I miss Lando so much, I miss Qui-Gon, it’s lonely on the shelf…

The Star Wars Black Series is officially in full swing, and we are well on our way to building up the diverse cast of a characters from a galaxy far, far away. So far, Hasbro has been pretty good about getting us representation from all over the two trilogies, and I hope that trend does continue for both the original and prequel movies. Say what you want about the latter, there are some pretty awesome figures of the characters featured in those three movies to be had, and there is plenty of room on my shelf for all comers.

That being said, the diverse character selection that we have gotten thus far has left us with a pretty scattershot collection as we head into 2015. I understand that we are in this line for the long haul and building up all of the corners is going to take some due time, so I am not really complaining about the methodology being used, just that I want more characters to come out at a faster pace! In all seriousness, though, the release pattern has gotten us some cool figures to be sure, but some of them are already getting a bit lonely on the shelf because, well, they need some associated characters to be able to stand with them.

As a fun exercise, I have put together a list of characters that need to come to the Black Series line ASAP based on about five figures we already have. This isn’t scientific or anything, and the characters on this list aren’t necessarily considered to be the most-needed figures overall, I just think these guys will compliment some of the figures we already have and make for great releases to build up more of our display corners. As the title indicates, for some of the Star Wars Black Series figures, it is lonely out in space, so let’s try to remedy that a bit.

X-WING PILOT LUKE SKYWALKER

X-Wing Luke is the figure Luke figure we got in the SWB line, and I think he is extremely well done in terms of execution. The argument can be made that he can stand just fine with the likes of R2-D2, or even Han Solo and Chewie on the shelf, but I think there are a couple of characters that can be released that can help highlight Luke’s accomplishments in his actual star fighting scenes. Sure, we are getting the Tie Pilot soon (and he looks great), but how about some allies? Thus, I present:

Wedge Antilles

Sure, Wedge was never what I would consider a “main” character in the original trilogy, but I think he is important and he holds quite a bit of esteem. First, he survived! I mean, he survived the Battle of Yavin, the Battle of Hoth, and Endor! There are not many who can lay such a claim and he did so as fighter pilot in all three, something that is unique unto him. Plus, he founded the Rogue Squadron with Luke Skywalker and that gets credit for the most badass fighting force name in all of the galaxy. I know that I am not alone in my love for Wedge and really, he would be such an easy figure to make – just slap a new head on that pilot Luke body and you got it. Having a cadre of Rebel pilots will be so cool on the shelf, and Wedge is the perfect character to start building the ranks.

Admiral Ackbar

Now, I know this a bit of a stretch, and maybe Biggs, Dak, or even Porkins would be more appropriate candidates for Luke, but if you are going to have a gaggle of star pilots, you need an Admiral to lead them. Sure, General Dodonna is great, but Ackbar pulls rank here, and I would not be going out on a limb to say that he is more fan-demanded. Heck, I think collectors would buy Ackbar just to run about with him while yelling, “IT’S A TRAP,” and they would be right to do so. Plus, a tall Mon Calamari figure in military fatigues cannot be beat in terms of being an awesome toy. We need to start building up the Rebel Alliance, and if we don’t have a solemn leader, those flyboys will just drink too much blue milk and run amok.

DARTH MAUL

I am going go ahead and say it: I think Darth Maul is one of the best figures that has been released in the Black Series line so far. Everything came together so well with him, and the extra head/cloak helps give you all kinds of display options. Plus duel-bladed lightsaber! You cannot beat that! Wait, did I mention that he is also involved in the runaway best lightsaber duel in the entire SW franchise? Yes, I get the emotional impact of the Luke/Vader duels, but in terms of choreography and physical fighting, you cannot beat the fight at the end of The Phantom Menace – it is a battle of Jedi and Sith at their best. Which brings me to…

Qui-Gon Jinn

It is a bloody tragedy that Darth Maul has no one to fight. These are super-posable action figures, and if any figure is begging to be posed in gravity-defying action, it is Maul. So why the heck we don’t have the dudes he so memorably battles at the end of TPM is beyond me. So let’s get them, shall we? Episode I had its issues to be sure, but Qui-Gon was not one of them. Liam Neeson is a badass and this slightly rebellious Jedi Master was insanely cool. I want as many Jedi figures as Hasbro wants to give us and Qui-Gon is right near the top of the list of requirement; he will make a great-looking figure and will pose perfectly with Maul.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Padawan)

Well, duh. We might as well complete the trifecta while we are here, right? Sure, Obi-Wan is my favorite SW character, and we do have a figure of him in SWB already, but even if both of those things were not true, that would not change my level of demand for this figure. If and when we get this Kenobi and Jinn, that will complete what could be the most dynamic corner of your display. I don’t think there is a single scene from the movies that I am looking forward to setting up in my display more than the “Duel of the Fates,” and with both of the Jedi relatively easy figures to pull off, I hope they will happen sooner than later. Darth Maul is one of the best figures, so it is a shame to have him standing alone and completely static.

