Hasbro’s homage to Kenner’s very first wave of Star Wars figures is a difficult thing to resist, especially when characters who are seeing release in the 6-inch Black Series for the first time are part of these special carded waves, like the Death Squad Commander here. All the nostalgia pistons are firing full-throttle here, and there is something special about seeing this guy, whose key claim to fame is that he was part of the very first wave of Kenner figures, released in this format. I was lucky enough to score one on Amazon this week, so let’s take a look!
Now, when he was originally released in 1977, he was the “Death Star Commander,” but seeing as how he wasn’t really “commanding” anything in the movie and was pretty much an army-builder, his name was changed to the “Death Squad Commander,” a name that makes even less sense to me since I don’t remember any “Death Squads” in A New Hope.
He was basically one of those Z-list characters used to round-out a wave, which Kenner was notorious for when it came to Star Wars. And he was one that tended to hang around on the pegs in 1977, so seeing this anniversary packaging is bringing back fond memories of standing in Woolworths trying desperately to find a Princess Leia, only to find a half dozen of this guy. The first peg-warmer? Maybe. But I don’t think this release will last too long on the pegs since he is quite a step up in terms of design from the original.
While the original sported a solid gray look, this update is black on black on black (which makes him kind of a pain to photograph). The color palette may be simple, but he fits right in with our Imperial ranks. Most of my figures are still packed away, but I’m *assuming* there is some part reuse here. I initially thought Director Krennic, but I was way off.
The designs are similar, but nothing is shared.
I like that his helmet is easily removable. The chinstrap keeps it in place securely enough, and removing the helmet reveals a pretty generic fellow that could easily be reused for a Rebel Trooper, should Hasbro ever decide to release one.
The articulation scheme is okay, but annoying at times too. He has single-jointed elbows, but double-jointed knees, and the knees are just too big and clunky. Functionally, they’re not the greatest. His elbows can get a 90-degree bend, so he can hold his firearm convincingly, fortunately. Other than that, he’s got much of what you’d expect from a Black Series figure. His skirt does hinder his leg movement some, and I’m not sure if there’s an ab joint or not. There’s a waist swivel, but I can’t really get any forward/back movement at the waist.
His paint apps are super simple. All he’s got is the Imperial insignia on his shoulder, some silver on his belt and gloves, and then the brown for his hair/eyebrows along with some painted eyes. There really isn’t that much here in terms of paint since most of the figure is just an ocean of black-cast plastic.
This character was never interesting enough for me to army-build him, but I am happy to have just this one. I can see most collectors hunting after this guy pretty hard since this is his Black Series debut, so keep an eye out — this second wave of the anniversary figures is trickling out as we speak!
