“I wanted to be Master of the Sith and ruler of the galaxy. But that destiny was not mine”
Considering the fate of much of the old Expanded Universe when Disney purchased Star Wars, it is amazing to think that we are still getting figures from that continuity in the Star Wars Black Series line via the Publishing Series, or the Gaming Greats sublime. It is from the latter that we can now welcome Darth Malak into the 6-inch series as he gets a general release in wave 11 of the Galaxy Collection. Malak arrives in the windowless, plastic-free packaging adorned with artwork of the figure on the standard black angled box. The colour accent applied to the character name, source code, and the lovely side illustration are the electric blue assigned to Gaming Greats and Malak is number 20 in the Gaming Greats series following on from the Republic Commando Battle Droid and preceding Bastilla Shan from the same game source.
While most Gaming Greats are exclusives, and usually tweaks to existing figures, Malak - like Bastilla Shan from the same wave - are new figures and their appearance taken from the Old Republic video game series. Darth Malak is an entirely new sculpt with an impressive height that does stand taller than most basic Black Series figures and just a tad shorter in stature than Darth Vader himself. The body and outfit are cast predominantly in a deep red colour with sculpted ridging to the arms and panelled sections on the torso. Malak is wearing plain knee-high black boots and a central belt with silver buckle and front and back skirt sections. Over the chest, we have a glossy red armour piece which contrasts the mat finish of the rest of the outfit and features a silver neck trim complete with red and white controls & indicators on the central panel a soft goods brown cape, similar to that sported by Count Dooku is permanently fixed into this torso armour and flows down the right-hand side of the body. Where paintwork is applied the finish isn't crisp and there are unfortunately some messy areas with the brown of the belt bleeding onto the red of the outfit, and the red of the knees covering some of the rim of the black boots.
The head sculpt is glorious and recreates Malak’s signature look with his scarred bald head complete with the grey markings, and his robotic lower jaw in glossy silver encompassing the lower part of his head. While not advertised on the packaging or in any of the promo details for the figure, it is a welcome surprise to find that this metallic jaw can be opened and removed revealing the battle damage underneath and Malak’s synthetic voicebox. The head carries much more complex decor than the body with photo-realistic application of the eyes, the facial scarring and the grey markings over the bald head. This all continues under the metal jaw and to the voicebox with silver trim and light blue central emitter.
Malak is armed with his lightsaber, a brutal solid piece with two prongs on either side of the blade emitter. My lightsaber arrived warped due to how it was packed in the inner baggie and tray, an issue becoming more prevalent with these plastic-free boxed figures. The hilt has a silver base colour, and then black rings and panels across the main body. The hilt can be stowed in a holster on the rear of Malak’s belt or secured in either or both hands. The usual removable blade comes in red translucent plastic with a less than substantial peg to connect it to the hilt considering the girth of both blade and hilt - watch out for this warping or breaking.
Malak has 18 points of articulation and represents the newer model of Black Series articulation that Hasbro is introducing, doing away with the thigh swivel and adding a swivel to the knee joint to compensate. This and the pinless technology do give the figure a cleaner overall look while still allowing Malak a decent range of posing options with or without the lightsaber. The skirt pieces are a soft plastic and not soft goods like the cape, and this does impede some lower leg positions.
For fans of the Old Republic content, Darth Malak is another of the key iconic characters brought to life in the Star Wars Black Series and he really looks the part with his impressive height, stature, battle-damaged features and that metallic jaw. The removable element of the jaw is a surprise and a neat feature that wasn’t necessarily warranted on the figure but obviously is a nod to the fans. The plastic-free packaging is starting to impact the quality of the contents, with the accessories in particular arriving warped with no inner tray to keep their shape. This is fixable with some hot water treatment, but I do look forward to the reversal of this decision later this year. Darth Malak now joins the likes of Revan, Nihilus and Bastila Shan on my Old Republic shelf which is shaping up a treat.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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