BOBA FETT

Arguably the most popular figure in the Black Series line so far, Boba Fett has been more fortunate than most of the others on this list in terms of guys he can hang out with on the shelf. We have Jabba and Greedo, and Han Solo, of course, and the awesome Bossk is on his way, but when you are this popular, you need a posse to follow you about. Face it, popular people need friends and enemies alike, so getting more of them to hover around Fett will only make him feel more important. So who else will help fill out the Fett display? Well…

IG-88

IG-88 would be a good start, and he is even on the rumor lists. Let’s face it, after Bossk and Boba himself, IG is probably the most popular of the bounty hunters, so I am sure the demand is there. Probably more of a “frenemy” (I cannot believe I just typed that) than anything else, I want IG to compete with Fett on their adventures to track down that pesky Solo guy. He would most certainly make of a unique figure and he will help get us one step closer to completing the “bounty hunter” scene from Empire Strikes Back, so that will make everyone who loves Star Wars happy. All of the ones that count, anyway.

Lando Calrissian

 

Lando is not a system, he is a man, and unfortunately for Black Series fans, he is also not currently a figure. I say it is high time to remedy this as his presence would not only help to bolster Boba Fett’s standing, but a few other figures as well. Lando sold out his old pals to the Empire while on Bespin, but even in the midst of that, he knew he did not want Han being sent off with Boba Fett. Sure, he redeems himself later, but even if he is just going to sneer at the Mandalorian, the happenings in Cloud City are probably the biggest turning points in the original trilogy. Like it or not, Lando is a character tightly tied to the fate of Boba Fett, and since there are multiple Landos to be made, let’s start with the Bespin version so he can help bolster the continuing popularity of Fett.

CLONE TROOPER

While they may be second-class citizens in terms of army builders (squarely behind the Stormtroopers), if you are going to assemble a Grand Army of the Republic, you need some clones, dagnabbit! I personally think that they make for great army builders and they are just waiting to be lead into battle. Now, if you are going to be a stickler, this clone is modeled after the Episode II version, so in keeping with that, I think there are a couple of characters that would help bring them into the overall collection and maybe one can even provide some solid leadership so they just don’t stand around and do whatever clones do when they are not fighting or shooting Jedi in the back.

Mace Windu

Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedi is just something that you cannot argue in terms of coolness. This calm and cool Master shows his salt as a field general during the battle of Geonosis and later on in the Clone Wars show. I have a company of six ATOC troops that need this Jedi Master to lead them into battle against anything and everything threatening the Republic. Again, he would not be a difficult figure to construct, but I am dying for that purple lightsaber to be on my shelf. Let’s bring some organization to the clone army with the Master who is all about order.

Jango Fett

Remember how we learned that Stormtroopers are just an iteration of clone troopers who are just clones of Boba Fett’s dad? Also, remember how Boba Fett is just a clone too and ostensibly just a clone/stormtrooper without the docile nature? Even if you would like to forget all or part of that backstory, Jango Fett is essential to the canonical history of the clones that are currently on our shelves. Plus, the character has a cool design, ya know? Having a Jango Fett figure can help you hold your own adventures to make him cooler than he had the opportunity to be before having his head removed from his body by the aforementioned Mr. Windu.

R2-D2

But R2 goes with everyone, right? So just about every figure that has been released in SWB thus far can have SOMETHING to do with R2, correct? I will admit, the original trilogy characters are faring a lot better than their prequel counterparts, and R2 is the most prolific of just about any SW character, but there are still some important gaps that need to be filled by characters that have a major impact on the character. The first one I have selected is obvious, and second is the spark that got this whole Star Wars thing going, so I stand by my choices.

C-3PO

Yes, this is pretty obvious, I know. Not only is he the most needed character in relation to R2-D2, he is probably the most “main” character that has not yet gotten a figure. The golden idol of human/cyborg relations and synthetic life partner to Mr. D2, Threepio has got to be just around the corner, right? If you buy into the rumor mill, then, yes, he is. However, getting Artoo in the first series and being left to wait so long for Threepio is almost criminal, especially considering they are the most prolific characters in the entire saga and their existence is the crux of more than one major plot point. I do think that a C-3PO figure is a challenging endeavor in terms of execution, and that is possibly why we have waited so long, but R2 will never feel complete without him.

Princess Leia (A New Hope)

A bit of a stretch choice you say? I think not! Remember, it was Leia that hid the Deathstar plans in R2’s memory to send to Obi-Wan and started these crazy Star Wars, so I think she is a prime choice to complement R2. The only Leia we have gotten so far is probably the weakest figure in the entire line, so from a character standpoint, she is just begging for a do-over. In building an iconic SW action figure display, there is just something about needing all of the main protagonists from A New Hope side by side on the shelf to bring the entire collection together. It would be fun for a little hologram of Leia to be included with the figure so that our Artoo can project her to Obi-Wan and spark Luke’s first curiosity into the world of incest.

So there you have it. This is just a fun little list of personal preferences for figures based off of those that we already have. Sure, there are a lot of other characters that I want figures of ASAP, but I like to fill out little corners as we move along. I am positive no one else would make a list that looks exactly like this, or even agree with the logic, but it was fun bringing characters together, and yes, I do want to see prequel characters continue in the line. I am sure we will have other SW topics to discuss while we wait for the next Black Series figures, so until then – may The Force be with you.