Review: Star Wars Black Series General Grievous, Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars, Retro Carded Exclusive
- Mephitsu
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
"I will deal with this Jedi slime myself"
In 2022, the Star Wars Black Series unveiled its latest ‘retro’ carded series of 6-inch figures with an exclusive three-figure wave based on the original Clone Wars animated series by Genndy Tartakovsky. The wave, exclusive to Walmart in the US, tweaked existing figures into ‘real world’ set releases from the 2003 shorts and included a Clone ARC Trooper (Captain Fordo), Mace Windu in Clone General gear, and the figure we are going to look at here, General Grievous.
Like all prior ‘retro’ carded releases, the cardback for the Clone Wars releases mimicked the original 3.75 inch figure cards but scaled them up to the larger 6-inch scale. The cards use a stark white design with black detailing down one side, confirming the source as that of Clone Wars and to depict the shaped Phase I Clone Trooper helmet. The figures sat in a blister, with a blast of colour behind the blister from an animated explosion. Inserted into the blister is an inset card featuring a cut out illustration of Greivous and a name plate confirming the character. The only variation to the original cards is the inclusion of the 50th Anniversary Lucasfilm logo in the corner, an initiative started the year before that became an umbrella for many of these retro carded releases, including the 2021 Power of the Force 2 cards. The rear of the card is mixed between a replication of the original artwork for Grievous and a short character bio, with a large black segment in the midst of the card detailing the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary timeline.
The figure uses the original 2019 Revenge of the Sith figure as a base, repainting it into the Clone Wars colour scheme. This is the first ever appearance of Grievous and uses white cast plastic for the outerfacing armoured panels and components, while the inner components are more of a pale blue, with some darker blue detailing on the outer thighs. Any animated character in the Black Series is always realised in a real-world setting, and to that end, we still get the gunmetal-painted internal components of Grievous’ neck. The head is, as it was in the ROTS release, features the biological eyes and scarred face behind the cyborg face plate.
The General comes with a soft good cape, a soft fabric similar to that used on the Jedi figures rather than the heavier cloth on the original Grievous release. The cape is removable and is taken off by slipping the tailored neck section over Grievous’ head.
General Grievous also features his ‘collection’ with four individual light saber hilts included, all relatively plain in silver base colouring. You also get a selection of lightsaber blades, all in translucent plastic and with two in blue and two in green. These fit into any of the hilts. The lightsabers can sit into Grievous' hands with a relatively good grip, but there is no holstering position within the cloak as was included on the Revenge of the Sith version.
The unique engineering of General Grievous is built into the figure as much as can be achieved at the 6-inch scale and at the £25 price point of the Black Series. This includes the ability for the arms to split outward into a four-armed configuration. Once split, each arm includes its own ‘half’ of the gripping hand, therefore allowing General Grievous to wield all four sabers at once. The clip in and out functionality of these arms is not perfect, and in the joined mode, the articulation at the shoulder is reduced. Overall, the design is more than serviceable, and you do have to applaud the design and execution.
Grievous’s articulation is fairly unique in its design, with the joints clearly built around the anatomy of the robotoic body and leaning into the principles of large pivot and, in some cases, pinned joints. There are 19 joints in total, with Grievous exhibiting a wide range of motion, including fighting stances with two or four arms in play. There is also the ability to replicate the stance seen more in Revenge of the Sith with his arms behind his back and a stooping walking motion. While the original Grievous release did have stability issues, there appears to be a more robust application on this release, and I found the Clone Wars General easier to pose and hold his position on display.
The Clone Wars line, still only three figures strong at the time of this review, plays homage to the Genndy Tartakovsky story while still holding true to the real-world setting of the Black Series. That works well enough for Windu and Captain Fordo, who fit perfectly well alongside figures from the Lucasfilm Clone Wars series, or from figures from Revenge of the Sith. Grievous, while evoking memories of his first visual appearance in the Star Wars Universe, doesn’t quite fit in the same way, but does present a very visual display with a myriad of posing options with the cape on or off, and with a variety of lightsaber options to choose from. The card also invokes memories of the original 2003 releases and is a very different feeling card for those collecting boxed/carded figures. Unlike a lot of the 50th Anniversary Retro packed releases, the Clone Wars Grievous did seem to do well at retail, indicating he was a hit with a lot of collectors, and his secondary market price is steadily rising - although a re-release of sorts is available through the 2024 Amazon 'Masters of Evil' set, with another unique card design.
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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...