The Nightbrother Warrior was one of the adversaries you faced off against during the Dathomir missions playing EA's Jedi: Fallen Order. Like a number of the Fallen Order characters, the Nightbrother was announced as joining the Star Wars Black Series and within the Gaming Greats line. While the UK and other territories saw him released in the Autumn of 2021, there were delays in the US to Spring 2022 where he is sold exclusively at Gamestop.
The Nightbrother Warrior is the 5th release in the Gaming Greats Series. The packaging for the Gaming Greats Galaxy Collection is identical to the mainline but carries a metallic hexagonal sticker applied to the window. The same logo is repeated on the side spine and the video game is referenced on the rear artwork alongside the background text. This text lays out the premise of the game and the role of the Nightbrother Warrior within it.
"Set in dark times, soon after the execution of Order 66, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order features Nightbrother warriors - territorial and extremely hostile fighters known for a proficient use of mixed combat styles"
The Gaming Greats line as a whole has been made up of tweaked and repainted figures, and the Nightbrother continues that trend, using the 2021 release of Darth Maul in the Publishing Series for the torso, arms and legs - the legs themselves being re-used from the original 2013 Maul. He gets a new head sculpt as well as a new skirt piece which is more ragged than the one Maul was wearing.
The upper body is cast in a yellow plastic over which are painted patches of lighter yellow for skin tone variation. The black tribal markings are then added with a final white circular icon added over the chest. The legs are cast in brown with the boots painted in gloss brown. The skirt piece is also cast in the base colour with a silver-painted buckle.
The head is cast in black plastic and includes the Zabrek head horns which are longer than those we see on the Maul figures and these are painted in a bone white colour. The head looks to have some level of face print application for the eyes at least which are well executed considering the size of them and how set back they are in the eye sockets.
The facial markings are painted on in a bright yellow that is slightly different to the body colour. It is not quite uniform with the chin markings being out of line to the lips for example - this is the same on all the Nightbrothers's I have seen and it may be down to the original reference material which does show a slight offset of the lip marking from the few images we have close up of the Nightbrother.
We have a single accessory for the Warrior a four-pronged melee weapon cast in dull metallic gunmetal with painted brown leather on the wrapped grips and bone white used again on the tooth/horn/spike we see on the base of the weapon.
The Nightbrother's hands - as donated by Maul - were designed to hold a lightsaber hilt so they work brilliantly for this weapon allowing him to wield it in either hand or both hands thanks to the upper arm articulation.
The articulation for the figure is an impressive 19 points of articulation. The legs are the older double joint knees which will allow him to sit or kneel if needed without the skirt piece obstructing the movement. The ankle rocker is still not ratcheted and like all the Maul figures to use these legs, there is a stability concern over time with these ankles working loose.
The upper torso has the newer articulation which includes the addition of butterfly shoulders which supports more dynamic posing with the weapon. The neck too has two joints at either end doing away with the need for a visible neck pivot and giving the Nightbrother quite a bit of range for looking menacing...
The figure may borrow many of its parts from previous figures, but it does tick most of the boxes in terms of bringing the video game Nightbrother into the 6-inch figure format. Hasbro have avoided just repainting Maul's head and given us a new sculpt and have also updated the skirt piece which was perhaps something they could have got away with leaving in place. Paintwork is well applied, and while the face markings may initially look off, they are a match to what we see on screen.
The Nightbrother's popularity will depend on your feeling for the game itself and the worldbuilding it did and the new characters it brought us. By now including these in a sub-line like Gaming Greats collectors can choose to buy or not without leaving a hole in their collection or numbering system. The exclusivity, particular in the US, may both help and hinder - increasing its popularity through a fear of missing out, whilst also leaving some collectors frustrated when you hear stories of long-standing pre-orders being cancelled.
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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...