When Hayden Christensen returned as Darth Vader in the 2022 Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, his return to the Star Wars Universe was soon marked with a new Darth Vader figure release in the Star Wars Black Series. This new Vader was part of Wave 8 of the Galaxy Collection, and number #02 in the fledgling Obi-Wan Kenobi series following on from the 1st release of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wandering Jedi. The Obi-Wan series uses a blue highlight colour on the black packaging and on the slanted side artwork.
Vader has been released a number of times in the past, with versions from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. This Obi-Wan version utilises much of the older figures and is closest in styling to the New Hope version - which makes perfect sense in terms of the timeline - but with the inner cape tucked beneath the shoulder armour around the chest box.
The figure stands 6.5 inches tall, scaling him correctly against Obi-Wan in particular in the context of this show. The helmet is also well proportioned and includes some hints of red in the lenses of the mask, and some silver highlighted points around the breathing mask then down and around the neckpiece. The undersuit is a ribbed black cast in the base colour with glossier pieces added for the gloves and boots. The shoulder armour is a smooth and full gloss hard plastic piece that over sits the inner robes and keeps all the soft goods under control. The same finish is then applied to the shoulder armour. Paint detail includes the chest box with silver, red, white and green buttons and indicators all picked out in crisp detail. The same colours are used on the belt at an even smaller scale.
The soft goods on Vader have been around for some time now and the material choice works pretty well in terms of how it hangs and flows around the body of the figure. There is an outer cape which is pretty enormous when you lay it all out, and this enables the folds and flowing robes we know so well with Vader in full stride. These are complemented with an inner robe that comes down from the neck, under the shoulder armour and belt and into a skirt piece.
The soft goods have no impact on the articulation, and Vader can use all 16 points of articulation when posing. As the body dates back to 2014 we do get double-jointed pinned knees, although these are less visible than you might expect thanks to the boots and the robes. The arms have enough movement for two-handed saber proses and for the force choke position- helped out by the shaped left hand in the two-finger force choke pinch.
The neck and waist are more restricted, but can still rotate to a degree. Sadly, it is worth mentioning this latest Vader still has the issue of loose hips that we have seen on all the other releases. His bulk and weight do allow him to stand pretty well, but the looseness in said hips may see him sliding into the splits and then down off your shelf.
The sole accessory for Vader is his lightsaber, the same as has been used now on all the previous releases. As usual, it includes a separate hilt into which a red translucent blade can be clipped. The hilt has some level of decor in black and silver to match the onscreen prop.
As a Black Series release from one of the newer Star Wars properties, the Obi-Wan Kenobi Darth Vader figure does very little wrong. While some may argue for an updated body, the existing prop is pretty good as it stands and the only real call would be to improve that hip articulation to help him stand better. The one miss on the release is the lack of a damaged head with Hayden Christensen’s eye and cheek visible beneath - this is undoubtedly going to be what the upcoming ‘final battle’ figure will do, making us double-dip on Vader and it may be that you want to wait for that version (likely in 2024) for your Obi-Wan Kenobi display?
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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...