Darth Maul - Galaxy Of Adventures

It’s a shame that the Galaxy Of Adventures line crashed and burned so quickly. Just as the character selection was getting interesting, Hasbro, retail, and the collecting community seemed to have lost interest in the line at the same time. And now the final wave of 2020 is out, and it looks like we won’t be seeing any additional releases in this format. Let’s face it. Galaxy Of Adventures was an imperfect line. Still desperate to reach a young facet of collectors (Hasbro needs to forsake this audience because they’ll never grab the young fans again), Hasbro attempted to work in action features for play value, which didn’t do much to help the line thrive at retail. As a token of goodwill, Hasbro picked some compelling characters that we didn’t think Hasbro would ever add into this format. And Darth Maul is a smart but surprising addition to the line. After all, who else do we have to battle Darth Maul in this format? It’s a one-off character from The Phantom Menace, so at best, it’s a standalone release in this lineup.

There is something special about this line that’s not grasping the hearts of most collectors. Yes, a new scale of action figures is a terrible idea. And the new scale has proven unsuccessful. It is a shame that Hasbro wasted so much time and effort on a super-articulated line that went nowhere in less than two years. We also get that many collectors don’t prefer animated takes on popular Star Wars characters too. But for goodness sake, look at how well Darth Maul turned out. It’s one of the most excellent interpretations that Hasbro’s ever done for the Zabrak Sith Lord. Do you remember Gentle Giant Ltd.’s animated maquettes? Well, the Galaxy of Adventures line feels like action figure interpretations of those animated maquettes from years ago. The action figures have long, and lean proportions yet aren’t too exaggerated. They’re faithful representations of the on-screen characters. Hasbro did an excellent job of capturing every detail of Darth Maul. From the fitted black robes to the red and black colors that make up the figure’s head, Hasbro did excellent by Darth Maul, and we’re happy to see this figure part of the line.

Darth Maul comes with one accessory that breaks down into two parts. Hasbro included a double-bladed lightsaber. The blades aren’t removable, but the hilt breaks in half (and reattaches via a plug). Hasbro molded the hands to accommodate the lightsaber accessory beautifully. Darth Maul can hold it with one or two hands, and then when you break it down into two halves, the posing options become increasingly attractive. The figure comes with excellent articulation. All of the Galaxy Of Adventures action figures have standard articulation, so you should expect anything new here. What makes this line frustrating to The Vintage Collection’s collectors is that the 5” Galaxy Of Adventures figures get “rocker” ball-jointed ankles on every release. The same can’t be said of the former. And it seems we have to fight with Hasbro to include them into the 3.75” The Vintage Collection action figures. Oh, and that dreaded action feature? When you press a button on the back of the figure, it activates swinging lightsaber action. Boring. Hasbro should have eliminated all-action features in this line as they’re unnecessary. Still, we have to praise Darth Mal as an excellently designed action figure. This line could have been so much more.