To celebrate the on-sale date of the Hasbro SDCC 2018 items at the Hasbro Toy Shop, we are continuing our look at brand new Star Wars Black Series figures. Now, while the Han that Matt looked at earlier today was exclusive to SDCC (and HTS), the new Moloch from Solo: A Star Wars Story will only be able to be found at Target.
If SDCC taught us anything about the Black Series, it is that the line is going (pretty much) all-in on the characters from Solo. We already have Han, Lando, Chewie, Qi’Ra, Beckett, Enfys Nest, and others, and Val, Rio, and this Moloch are following them, with Dryden Vos rumored for a released early next year. Cheers to Hasbro for doing such a great job getting to all of the notable characters in the movie, and I wish Rogue One had gotten the same treatment. Ahem, Bodie Rook, Saw, Raddus, Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Blue Leader, ahem.
Anyway, Moloch is a character that did not hang around the movie for too long, but his threatening character and grotesque design certainly made him memorable. Even though Corellia is located in the heart of the galaxy and is home to a giant ship-manufacturing industrial zone, the planet has a strong criminal gang presence, of which, much was controlled by the white worms. Lead by Lady Proxima, these nasty dudes controlled a slave population that was forced to do their illegal bidding, and Moloch was an important part of that regime during Han Solo’s youth. Frankly, I would have loved to see more of this setting in the movie, but there is only a certain amount of time allotted to us to get to everything, but as Moloch shows, by the time Han is dealing with Jabba the Hutt, he should be pretty used to working alongside gangsters.
Due to the size and shape of the white worms (and thus, Moloch), this release is exclusive to Target, and he follows the Gamorrean Guard’s pattern in that he has all-new tooling, fits on a non-standard card, and is priced at $29.99. Now, we got this figure a bit early, so don’t go checking your Target stores just yet (the Gamorrean is just not hitting for Pete’s sake), but I have to say, this makes two figures in a row where I have ZERO qualms about a higher price point. That is largely due to the unique tooling and care put into these releases, and frankly, Moloch is a lot heftier than I originally imagined.
This figure is wide and his robes are deep enough from front to back that it requires the black and red box to be much larger than usual. I like the intricate robes, straps, and gloves, and they make a good combination of showing some bit of authority, but retaining that gangsters feel as well. The robes are not just for show, either, and while I thought that made they would be solid underneath, that is not the case, and Moloch’s gross worm anatomy is fully sculpted and on display. He is like a long rubbery tube with sculpted details, but with an abdominal joint that allows front to back and side to side movement in the chest. This point of articulation is actually really well done, and it adds a lot to the figures.
The real highlight of the figure, though, is the head/neck area and protective mask that he wears. White worms are very sensitive to light, so when not underground, they need to wear these masks to protect them, and Hasbro did a great job in brining us the option of both masked and unmasked. The mask is actually pretty intricate and it comes in two pieces: one is fully removable, and the bottom portion moves down when the top piece is not in place. The mask is quite threatening and adds to the bullish presence of the character, so Hasbro has done a nice job retaining all of the details. This gives the character that classic Star Wars organic joined with tech aesthetic that helps marry Solo with the Original Trilogy.
If you remove the mask, you can see Moloch’s real face, and I have to say, it is quite creepy. The eyes are pale blue and the skin looks soft and slimy, so if I had to have a run-in with this guy, I would take the mask any day of the week. Moloch’s face does have a bit of a Henson Creature Shop/Dark Crystal vibe to it, so while I appreciate it (especially considering their connection with Star Wars and Ron Howard), it might be a bit jarring for some, if it hits a little too on the nose for you. Either way, it is a cool design and very faithfully rendered here.
Moloch also comes with two accessories, his blaster and staff. The blaster can fit nicely in his right hand, or stored securely in the holster, and it certainly feels like it came from the same place as Han’s classic blaster. It is a small piece for Moloch, but like they say, it is good to have a blaster at one’s side. The staff head is rather intricate and the SWB team made note of it during their presentation at SDCC due to the people/soul details. Much of that is lost due to the scale, but it is a neat thing to have, and it fits Moloch’s authoritarian characterization.
Overall, this is a great release, and since I really enjoyed the movie, I am glad to add another character from Solo to my shelf. Like I said, he will be hitting Target later in the fall and will run you $29.99, but he is certainly worth it, at least to me, and due to his size and shape, Moloch will stand out in your collection.
