Review: Star Wars Black Series The Eleventh Brother from Maul: Shadow Lord
- Mephitsu
- Jul 31
- 5 min read
"You lie to me and expect Imperial favor?"
Maul made his triumphant return to the Star Wars Universe in 2026 with a new animated series, Maul: Shadow Lord, continuing his story from The Clone Wars and bridging the gap until his brief cameo in Solo and his eventual final appearances in Star Wars: Rebels. A four-figure wave of Star Wars Black Series figures was unveiled for the first season, and these were shipped in July 2026. The wave features Maul himself along with Rook Kast, the Eleventh Brother Inquisitor, and Devon Izara.
The Shadow Lord collection for the Galaxy Collection was assigned another red tone, a brighter version than that used on Andor and Attack of the Clones, but still very similar. The focus colour is applied over the black box in terms of the numbering and character details as well as on the side artwork.
The Crow is number 03 in the collection, pictured looking back over his cloaked shoulder with both lightsaber blades extended and a backdrop of a fire. The artwork links Rook Kast on one side to the fourth figure in the wave, Devon Izara, on the left. The Inquisitor image is used again on the back of the box with a short piece of text that positions the premise of the show rather than the character, and this same text is used on all the Wave 1 figures.
Inside the packaging, the Eleventh Brother is set against a red-hued backdrop that includes an embedded image of a fire in the background, both applicable to scenes in Maul but also paying homage to his first appearance in Tales of the Jedi where he fights Ahsoka in a burning village.
The Eleventh Brother is a brand new figure even though several Inquisitor parts already exist in the line. Like those other Inquisitorial releases, the suit the Eleventh Brother wears is predominantly cast in a dark grey, with black gloss used on the boots, gauntlets, and on elements of the softer plastic belt and skirt piece, which also has a silver buckle and red and white indicator lights to the side.
The aforementioned gauntlets are interesting as they work up to a large circular elbow section that starts to look robotic rather than biological. At the other end of these gauntlets are a pair of clawed black gloss hands which will not only grip the weapon, but are shaped to also be posed reaching out or manipulating the force.
The cloak is soft goods, a dark black tailored piece that is connected at the neck and tied into a circular clasp on the torso. It features the Imperial cog-wheel symbol on both shoulders in a slightly faded white print directly onto the cape.
The head and hood are sculpted and sit over the cloak and shoulders of the figure to complete the look. This is all black apart from the beaked mask, which is a white bone finish with some black fine-lined markings. The eye sockets and all the space behind the mask is left blank and in deep black, trying to give some level of impression of the mask not quite sitting on a face or head behind.
The Inquisitor comes with the circular twin-bladed lightsaber hilt, another new piece that is a harder plastic in grey with painted components that include red and silver panels. There are no holstering options, either at the belt or on the Eleventh Brother’s back. That leaves the ability for the Crow to hold the saber, which is via the clawed hands, the right being most secure but the left also doing the job.
There are two translucent red blades included, allowing for an ignited saber display either as a single or dual blade option. The articulation supports some degree of two-handed posing.
Articulation is 18 points in total and interestingly uses an older configuration on the legs with a thigh swivel, while still featuring a rotation knee joint. While there is no obvious re-use, it is interesting that these seem to use elements of both the current and prior leg configuration standard. The legs are solid, robust, and able to kneel or sit in wider battle stances.
The arms include butterfly shoulders which support the two-handed posing with the saber. The soft goods cape means there are no arm restrictions, and you do therefore get plenty of options. The issue, however, is that the waist ball joint has barely any forward lean to have the Eleventh Brother hunched over ready to fight or standing over his victims.
The head is also a single hooded-shaped piece on a ball joint, and due to the design, it is more or less fixed in position, looking straight ahead. If you do turn the head, it tends to pop off the joint. That does mean that, ironically, the figure cannot achieve the pose seen on the artwork of the box where he is looking over his shoulder.
The Eleventh Brother is arguably the best Inquisitor figure to date, looking menacing, mysterious, and intimidating - translating the animated style in which he has now featured in two properties to a real-world setting with a strong level of accuracy in terms of proportions and design. The decor is perfect, remaining dark and brooding while still creating variance between the greys and black with the odd red or white indicator which nods to Darth Vader’s own suit.
The clawed hands are well made, and still have a gripping option, and the included lightsaber, while missing a holster option, is easy to fit in place and wield, with the blades arriving straight and true and looking good on display. The main problem with the figure lies in the head, which lacks movement, and when we consider how similar this principle of hood over a mask is to the Jedi Temple Guard, that one was executed much better.
As a release, the Eleventh Brother ticks the box not only for Maul: Shadowlord but also for fans of Tales of the Jedi and his brief appearance fighting Ahsoka. As the Maul collection grows, the Eleventh Brother's presence will grow when we add Marrok to the display with him, and perhaps also a legion of TK Troopers if Hasbro ever gets around to these.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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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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