Star Wars: The Black Series Imperial Deathtrooper Specialist, Captain Cassian Andor and Sergeant Jyn Erso

One more set of Rogue One figures before I go see the movie. It is currently 3.24 pm in Chicago, and we’ve got 7.30 tickets. 

This trio of figures is the Target exclusive for the movie, and, just as last years’ Target exclusive pack did, contains a Trooper and some actual characters. Two this time, both of whom in this present moment we still know little to nothing about: Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso, who has always been the main character of the movie, from the very first second of the very first teaser. And again, a slightly modified Trooper, so that the ‘battle in a box’ format is maintained. It should come as no surprise that my interest in the set was the Deathtrooper, but, just as was the case last year, I’m sure that once I’ve seen the movie, the other figures will become more significant to me. 

Let’s take it from left to right, based on box position.

New Hat Trooper

The Deathtrooper is labeled as a “specialist” rather than a commander or officer, despite having the black shoulder pad indicative of rank. The pad is attached to a whole set of web gear, including some chest level ammo pouch, and some waist level grenades. He comes equipped with the same pair of blasters that the standard retail Deathtrooper does. Frankly, while I am a total sucker for modified Stormtroopers, this Deathtrooper is a little bit of a letdown due to the lack of any real difference from the regular one. Sure, it has the tactical gear, but it doesn’t do anything, and there isn’t even any difference in paint or anything. The tactical vest just blends in to the overall look, so it doesn’t even pop or anything. I get that any radical colorization or changes may have blown the Deathtrooper look, but just about anything would have made for a more interesting figure. I think I had similar complaints about the Riot Trooper in last years’ pack, that it was a good opportunity to gussy up the armor somehow, and they didn’t. 

"Yeah, sure. I guess."

Cassian Andor is proof that apparently the only place guys can get clothes in the Star Wars universe is through Han Solo’s tailor. Brown jacket, wild collar cut shirt, olive pants. I know they’re soldiers, but man, they all dress the same. I don’t know anything about the character yet, but I do have some comments on his figure. The face is painted with an expression that, to me, reads as disinterest, like he’s just not feeling it today. “Hey Cassian, wanna go disrupt some Imperial activity?” “Yeah, I guess.” That, and all of his facial hair is incorrectly placed. His eyebrows are not aligned, his goatee is noticeably crooked. At first I’d thought that I just got a bad set, since I bought it online and had it shipped. But every set I’ve seen in store has the same facial paint misalignment. 

"That's pretty cool, I guess."

Cassian comes with a pretty cool accessory: a collapsible rifle. It consists of a blaster pistol which fits into a holster on the figures’ hip, and then a butt and barrel extension. When combined, the blaster goes from pistol to large rifle form, and is a real neat idea. Not sure if this is a factor in the movie, but knowing the Black Series, it probably is. It gives the impression of being a large weapon that could be smuggled in somewhere, or easily hidden. The pistol part fits in a holster, but the other two components don’t store on the figure at all. My only concern with them is that, since they are so small, they may get lost easily. I don’t anticipate much of an issue, because both Cassian and Jyn are going back in the package, as they don’t work with my Imperial display. But, other than keeping the rifle assembled, I feel like these are pieces that will end up missing pretty quickly. The combined rifle is pretty cool looking, and it is nice to get a different accessory every once in a while. 

Jyn Erso doesn’t come with anything extra, and is in fact the Black Series Jyn Erso that is also available singly. The Deathtrooper is different, and this version of Cassian is apparently exclusive to this pack. But the Jyn is just a straight repackage of the single release. While it is not an issue, I’ve seen some people theorizing that her inclusion in this set is due to the manufactured “controversy” of there not being enough Reys available last year when The Force Awakens toyline first released. That was because a lot of Rey figures came with lightsabers, which was a pretty major spoiler for the movie. But, people not knowing that at first, I think latched on to the inexplicable lack of Black Widow figures in any of the Avengers toylines, and assumed that Star Wars was shafting its female lead. Right away after having seen the movie, I knew that there weren’t Rey figures available because they contained a spoiler accessory, and shortly after the movie came out, a bunch of Reys started not only showing up in stores but quickly becoming unavailable due to their selling out. So, I’d say it wasn’t a big deal. I only mention all of that to serve as context for a resued Jyn being in this three pack. Who knows, it’s just an idea. Watch, now there will be a scene in Rogue One between these three characters, and they’ll even appear on screen in the order they are packed in this box, making it an exercise in perfect screen accuracy. 

Jyn is a nice figure. I’m a little surprised because this is my first exposure to a female Black Series figure, not that there are a lot to choose from, and it just looks so thin and frail. The arms in particular just look extra thin, but the elbow and wrist joints are solid and hold real nicely. Jyn comes with a pistol that fits into a holster, but the holster has a little plastic strap that goes over the handle of the blaster and then plugs in to a hole on the side of the holster. This blew my mind. Such a functional detail on a figure that really would have been fine without it is always neat, a real mark of quality. She also has a head covering, which I’m fairly sure can be removed. She has an entire head underneath, so it’s not that the scarf is molded on to the head or is covering her exposed brain or anything. I’ve seen pictures online of the figure without this head covering, so I know it can be removed. I was putzing with it for a minute or two and had no luck, and honestly, at the moment it was more effort than I was committed to investing. I’m sure I’ll come back to it later. The face is alright, but my wife says she looks like her eyes are rolling back into her head. It’s probably because she saw that article online with the title informing people that Jyn in Rogue One is in fact a different character than Rey in The Force Awakens, or she got so tired of reading people crying on the Internet that Star Wars has a girl in it. I mean, that kind of stuff makes me roll my eyes as well, so I could sympathize with Jyn.

Not Rey, just so we're clear.

After having seen The Force Awakens, I came to appreciate the Poe Dameron figure that came in last years’ Target exclusive pack. I have a feeling that the same will happen after seeing Rogue One in a few hours. For the present moment though, I’m not too hyped about this set. It was delivered on a pretty tough night, and it took me a few days to bust it open, and the Deathtrooper really was a bit of a dud, so there was a lot aligned against this trio of toys. But it does not look like Target is having difficulty keeping them in stock, so if you see the movie and then want the figures, there shouldn’t be much of a problem getting them. I am always happy for a new Stormtrooper, so in a meta sense, I’m glad to have this set. How glad I am will have to wait a few more hours to be determined.