Shock Trooper - TSC - The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection (11 of 14)

Shock troopers are elite members of the clone army. Under Palpatine's new regime, they are assigned as escorts and bodyguards to the Emperor.

We’ve asked this before, but what is it about a Shock Trooper that makes it so awesome? Is it the distinct red color flashes against a white canvas that grabs our attention? Or is it their role in protecting and serving Darth Sidious directly on both Coruscant and Mustafar that make them must-have characters in any Star Wars collection? Whatever the reasons, there is no denying the collective interest in the Imperial Shock Troopers, and they’ve become one of the most highly demanded clone action figures by collectors. Hasbro pacified us with the release of the original Shock Trooper figure. But instead of getting its own unique packaging and name, it was instead treated as a carry-forward figure to 2005’s ROTS Clone Trooper (III 6) figure and repainted and released in a later wave. And now it has been carried forward in The Saga Collection under The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection “greatest hits” line. Admittedly, this version of the Shock Trooper figure has a pretty good paint job, and it seems to work relatively well as a basic figure. But keep in mind that there is no articulation in the waist and the tooling comes with an action feature. Obviously, this makes it an imperfect figure. Still, because of its limited availability in the Revenge Of The Sith line and being an army-builder figure, it makes a perfect candidate for re-release in a “greatest hits” line.

Shock Trooper is a straight repack of 2005’s Clone Trooper [Shock Trooper] (III 6) figure, which happens to be a rework of 2005’s ROTS Clone Trooper (III 6) figure. We mentioned that there are issues with this sculpt. Let’s talk about them for a couple of minutes. First and foremost there is an action feature worked into the figure’s legs and arms. The figure has loose joints to allow for this special “enhancement” if you can call it that. What’s frustrating is that this figure is almost a super-articulated figure so why Hasbro decided to force this into it is beyond us. There is pressure on Hasbro to produce figures that are kid-friendly, but we have to ask at what expense does this need to be made? Relegate action features to bulky weapons and the like instead so that the figures can remain what they should be: well-articulated action figures, not action features in the shape of action figures. Shock Trooper comes with a DC-15 blaster and a DC-15 blaster rifle. Both weapons fit into the figure’s hands quite well. Oh, and his left shoulder armor is removable; one is solid red, and the other has an insignia on it. We find this feature bothersome. Because this figure is Intended to represent the Shock Trooper as he appeared pre and post Order 66, Hasbro felt the need to include this detail here. Sadly, this detail never made it into the final version of the film. Aesthetically, it doesn’t work at all because of its’ bulkiness.

The Shock Trooper ended up being a huge success in retail, however. We typically never know how widespread a figure will hit, so we usually scoop up what we can when we do see them at retail. The figure did arrive in decent numbers. However, it sold out very briskly, and as a result, many collectors didn’t even see it physically hanging from the pegs at retail. Hasbro has been a little bit reserved in using the ultimate Clone Trooper (III 41) sculpt to make new clones, and this is something that perplexes us completely. Unless all of the tools of this figure were used at the time to produce a ton of the plain white Clone Trooper figure (III 41), we really can’t understand why Hasbro hasn’t utilized it more than they did. Still, reusing the other sculpts is working out for now. However, we can’t help but this that a lot of superb action figures are being held back because of it. Undoubtedly better figures will come down the pike. Collectors should expect to see multiple Clone Trooper action figures released in the coming years. This Shock Trooper figure serves a desperate need right now to get this character out to retail again right after the Revenge Of The Sith line ended. All figures part of The Episode III Greatest Battles Collection come with a miniature red hologram figure. They're quite boring. And we’re not sure what to do with them after getting one of each. If you army-build this figure, you’re going to accrue more of these holograms than you desire.