Review: Star Wars Retro Collection Darth Vader (Dark Times) from Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Mephitsu
- a few seconds ago
- 4 min read
"I am what you made me.”
My Star Wars Retro Collection focus has been wavering recently, with my desperation to fill some empty shelves, I have moved to picking up a few of my favourite characters from the Disney+ era in the Retro style, rather than focusing, as I intended, solely on figures from the Original Trilogy and the natural expansion of the original Kenner collection. One figure I had always intended to purchase as an 'adjacency' to that focus was the Obi-Wan Kenobi release of Darth Vader.
The ‘Dark Times’ Darth Vader looks to replicate the appearance of Darth Vader during the events of Kenobi, but for me, it also reflects what Hasbro may well have done had they ever revisited Darth Vader and released him for Empire or Return of the Jedi. He arrives on a retro-inspired card, with the Kenobi logo converted to one in keeping with the original 1980s cardbacks, including silver tramlines. The photo is taken from the scenes in Kenobi, with a yellow colouring assigned as the backing of the blister and Vader’s name plate. Hasbro is still applying the Retro Collection sticker, although this is removable, while the cards are still printed with fake card wear as part of the design.
Around the back of the card, there is still the miss of not replicating Kenner’s iconic pictorial checklists; instead, the Retro cardbacks are a raft of text, which does include a reference to the other figures in this particular collection, such as Obi-Wan, NED-B, and the Inquisitors.
The original Kenner Vader didn’t follow the robed approach taken with the 1977 Obi-Wan Kenobi, leaving the figure with standard legs wrapped up in a vinyl cape. This Dark Times version by Hasbro does embrace that sculpted robe leg route, bulking up Vader’s lower half and creating a pair of legs that work as his lower skirt & robes as much as they do as his armoured legs.
Gone also is the VInyl robes, replaced with a simple soft goods cape around the neck that has enough material to sit around the shoulders and to wrap around the figure, or out to the side as Vader extends his arms. The figure is cast in black with glossier black used ont he armour. The only colour is the silver on Vader’s belt, the green and red lights on the chest piece and on the helmet, and the lenses of Vader’s helmet, which are picked out in red.
The other enhancement that we saw with Kenner from the 1970s to the 1980s was moving from the pull out lightsabers in the arms to actual lightsaber accessories. Again, the Dark Times Vader shows what this might have looked like back then, with a cast red saber in keeping with the versions we got for Luke back in the 1980s. This fits into either hand.
There are the usual five points of articulation, allowing Vader to raise his legs and arms, and to rotate his head. This movement will allow Vader to sit, giving him access to his Tie Fighter or any of the other original Kenner ships or Minirigs.
Dark Times Darth Vader appears to be somewhat maligned by the collecting community, considering his bargain basement prices at the moment. If you do look beyond the Obi-Wan Kenobi branding, what Hasbro has given us is the Darth Vader we were potentially robbed of in the '80s for either Empire or Jedi. There are elements that harken back to the original Kenner figures, like the sculpted ‘robe’ legs. While also featuring evolutions from the original 1977 figures, with the cape moving from vinyl to soft goods, and the saber from the pull-out arm saber to an actual accessory. This evolution of design and execution is very much in keeping with what we saw on other figures like Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knigh,t and I am really happy to add this Vader into my collection, very much within the other Original Trilogy figures.
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About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s 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 licenses - 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...