a dark brown softer plastic with painted silver panels and trim. It is a perfect fit to the domed head and doesn’t look oversized when worn - an issue often seen with removable hats or hoods.
Cab Bane comes with his twin blasters, intricate in their design with a slim barrel, squared-off body and scope, and a grip with an open trigger. The base colour is gunmetal silver with a brown shade added to the grip. These slot into both hands with Cad Bane featuring trigger fingers on both left and right. They can also be holstered away, although for some reason the figure I purchased had a very tight fit on getting these inserted, to the point I thought it was blocked. After a few goes they are working much better but remain tight. The exclusive version featured two firing effect pieces for the blasters, and while the sockets on the barrels are in place the effects themselves are not included so they remain exclusive to the 2-pack release.
Articulation is 19 points in total, all pinless and the figure comes with butterfly shoulders hidden neatly behind the coat. The coat length does hold back some poses, so while Cad Bane can kneel or sit the coat will not fully allow that pose to be achieved. The arms can be posed drawing or holstering the blasters, firing them or just holding them menacingly.
For those who skipped the two-pack, this single release is better value for money in terms of the general release price and the fact most of us had a Cobb Vanth figure to start with - albeit with his armour. You do miss out on the firing effects, but everything else is the same. The figure is executed very well - from the translation from live action to figure, to the colouring, paint details, removable hat, blasters, holsters, and articulation. There is not much to fault and he is a great addition to the Disney+ New Republic era collection.
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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...