Stormtrooper - ROTS - Collectible Figure And Cup

Stormtroopers are the Emperor's loyal soldiers. They attack with speed and accuracy, striking fear into the hearts of everyone they come up against. They cannot be bribed or made to change their allegiance to the Empire. Refusing to surrender, the heroic Rebels fight the stormtroopers with unrelenting courage.

The final wave of TARGET exclusive Collectible Figure And Cup sets was Original Trilogy based. Although the name of this exclusive subline is a bit of a misnomer, the cups included with the figures are especially and accurately collectible. However, the action figures paired with them are not nearly as collectible. Some are better than others, but overall collectors are buying these sets for the cups with stunning graphics and artwork and the nostalgia they bring to modern collecting. The Stormtrooper has been deemed the appropriate character to sit alongside the Return Of The Jedi themed cup. As these characters are seen throughout the Original Trilogy through many scenes of the film, it’s a wise choice, although not an ideal choice for an Episode VI specific character. Perhaps Emperor Palpatine would have been a more defining option here. Instead, Hasbro chose The Power Of The Force “2” Stormtrooper CommTech figure, but the version without the battle-damage feature (this version of figure was also released in the army-building four-packs), is a decent Stormtrooper action figure, but has been made obsolete thanks to The Original Trilogy Collection Stormtrooper “vintage” figure which has super-articulation.

By the time Star Wars fans were gearing up for the first new Star Wars film in 16 years in 1999, Star Wars collectors were itching for an all-new Stormtrooper figure. Hasbro scratched that itch with 1999’s POTF2 [FB/CT] Stormtrooper CommTech figure. It was one of the fastest army-building Stormtrooper action figures in years. It also was the first Stormtrooper in the basic figure line with more than six points of articulation. What’s more, it included premium ball-jointed articulation. Affectionately and universally known as the “CommTech Stormtrooper,” the figure brought the shock troopers of the Galactic Empire to a whole new elevated level, and these figures quickly became the talk of the town. With updated articulation, a great sculpt and awesome accessories, the Stormtrooper figure of the late nineties was a sight to behold. In 2005 however, he didn’t age well. The figure is adequate, but collectors have moved on to better versions of this character, so it’s a bit surprising that Hasbro is still making use of the sculpt despite owning better sculpts to use. Sure, the updated features like the nonfunctioning holster and the weapons rack are awesome, but despite the Stormtrooper’s additional articulation, the figure doesn’t move as much as hoped.

This time, all you get is an extra-large E-11 blaster. The original figure came with a long blaster rifle and that isn’t included here. Also not included is the weapons rack. Regardless, the lack of weapons isn’t the only thing working against the Stormtrooper. You’ll quickly notice how out of place things are here because this figure doesn’t fit in well with the rest of the Revenge Of The Sith line. In fact, including the Stormtrooper with the new figures in line shows how this figure has aged. It’s time to break the mold on it. By now you should now the whole purposes of spending $9.99 on the Collectible Figure And Cup sets is to acquire the beautifully painted cups. They’re not cast in glass sadly, but Hasbro chose a high-quality plastic to create these cups. The artwork is beautiful on them, but we imagine that subsequent trips to the dishwasher or too many hand-washings will fade the colorful images on the glass. There is a large image of a Stormtrooper to the left of the Return Of The Jedi logo, and then there are smaller images of other Stormtroopers through the cup’s surface area. The background looks to be the bunker on Endor, but the artist appears to have left that a little more open-ended. This is a fun set.