So, uh, have you guys heard that there were some new Star Wars figures released a few days ago? Force Friday has become a thing over the past few years, and the coordinated roll-out of new merchandise to support the release of a new film certainly does its job in creating buzz for the next Star Wars installment. There has been a bit for everyone, but you know us – it is straight to the Black Series!
I am looking forward to The Rise of Skywalker, but I have to say, when it comes to the toys, I am never really quite as excited for stuff I haven’t seen onscreen yet, compared to things with which I already have an established connection. So don’t get me wrong, that new Rey and the Sith Troopers are NICE, but I am certainly looking forward to new/old stuff as well. The Black Series has been quite good to the Clone Commanders, so when I saw that Commander Fox here was going to be Force Friday release at GameStop, that was my destination for the day. He joins Cody, Rex, Wolf, and Gree, and as the last commander to complete the color designation for the clones we have, I certainly feel a sense of completion here. As appropriate, Fox is just as a good as his clone-y brothers in terms of action figure execution, so if you are a Clone Wars fan, you will not want to miss this dude.
As I am sure you know, the clones were scattered across the galaxy during the Clone Wars, so many found themselves in exotic locations, or planet hopping depending on the tasks of the Jedi generals. Fox though, he lead the clone battalions stationed on the Republic home base of Coruscant. That put his command more entrenched within the governing bureaucracy (i.e., Palpatine) rather than the Jedi, and his charge become more around security rather than battling off-world against the Confederacy. The planet’s underworld was portrayed as scummy as any outpost on Tatooine, so he was certainly kept busy. Additionally, he was central to the whole “Order 66” fall out, and that eventually got him killed by Darth Vader when Fox and his squad mistook him for a fugitive Jedi.
It is also fun to get Fox as the “red” commander, as the leader of the red-decoed clone troopers I have in my collection. So, Fox get the reds, Cody, the yellows, Rex the blues, and Gree the Greens. Poor Wolf needs some grey troopers so he is not lonely now. Anyway, Fox is appropriately built off of the same parts as his “brothers” so aside from his helmet, which I believe is new, the rest of his build and accessories are from the SWB library. Like I said, that is appropriate and totally cool with me because his paint scheme makes him look completely different than the rest, while still being instantly recognizable as a clone commander. Don’t get me wrong, I love the greens, and blues, and yellow, but there is just something appropriate and battle-ready outfitting troops in red.
There is certainly more red on Fox (he’s got red on him) than the standard phase II troops, so if he wanted to be covert about his leadership status amongst the ranks, he went about it all wrong. The insignia on his shoulder armor is really sharp and something that puts him apart from the rest of the commanders. He shares the soft goods “skirt” piece with Rex, but his unique helmet is most closely designed to Cody’s. I do wish that for Fox (and Cody and Gree), an un-helmeted head was also included with this set, but if we were only going to get one new piece here, I am glad they went for accuracy in the helmet, because ultimately, these dudes should have their lids on.
Finally, Fox gets the pistols that originated with Rex, as well as the standard clone blaster and the long-range heavy rifle. These all work find, of course, and I am glad for the holsters for the pistols, even though I will likely have him holding those most of the time. I have a bit of fatigue over some of these weapons by this point, but that is not the fault of the figure by any means because it is accurate to the screen. However, those explosion effects that were included with the battle damaged Stormtrooper awhile back need to show up again in some form, because they are fun and useful. Clones would be perfect to carry those in the package, because exploding “clankers” is what they do.
If you are a fan of the Clone Wars and/or the Prequel Trilogy, you are not gonna wanna miss this guy. Even if you are not, he makes for a really badass commander, so he could hang with that red Shock Trooper as well. I got mine at GameStop on release day, but you can take the guess work out and head to Big Bad Toy Store to lock yours in right now.
