Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) (Darth Maul/Yoda) - Skywalker Saga Commemorative Edition

Despite canceling the 3.75” 5POA figure line, Hasbro worked in a set of figures intended to celebrate the nine Star Wars films that Disney and Lucasfilm say tell the Skywalker Saga. Much like the Commemorative DVD or Commemorative Blu-ray sets with four figures, Hasbro elected to take this celebratory line in a completely different direction by changing the format and approach of the figures and the packaging. Deemed the Skywalker Saga Commemorative Edition, the line of nine two-packs (save for Episode IX set that has three figures) contains figures entirely cast in bright gold plastic (accessories too) and housed in deluxe packaging. The reverse side of the card back contains an episode-specific montage of the Star Wars film it represents. But the “secret” here is that you can line them up altogether to create a stunning “holographic-like” mural that celebrates the Skywalker Saga as a whole without any breaks or interruptions. You can see this compiled in our Photo Gallery by Prequel Trilogy, Original Trilogy, and Sequel Trilogy. Or you can see the whole mural HERE.

Wave 2 comprises all three Prequel trilogy films. The three two-packs in this grouping include Darth Maul and Yoda (from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace), Mace Windu and Jango Fett (from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones), and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker (from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith). Some of the combinations of figures don’t make any sense at all. But perhaps their interactions in the films aren’t the point here. For example, Darth Maul and Yoda never interacted onscreen together. Yet, the other two sets (based on Episode II and Episode III), the characters directly interact with each other in some extremely climactic moments in their respective films. Most collectors are familiar with the base sculpts of the figures chosen for these sets. But seeing them in solid gold plastic allows you to see the details that are etched into the tooling as we’ve never seen. It’s clear to see that the sculpts of nearly all of these old simply-articulated 5POA figures are excellent. It’s a shame that their original paint jobs were so terrible to ruin them.

Darth Maul comes with a lightsaber and is based on an old Saga Legends figure. Yoda comes with a removable cloak shell, lightsaber, and gimer stick. The sculpt is based on a recent 2017 Star Wars [The Last Jedi] Force Link figure. The remaining figures, including Mace Windu, Jango Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker, all made their debut in the 2013/2014 Star Wars [Darth Vader/Revenge Of The Sith] Saga Legends lineup. All of these figures received horrid paint jobs when first released, and all of them look better than ever thanks to their solid gold casts. Every aspect of thee figures the figures themselves, and the accessories are all cast in the same gold plastic. If you didn’t know better, you might think for a moment or two that they were metal. We’re not going to defend these figures’ existence. We think there are better ways to celebrate the Skywalker Saga, like giving us long-awaited versions of super-articulated Luke Skywalker action figures (and the related characters too). Hasbro is doing that to a certain degree, but they keep skipping over figures that desperately need updating.