Review: Star Wars Black Series Embo from The Mandalorian and Grogu
“But I’m guessing a Kyuzo is smart enough to get their money upfront”
Embo, the Kyuzo Bounty Hunter first seen in the animated Star Wars series Clone Wars, was one of the standout characters in the 2026 live action move The Mandalorian and Grogu. As a key protagonist, Embo, under the employ of the Hutts, went up against Mando, initially capturing him on Nevarro, with a second face-off then going Mando’s way on Nal Hutta. Embo has not been released as a Clone Wars figure in the Star Wars Black Series, so fans were excited to see if he would make his 6-inch scale debut following the movie's release. While not included in the launch wave, Embo was part of the second Mando & Grogu wave, landing here in the UK in August 2026.
Embo follows the usual box layout and design, matt black as a base colour overlaid with the purple accent colour assigned to the Mandalorian & Grogu movie. This colouring is applied to the main text and to the artwork that shows Embo in his Bounty Hunter gear and hat, cradling his rifle, and looking off to the side. Embo is number 10 in the Mando & Grogu collection, and the side artwork connects to the Mercenary Guard Droid from the same Wave, and then into the exclusive release of the Imperial Remnant Warlord.
Like the first wave, the back of the box has no defined text about Embo, only a short and basic synopsis of the movie talking about Mando and Grogu on a thrilling adventure. Inside the box, Embo is packed into the usual tray and then backed by a purple-hued backing card featuring a relatively nondescript skyscape with a large planet encroaching into one corner. This doesn't really tie in to either Nevarro or Nal Hutta, so it is most likely reflective of the journey taking Mando to the Twins on board the Guillotine.
As a Kyuzo, Embo is presented with slim and wiry proportions that were broadly similar across his Clone Wars appearances and into Mando & Grogu. He is wearing the more muted colours we see from his live-action scenes, most of which is applied as a softer plastic sleeve over a torso and down into an extended skirt piece.
The tunic starts with flared shoulder armour in a textured grey finish, but with applied green weathering and decor. Under this sits a ribbed lighter mud green shirt, with the armour and shirt then crossed with a brown leather-look bandolier with a painted black clasp, and visible ammunition picked out in gold. Under all of this, and visible from both sides, is Embo’s green Kyuzo skin, and this continues down the wiry, sleeveless arms with sculpted musculature as well as mottled markings. There is also a tied wrap on the left bicep, with a silver bracer on the right arm. Embo is wearing fingerless gloves, with long and nimble fingers.
The legs are a basic brown colour, designed again to match Embo’s long and slim limbs and include visible seams to the side. These connect to segmented boots from the knee down to the feet, which then include loose rubbery plastic ties and grey soles and toecaps. Over the legs is the softer plastic skirt, which is textured like the tunic, with a brown outer layer that sits to the right over a grey-brown longer skirt that sits down to his shins. This skirt also incorporates Embo’s belt, brown like the bandolier and also featuring painted ammunition.
Embo comes with his iconic hat, which features a beaten metal grey-brown mottled finish, with raised trim and a central ridge in gun metal silver. At the very front of this ridge are three cut-out notches. The underside of the hat is shaped to fit on Embo’s head. The shaping here is good, but the security of the hat is not brilliant, and the hat is easily dislodged. Allowing the hat to be removable also brings it in as an accessory that Embo can hold and fight with.
The Kyuzu head underneath sits in a wide cloth collar that covers the lower part of the mouth and the neck. The head, in the same green skin tone, includes Embo’s sunken reptilian features, deep-set green eyes, and a mouth breathing devive in silver. Like the arms, the skin is mottled with a darker green on closer inspection.
Articulation is standard, with 17 points in total that sit in the usual locations. The legs include basic hips, a rotating knee joint, and an ankle rocker. The ankle rocker is a little bit loose, with the joint including what feels like a single ratchet, and that means Embo can be found pitching forward a bit too easily. The legs are held in check by the skirt, so while he can stand with wider stances, or fully upright, there is not the full range you would find with a soft goods skirt (or with no skirt at all).
The slim waist includes a ball joint giving plenty of movement leaning backwards, less so leaning forward or to the sides. The head and neck, tucked away behind that large collar, are jointed in two places, and the head has plenty of movement within the confines of the collar. The arms include a butterfly joint at the shoulders, but the flared shoulder armour doesn’t allow a full range of motion. The elbows bend to 90 degrees, while the wrists are a ball joint with the hand plugged in that gives movement in all directions, but not to the same depth as a directional pivot. I found the hands popped out of the joint too easily when posing with the weapons.
The first of these weapons is Embo’s bowcaster, a new piece for the Black Series and cast in crisp black plastic with a grey stock. At the barrel end, the ‘bow’ section is hinged in two places, allowing the rifle to be carried folded or extended outward to full bow configuration. It fits in Embo’s hands, but the longer fingers make that grip a little bit trickier to achieve than normal as the elongated digits are bent back on themselves with a reduced ‘gap’ in the middle for the grip. The left hand can be used to cradle the weapon, and there is enough in the arm articulation for a variety of firing positions.
In the movie, Embo also fought with his blades, the bow parts of his rifle that disconnect and turn into melee weapons. To make this work on the figure, these individual hand-to-hand weapons are additional pieces. They are cast in the same black plastic as the rifle, but are bigger than they are on the weapon. They fit in the hands more easily than the rifle, but now we have the alternative issue of the grip being a little bit loose.
Embo is a solid figure, but with a very obvious issue: he does not come with his pet anooba hound Keibu. Hasbro has, however, since announced a deluxe release with the dog and a softer goods skirt, revealed after the release of this single version and after many collectors - like myself - had pulled the trigger for their collection. This aside, the proportions of Embo and his overall look are a good representation of his scenes on screen, with fairly wide-ranging articulation engineered into the slimmer limbs, although the ankle rockers are not quite right
The blaster rifle works well enough, as do the melee weapons, and I would not expect the ability at this scale for the blaster to be modular like we see on screen. The hat works in terms of looking fitted and snug on the figure's head, but it is a little loose and too easily nudged and dislodged.
With Embo now on board, the Mando & Grogu collection is looking a little less Imperial Remnant heavy, and once we add the Droid Mercenary Guard and Rotta the Hutt into the collection alongside Embo, we will have a good mix of all the key characters we see in the movie. I also wonder if the base figure here, with the softer plastic sleeves, is also putting in the foundations for a Clone Wars Embo in the future.
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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...
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