Emperor, The - RC - Basic

The Star Wars Retro Collection is inspired by the 1980s STAR WARS figures and features original figure design and detailing! Continue your collection from the galaxy far, far away!

The Retro Collection has always been a controversial line. What is its purpose? What are its plans? Why is Hasbro charging so much money for them? And why do they seem more critical to Hasbro than the action figures from The Vintage Collection? And with a lethargically bad 40th Anniversary celebration, it’s a tad difficult to get excited about the stuff we’re getting in place of what we want to see under the Hasbro Star Wars brand. The Retro Collection is not for everyone. We don’t need to clarify that. They aggravate and disappoint many longtime collectors. But for those with a high level of nostalgia, the Retro Collection gives them all the “feels” they need. Unfortunately, more than usual, something got lost in translation with the characters from Return Of The Jedi. In our opinion, The Emperor might be the best of the bunch, but even this action figure looks off, and it’s disappointing. You’ll notice a remarkable size difference immediately. Still, there are missing details etched in the face of 1984’s ROTJ The Emperor action figure that are not present on its modern counterpart. And we don’t know what’s going on with the packaging, but the card doesn’t sustain the weight of the figure. It’s paper-thin and an embarrassment for the brand. Hasbro should feel shame for what they did to the cardboard here.

The Emperor looks shrunken down. It’s a bit smaller than the 1984 action figure. And because of those missed details which gave the original its personality, you’ll notice that the new figure pales compared to the first likeness. The original The Emperor action figure has always held up well, including the modern era of collecting, so this is a setback. Sadly, a modern interpretation of the classic figure looks worse, instead of better, than its ancestor. There aren’t a lot of varying paint operations on The Emperor action figure. The figure has yellow eyes, a pale-gray face and hands, and a dark gray outfit. Oh, and lest us not forget the black cane. Hasbro managed to copy all of these details well, but the final product still feels warped and unfinished. Please take a look at its posture. Something went wrong with the casting of the new figure. Is it the modern cheap plastic they using causing the issue? We’re not sure, but again, something is off here. Thankfully, The Emperor holds its cane well and poses with or without it nicely. You won’t be upset about the accessory here. We’ve noticed that Retro Collection figures have difficulty holding their weapons here and there, but that’s not the case with The Emperor. We believe The Emperor is one of many “symbols” for Return Of The Jedi, so we’re happy to see the character represented in this celebratory lineup. We only wish it looked better.

We’re happy to see that Hasbro kept the original name of this action figure and didn’t rename it, Emperor Palpatine, for example. Unfortunately, the back of the card has the STAR WARS logo, not the RETURN OF THE JEDI one. Another good point is that Hasbro successfully grabbed the correct Kenner image of The Emperor for the card art. We’re happy when they choose the exact image to replicate. It makes a huge difference. We are thankful that Hasbro pays attention to the minor details and stays true to them to match the vintage Kenner-related merchandise. We strongly feel they must make exact replicas of the figure and packaging. Despite your personal feelings on this, The Emperor is a lovely addition to the Retro Collection line, despite its inconsistencies. Our side-by-side comparison image will precisely show what is out of place here. We hope that we can expect more figures in the line. There is a ton that needs to get out to collectors! But we would love to see a Jabba The Hutt playset in the Retro Collection line. We believe that will hit all the sweet spots for collectors. There is so much they can do to maximize the effectiveness of The Vintage Collection, but as usual, Hasbro appears to be asleep at the wheel. They need to engage us more, or they will continue to lose us.