Death Squad Commander - SW - Basic

Would you find it hard to believe that the Death Squad Commander was one of the last figures I managed to add to my collection as a young person? He was another action figure, very similar to the Princess Leia Organa figure, that I thought Kenner stopped making in the 80s because I could never find him in stores. Because of this, I developed my earliest feelings of the fear of missing out. I don’t recall how the Death Squad Commander eventually got added to my collection as a kid, but somehow it did. Like many other figures that experienced names changes, I only recall this figure as a Star Destroyer Commander. I never thought the figure looked all that much like the character featured on the card back image, but you could quickly tell this figure represented a member of the Galactic Empire. In my opinion, Hasbro has not delivered a proper modern counterpart to this figure. They’ve come close, but for me, it’s no cigar. Hasbro remembered the headphones on the 1998 THE POWER OF THE FORCE "2" Death Star Trooper from the FREEZE FRAME line, but they neglected the wire hanging down from the helmet and the gray uniform. Most all-new versions that followed after were superior in sculpt but lacked the headphones as well as the gray uniform. When asked, Hasbro has one answer: Lucasfilm has deemed the black-uniformed, and headphone-less Death Star Trooper is the official update to the vintage Kenner figure. I find that very sad. It’s not like we don’t have some great Death Star Troopers and Imperial Navy Commanders in our collections today, but I want that original Star Destroyer Commander redone.

Hasbro's Most Definitive Modern Counterpart: There is no modern counterpart to this figure. 2012's TVC Imperial Navy Commander (VC94) figure is typically regarded as the closest placeholder.