Darth Sidious - Unleashed

Darth Sidious is a chilling specter of evil who casts his oppressive shadow over the galaxy. Long ago, before war shattered the Republic, Darth Sidious rose to power under an unassuming identity, using political machinations and the dark side of the Force to place himself in a position in which he could wield unlimited power. He worked in small, unseen steps to foment discord and incite greed so that these divisive forces would corrode the peace that had unified the galaxy. Succeeding in this Machiavellian task, Sidious began to build his terrible empire upon the crushed remnants of the Jedi Order and the shattered remains of the war-torn galaxy. Just when his control of the dark side of the Force seemed insurmountable, the completion of his corrupt conquest was torn from his grasp by the redemptive power of a father's love for his son.

Why must Hasbro refer to an Original Trilogy Emperor Palpatine as Darth Sidious? We’re obviously splitting hairs here, but Darth Sidious just wasn’t part of the original story during the 1970s and 1980s. It’s a small bone of contention for us, but in the Unleashed line, we would have liked Hasbro to remain as consistently as possible when it comes to naming the characters in this line. (Editor’s Note: This is especially puzzling because Hasbro produced 2005’s Palpatine Vs. Yoda which was based on a scene from Revenge Of The Sith.) If you can overlook the oddly named toy, Darth Sidious is quite a sight to behold. Darth Sidious comes with some neat interchangeability too. The forearms are removable. You get a “regular” pair and you also get a set shooting the most wild Force lightning we think we have ever witnessed. We prefer the hands with Force lightning because it is a very dramatic appearance to it. Between the Death Star II base and the clear blue Force lightning, it contrasts greatly against the predominantly black Darth Sidious. The head sculpt doesn’t really favor the character all that much, but interestingly there is no mistaking this character for Palpatine. The figure exemplifies evil in the purest way. And we think that it is a brilliant interpretation of the evil Sith Master.

Although Darth Sidious has what we would consider a slight “dazed and confused” look on his face, we truly appreciate the efforts Hasbro made to recreate the likeness of this character in a fresh an new way. There is absolutely anger and determination in his eyes. Loosely based on the scene where he utilizes Force lightning to kill Luke Skywalker, this artistic interpretation of him shows a more general use of this Force lighting and the results are quite impressive. We liken Darth Sidious’ posturing as that of a peacock. The sculpt perfectly captures his assertiveness, cockiness and evilness in one fell swoop, but the extended wide sculpt of his robes solidifies the pride that exudes throughout his every fiber. The widened blowing robes equate to that of a male peacock with its feather outstretched. The comparison is quite uncanny. We of course all know what happens after pride, don’t we. It ultimately leads to certain doom. And in the case of the emperor, it leads to his ultimate demise. The sculpt of the Unleashed figure paints this picture beautifully. His rage overtakes everything else and leads to his end. Thankfully, the collector gets this character freeze framed forever and it will forever remind the collector of his evilness forever.

Hasbro approached the Darth Sidious Unleashed figure in a very unique way. We know that this line has been designed with the intention to capture Star Wars characters in their rawest form possible. Darth Sidious has been done well in this regard, but it’s our opinion that we have never seen the manifestation of his evil so exaggerated by Hasbro. This version of Darth Sidious is quite alarming in this regard. He almost comes across as a witch. In fact, we immediately thought of the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs when she converts to the old lady who offers Snow White the poisoned apple. That is sort of where you feel Hasbro started from when they designed this figure. Obviously they didn’t use Snow White as a point of reference. It’s just a coincidence here, but that’s what it makes us think of when we look at it. Had Darth Sidious been shown in this manner in any of the Star Wars films, it probably would have knocked us to the ground (metaphorically). For us, Darth Sidious Unleashed is a very bold interpretation of the classic Star Wars character. You may not prefer all of the liberties taken with him, but we’re quite impressed with how this piece came out as a whole.

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.