Clone Commander [Green] - TSC - The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection (14 of 14)

The Supreme Chancellor expands his power and controls the Galactic Senate. As the Clone Wars rage, he sets in motion the final part of his plan to rule the galaxy and destroy the Jedi.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith was responsible for infecting many Star Wars collectors with a clone obsession virus that to this day hasn’t dissipated in the least. Only a year after Revenge Of The Sith hit theaters, collectors were already wondering where the next Clone Trooper action figure was. To help satiate this empty void, Hasbro produced The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection and The Episode III Heroes & Villains Collection sub-lines which allowed them to get out some repeated action figures that needed a second stint at retail. Hasbro wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of clones they had to produce to meet to demand, so it was smart to repack some of their most popular figures while they worked on new ones for release in the basic figure line. Two action figures in the Revenge Of The Sith line were also carried forward in The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection. One, Clone Commander [Green] is a Hasbro concept while Clone Commander [Red] is a concept art version of Clone Commander Bly. It was later renamed Clone Commander Deviss. As you probably know, Hasbro wasn’t privy to many of the final clone color flashes and designs, so they had to rely upon reference data and concept art to develop most of them. But they also added their own unique twist to the mix too.

Copying exactly the same patterns and designs intended for Clone Commander Bly, Hasbro produced 2005’s ROTS Clone Commander (III 33) – in both red and green and now both versions are part of The Saga Collection, complete with a miniature hologram figure. Although both Clone Commander action figures were never seen in Episode III (and even Clone Commander Deviss was only seen in a couple of Expanded Universe storylines), they’re both welcomed addition in this “greatest hits” collection because they’re quite frankly excellent action figures. Both Clone Commander [Green] and Clone Commander [Red] have been packaged in the same exact fashion as their Revenge Of The Sith counterparts, and no differences exist between them except for their color flashes. Interestingly, both figures possess postures that lean to the right, which is distracting. We suppose that using the same tooling over and over reduces the quality of sculpts. Between the DC-15 blaster rifle, removable pauldron and kama, DC-17 blaster pistols and ascension gear, these Clone Commanders come with plenty of play value and value for the dollar. We believe these figures will hold up well throughout the years. They should continue to garner interest with established collectors and new fans.

Hasbro could have avoided playing it safe by making the red or green version of the Clone Commander have a different color flash pattern. But for one reason or another an identical pattern made the most sense to them. Different paint operations would have yielded results that probably would have been much more satisfying for all. Repainting figures is a great way for Hasbro to amortize tooling costs. And we welcome the opportunity for them to do this as often as they need to especially if it gives us movie-accurate clones. Add to this the fact that they can re-release the figures later on only reduces those costs further. We’re thankful that Hasbro decided to use such a good sculpt to bring forth again into the basic figure line. Loaded with premium articulation, the Clone Commander figure could be reused many times over to bring us even more cool Clone Commander action figures into the toy line down the road. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro has indeed continued to use this sculpt multiple times to bring us unique figures.) As long as they change it up a bit more, we really can’t complain about using a great sculpt over and over again. The Clone Commanders from The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection serve a purpose. And while longtime collector may not need to repurchase them, they will still be popular sellers for packaged collectors and new fans joining this hobby.