Star Wars: The Black Series Death Squad Commander

 

 One of the original figures in the Star Wars line, and THE original figure of a rando in the Star Wars line, the Death Squad Commander is here a part of the 40^th anniversary collection, and rather than being released in the standard Black Series box, comes on a marvelous blister card that harkens back to the original Star Wars packaging.

Not really something that normally happens here, as even the nicest of packaging generally gets a few words of appreciation, but we need to talk about this packaging for a minute before we get to the figure. The card is an absolutely perfect recreation of the packaging of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. When this figure arrived, I didn’t want to open it for several days because I was just marveling at the throwback package. Even the backside of it is a total reach backwards in time, and I just love it so much. This is hardly the first time that toys have come in a retro style package, but I think it may be my favorite instance. G.I. Joe had the throwback cards back in 2009 when that line was rereleasing a number of old characters in updated versions, and of course the Toys R Us G1 Transformer reissues came in retro-esque boxes, while eHobby exclusive repaints of G1 figures came in the 1980’s style red or purple boxes. But this is a beautiful package.

The Death Squad Commander comes on the heels of other not entirely noteworthy figures like the First Order Officer and Finn in FirstOrder Officer Disguise, which is to say, a very good and generally standard Black Series figure that just happens to not be anyone or have an exciting look. A current (the last year or so “current” –mr) want at the Coffin has been officers and commander figures, after the release of Krennic and the announcements of Thrawn and Tarkin. Who wouldn’t love a shelf of officers and administrators in their action figure collection? Honestly, it’s probably a psychological thing on my part, a deep-seated regret at having passed on that 3.75” boxed set of the Death Start Briefing Room all those years ago, something that is now permanently on my hunt list.

It feels like forever ago, thanks to moving and work, but in February, the Coffin reviewed both the First Order Officer and Finn in Disguise figures, and generally speaking, the Death Squad Commander is not too far removed from either of those. The standard Black Series articulation is present, and the overall appearance is quite nice, with a shiny, glossy black and nice silver on the belt and glove buckles. The outfit is different – so this is not just a new head or different accessory on the First Order body, but a dedicated Imperial uniform – but the biggest difference is the large helmet the Commander wears. It is removable, and affixes via a chin strap which is not flexible, and therefore a little scary when trying to move the helmet around, as it is a thin strip of plastic that doesn’t allow much movement itself. But, the helmet has been removed and reattached a couple of times by now, and there’s no stressing or damage or issues to be reported. The only other accessory is a blaster, the same as the one that came with the two-pack Ackbar, which is generally a Rebel blaster. A large, soft plastic holster on the belt stores the part, always a nice touch, and usually something one finds in the Black Series figures.

Other than that, there’s not a whole lot here. The original Death Squad Commander would later be renamed the Death STAR Commander, because it was a figure intended for children, and there was very little hub bub over this as it happened at a time before the wretched hive of Star Wars fandom and/or toy collectors emerged to complain about literally everything. The Black Series version is, like the First Order Officer before him, a figure of a non-character, a literal man in the background of a few frames’ worth of movie, doing the unglamorous work of the Imperial machine. Not a cool soldier or a named character or anything, but a vital cog. The figure itself is really nice, it’s good looking and everything, but like other officer figures, whether or not it is needed or wanted is totally, completely up to the individual collection. Probably most valuable for collectors who are putting scenes together, or completionists, there is a place for this guy, but it may not be on your shelves.  In fact, the only people that seem to have a real interest in this figure that I am aware of are myself, and a co-worker, who buys multiple of every figure. So, if that counts as an endorsement to you, there you have it. If not, cool. And, in any sense of reality, this figure should be readily available for the foreseeable future, as it is not only being released as part of the 40^th Anniversary set, but also in boxed form as part of the first Wave of figures for Solo. So even if you skip him, or aren’t sure, he should be around. Really, if nothing else, the Death Squad Commander makes a pretty solid “Haven’t Bought Anything In A While, Oh Look Here’s This Guy” purchase, or a convention purchase sort of thing.