Durge (Commander Of The Separatist Forces) - CW - Basic (’03 #46)

Begun the Clone Wars has!" – Jedi Master Yoda
On the remote planet of Geonosis, the growing conflict between the Republic and its foes explodes into all-out war. The Republic's Jedi Knights lead a massive Clone Army into battle on hundreds of planets. The Separatists, led by the powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, fight back with their formidable droid armies. As this terrible conflict rips across the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are swept into the turmoil of war and the rising shadow of the dark side.

This 2,000-year-old bounty hunter replaces Jango Fett as Count Dooku's right-hand man. A century before the Clone Wars, Durge was captured and tortured by Mandalorian warriors while trying to collect a bounty on their leader. Durge escaped and hibernated to recuperate. Shortly after the Battle of Geonosis, Durge awakened seeking revenge, only to find that the Mandalorians were all but extinct. Upon learning that the Republic's Clone Troopers were created from Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, Durge joined the Confederacy to enact his revenge upon Jango's clones. Along with Commander Asajj Ventress, Durge may be one of the most formidable adversaries the Jedi Knights have ever faced.

Every new Star Wars property needs a big, bad villain, doesn’t it? In each new Prequel Trilogy, we are introduced to all-new villains. In the novels and comics, we are introduced to other cool villains. So why would the Clone Wars multimedia event be any different? Thankfully it’s not. In the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series, we are introduced to a very disgruntled bounty hunter named Durge who has profound issues with the Mandalorian race. He takes it out on the Army of the Republic and the Jedi who are guilty by association. In the micro-series, he is confronted and seemingly defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, but after being obliterated by the Jedi Master, we see his parts and residual goo begin to reassemble in a very entertaining cliffhanger. Durge is absolutely a cool character. And Hasbro has done a fantastic job making a realistic interpretation of him for the Clone Wars line. He lacks articulation, but like so many other figures in the Clone Wars line, the figure has a great sculpt and that is its winning point.

Durge (Commander Of The Separatist Forces) comes with five points of articulation. Would you believe that Hasbro developed and worked in two ball-jointed shoulders? It seems like a bit unnecessary when the only other articulation the figure has includes a swivel head and two swivel hips. That being said, Durge (Commander Of The Separatist Forces) is a commanding figure with a broad chest and alarming stature. His face is covered by a helmet, and his body is covered in mostly armor. But you can see some flesh here and there, and the muscular the possess. While he has the aforementioned ball-jointed shoulders, Durge has no other arm articulation. It severely limits how effectively you can pose him holding the weapons that have been included with him. The blaster pistols fit wonderfully in his hands, but it’s nearly impossible to situate them in a natural way that makes him look believable when pointing them. Durge also comes with a larger blaster rifle (with a strap) that also fits nicely in his hand and look a bit more realistic than the smaller blaster pistols.

Durge also comes with a couple additional accessories. He comes with a removable rocket backpack. There are two thin “wires” (or hoses perhaps is more accurate) that have been added to attach to two holes on the back of his head, but we were unsuccessful in making this happen. The hoses are too thick for the drilled holes Hasbro added to the figure. It may vary by sample, but we were concerned that they would break off if we forced them any more than we did. And lastly, Durge comes with a cool medieval bola accessory which looks like it would do some serious damage if you got in the way of it. It’s the perfect complement to the rest of the figure and sets it apart as a truly unique character. Compared to the other figures in the Clone Wars line, Durge (Commander Of The Separatist Forces) is quite a bit larger than the average character. This mimics his exaggerated appearances in the Clone Wars micro-series and the following comics beautifully. It will be interesting to see how strong his popularity will endure and if he will make future appearances in the Clone Wars or the Expanded Universe.