Montross/Jaster Mereel - LC - Comic Packs (18) (Exclusive)

Mandalorian leader Jaster Mereel and his second-in-command Montross play pivotal roles in the dark past of Jango Fett. Mereel and Montross change the life of the future bounty hunter during the Mandalorian Civil War in the decades before the Clone Wars.

The 2007 TAC Entertainment Earth exclusive Republic Elite Forces (Mandalorians & Clone Troopers) and Republic Elite Forces (Mandalorians & Omega Squad) multipacks may have been the biggest debacle in the Hasbro Star Wars toy line of all time. (That's commpletely our opinion – you may have loved them and that's fine.) Unless you were into a Boba Fett with boobs, there really wasn’t anything at all to get excited about with them. And to be honest, the last things our collections ever needed were Skittles-colored Mandalorians. They must have sold rather well, but we have witnessed dealers giving these away for a song at shows and conventions. Those awful sets actually kept collectors guarded to the point where we essentially rolled our eyes at any “Mandalorian” release since. Interestingly and indirectly by default, Entertainment Earth takes another stab at Mandalorians since they were granted license to release the “last” wave of Comic Packs, but this time they may just released the best ones of all time. The Montross/Jaster Mereel Comic Packs set is amazing and contains two of the best non-Boba Fett or non-Jango Fett Mandalorians we have seen....ever. These figures have versatility, functionality, great sculpts and even better paint jobs. And we think they are the highlight of all four Entertainment Earth exclusive Comic Packs that they saved from cancellation. Hasbro is to be commended on a fantastic job done here because not only are these action figures brilliant, they actually make us want the other Mandalorians in this story. That’s how great these figures are indeed! From the popular Star Wars: Open Season #2 comic series, Montross and Jaster Mereel should make even the most discriminating collectors extremely happy because these are two finely made action figures.

Montross, the better of the two figures, is clearly inspired from Jango Fett. But instead of using an old Jango Fett sculpt, Hasbro “almost” made an all-new figure. From the blue and silver armor to the cool weaponry, Montross is one bad Mandalorian. And he is involved in quite a bit of action in the included comic book, just from judging some of the pictures we skimmed through trying to learn as much as we could about him. Montross borrows the torso, helmet and backpack of The Fett Legacy Boba Fett Evolutions figure. (This figure has also been used to make the 2009 LC Boba Fett (BD36) and 2010 TVC Boba Fett (VC09) figures as well.) The rest of the figure is all-new and wow, did Hasbro make one impressive figure here. He is stocky and large and has an attitude from a confident stature that really hasn’t been accomplished with Mandalorian action figures until now. Montross has a long soft-goods cape that drapes behind the jetpack. Whether you like this concept or not, we have to admit that it is one cool design. And this also gives him a very unique look. Montross is a bulky figure and is a little bit reminiscent of Durge. (It must be the bare arms, pointy armor and bulky weapons.) But we love how he looks and are so impressed with the final results. The paint job on this figure is beautiful. There are lots of fine details and Hasbro has infused minor elements of color with the largely blue and gray/silver outfit. It just looks marvelous. The new legs look fantastic and we hope that Hasbro finds a need in the future to use this sculpt again because it is quite a feast for the eyes. And back to those large weapons, the twin blaster pistols can be held in his hands without issue but his larger rifle just looks amazing. This is a Mandalorian you’re going to want to avoid for sure.

Jaster Mereel is a little less impressive than Montross. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a quality action figure because he is. Hasbro used the Jango Fett figure from 2008's TAC The Fett Legacy Evolutions set to make this figure. But the new additions and paint operations make him barely recognizable. And as you probably know this figure doesn’t allow for the best posture possible. Besides the cape and a new portrait, the paint operations bring this figure to new life again. Hasbro once again impresses us with the stellar paint job they gave him. His jumpsuit is some shade of green and the armor is silver. You’ll find a lot of red details throughout and it looks extremely sharp. Like Montross, Jaster Mereel has a soft-goods cape dyed in red that complements the red in the helmet. His helmet has been amazingly painted and it’s absolutely one of the best paint jobs we have seen on a Mandalorian helmet in a long time! It is bright and shiny and just looks great against his very drably colored outfit. One of the nicest things about these figures are the versatility they provide to collectors. The capes and jetpacks are removable and you can pose them with their smaller pistols or their larger rifles. And then of course you can choose to keep their helmets on or off their heads. It’s a shame that this Comic Packs set wasn’t afforded the opportunity to bake at retail. We would bet that these would have been a surefire hit. But hopefully everyone who wants them will have the opportunity to grab them online. This is the star set of this exclusive wave. We’d say it’s a must-have, but then again, you may not be a fan of random Mandalorians. Become one for this set!