Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] - Unleashed

Darth Tyranus is the Sith name that this former Jedi took after he abandoned the Jedi order a decade ago. An uncompromising idealist, he grew disillusioned with the Jedi when they began serving the politicians in the Republic. Every fiber of his being demands purity of belief, and he found such unswerving commitment in a strange and frightening place: in the evil order of the Sith. For ten long years, Darth Tyranus lived in hiding, honing his Jedi skills and crafting his vision of the galaxy's future. He has emerged from his self-imposed exile to turn his vision into reality. His commanding figure scintillates with power and inspiration, enthralling all those who find themselves in the Dark Lord's presence. Every move he makes is executed with grace and refinement, revealing the existence of the once-great Jedi who has now been absorbed into the dark side. He fights with consummate skill in the old-world style of a vanished era, evoking the glory of the past while casting an ominous cloud over the future.

He was called Darth Tyranus when he was first released in the Star Wars: Unleashed line. But once Hasbro promoted the packaging to artwork based card backs, they revised his name to Count Dooku, which for us is the more fitting of the two names. The Count Dooku Unleashed figure is another standout piece in the line. By his pose, his interchangeable accessories and the base on which he is placed all cry out “Attack Of The Clones” and summarizes his encounters with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Yoda quite well. Positioned in a threatening stance, Count Dooku couldn’t appear more ready to deal with the Jedi threat(s) in front of him and is ready to battle back with either a lightsaber or Force lightning in hand. The sculpt is impressive. We’re a bit stuck on why he’s holding onto a thick section of his cape like grim death, but overall this is a great interpretation of the dark Lord of the Sith and an excellent value for what is essentially a miniature plastic statue. Count Dooku is a big part of Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones and we’re glad to see Hasbro give him multiple chances at retail via the Unleashed line. Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] means business and the Unleashed sculpture makes this more than evident.

Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] breaks down into six separate parts. The base actually breaks into two separate pieces. There is the main part of the base and then a decorative hangar piece that is removable from it. Count Dooku himself is the largest of the pieces. His right hand is removable and you can opt to pose him with a lightsaber hilt or Force lightning effect in tow. The last piece is the removable lightsaber blade (for alternate display as well). Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] has a beautiful likeness and paint job. The figures looks a whole lot like Christopher Lee (attitude and all) and the costume actually has layers of color in it, lending to a very screen accurate appearance. Another benefit with the Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] Unleashed figure is that his right arm is articulated with a swivel joint. This allows you to pose his lightsaber and Force lighting high, low or straight ahead as you desire. We love when Hasbro adds accents of articulation that allows these sculptures to possess a little more flexibility. The base that Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] is standing on just proves over and over again to us how Hasbro should include micro environments with their basic action figures. These environmental pieces add an incredible amount of dimension to the character being featured and we love how they allow us to affix our minds to the scenes by which these pieces have been inspired.

Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] looks incredible posed next to other Unleashed figures in the line. Even though he was one of the earliest pieces made for the line, he doesn’t age at all. The Unleashed line isn’t meant to recreate these characters exactly how they are portrayed in the film, but in the case of Count Dooku, we can’t help but see the exactness and preciseness that surrounds this piece. Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] is a major game-changing Sith Lord in Episode II and Hasbro has made an effective representation of him in the Unleashed scale. We truly couldn’t be more pleased with how he has turned out. And there are plenty other characters who share similar screen time as he in the line as well. The Star Wars: Unleashed line made its debut during the Attack Of The Clones era, so it makes sense why a healthy amount of the characters made in this line are based from the film. We’re happy to report that most are exceeding our expectations. Some are certainly better than others, but it’s nice to see so many exceed our expectations. Count Dooku [Darth Tyranus] joins the fray of the Unleashed ranks for the second time, and we believe his second release will be of more interest than the first. Those artwork based card backs are quite impressive. We wish they would go back and reissue them all so we can complete a matching set!

As a bonus feature to this review, we have provided the original artwork created for this Star Wars: Unleashed figure. Click the thumbnail to the left to see the amazing illustration.