Battle Droid [TPM] - SW [TPM 3D] - Movie Heroes (MH04)

Battle droids are the perfect soldiers – programmed to fight without hesitation and deployed in vast numbers that overwhelm opponents. Individually, though, their limited cognitive ability makes them vulnerable when they go up against skilled Jedi who can outwit and outmaneuver them.

Hasbro wasn’t entirely forthright with collectors when they developed the Movie Heroes line. Collectors interpreted this new offering as a replacement for the army-building Saga Legends line which also threw some harder-to-find figures into the mix as well to give hardcore collectors another chance at acquiring them. But what Hasbro held back to the collecting community, although absolutely clear in hindsight, was this line was developed for kids and not collectors. As adult collectors, we typically don’t appreciate being told that something isn’t for us. We do have entitlement issues because we felt we have supported the modern classic era from the beginning and therefore anything that any concept that comes out of Rhode Island should be done with our feelings considered first. Like it or not, Hasbro received more calls than they care to admit from complaining parents expressing their disdain for figures Hasbro was making. Little kids have the tendency to break figures with super-articulation and with each figure rapidly approaching $10 or more, it quickly became a major issue with that buying public. So now we get a single figure that was "two for the price of $7.99" for $8.99 and even as high as $9.99. It's sad. It's a crime. And it's not the way the Hasbro Star Wars basic figure line should head.

Our overview is from a devil’s advocate perspective. We don’t really agree with their position wholeheartedly. Saga Legends in its infancy was almost as exciting as the basic figure lineup. It was an army builder’s dream come true and Hasbro actually listened to collectors with regards to what figures we wanted to see rereleased in this “greatest hits assortment”. Fans’ Choice polls were held and the collecting body had input to make the line the best it could be. And it was the best. Each year after, Saga Legends became less and less enthralling and the line in general became one big amoebic mess. It got so sluggish in fact that Hasbro canceled it in 2011 to make room for the brand new Movie Heroes assortment. But again, collectors freaked out once they found out the figures that would be making up the first assortment. Hasbro pulled figures as far back as 2002 to pad the line and they even chose more recent sculpts that had action features and minimal articulation over those with improved sculpts and enhanced articulation. If you’re shocked by what you’ve learned so far, then perhaps nothing can prepare you for the worst decision Hasbro made in the first wave of Movie Heroes. (Editor's Note: To make things even more insulting, a running change of this figure has been put into the lineup, 2012's SW [TPM 3D] Battle Droid [AOTC] (MH04) figure.)

Original released in a two-pack in the 2007 TAC Saga Legends line, Hasbro decided to split the two-pack apart and put only one Battle Droid as a single carded figure in the 2012 Movie Heroes line. What made this worse was that Hasbro also increased the MSRP. So instead of two Battle Droid action figures (with reduced articulation mind you) for $6.99, the 2012 generation received one of the Battle Droid figures from anywhere between $8.99 and $9.99. Some smaller chains even sold them for more. A Galactic Battle Game card, a die, and action figure stand don’t make up for the increased price. And because action figures are at a disadvantage and age as the years go by, Battle Droid looks like a misfit from another time in a modern Star Wars line. Still, Hasbro stands by their decision and claim that the first wave of Movie Heroes is the ideal kids’ assortment. This figure (when released as part of a two-pack and a half decade before the Movie Heroes versions) works. Released singly in 2012 is an egregious act. We hope and pray Hasbro can find a line to pique the interest of collectors. They need the collector base buying alongside the parents to help support the line. But we are going to save our pennies if they’re going to release garbage like this at an elevated price. Here is hoping the future of Movie Heroes is brighter.