"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge"
2024 marks the 25th Anniversary of Episode 1, The Phantom Menace, and Hasbro has already announced a special Duel of the Fates 3-Pack release in the Star Wars Black Series marking the anniversary complete with a new Darth Maul figure, replacing the version we have had since Wave 1 of the Black Series way back in 2013. Heading into San Diego Comic-Con 2024 it was announced that the Black Series convention exclusive for 2024 would bring us an opportunity to own that new Darth Maul figure earlier than the Duel of the Fates release in the Autumn, and in a set that paid homage to the original 1999 toy line and that would include Maul’s Sith Speeder and his Probe Droid. The set was sold first at SDCC 2024 for attendees, then on Hasbro Pulse
The SDCC exclusive uses a window box package with the design taken directly from the 1999 Phantom the Menace releases and in particular the 12-inch Darth Maul and Speeder (the 3.75-inch release had a closed box). This is made up of a black gloss backdrop, a bold episode 1 logo with the face of Darth Maul to one side and red trim around the window, and a gold tramline trim around the name place of ‘Darth Maul and Sith Speeder’. There are a couple of newer additions such as the Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary silver logo, and the newer Hasbro logo underneath. The UK release, as seen here, also has a black oversticker to the bottom right covering up the choking warning message. The rear of the box carries a still from The Phantom Menace of Maul on Tatooine riding his Speeder, and to the side of this are a couple of paragraphs detailing Maul’s role in the movie and a further piece of text under the image detailing the features of the Sith Speeder itself.
The box opens from either of the side panels with the inner tray featuring a full-colour backdrop of the sands of Tatooine. The figure, speeder, and accessories are all set into an inner clear tray with Maul and his Speeder securely tied into place with a variety of clear ties.
Darth Maul is a full new figure with no clear use of any parts from the original 2013 release. His Sith Robes are made up of black cast plastic elements, a rubberized tunic overlay over the torso and then layers of soft goods on the skirt and the extensive hooded outer robes. The soft goods is an ideal medium for this scenario considering Maul is required to sit to ride his speeder. There are two styles of material with a flat softer fabric making up the skirt, hood, and sleeves. In contrast, the chest and lower robes are a pleated design which was not really evident on screen.
2024 (left) vs 2013 (right)
The head is new and features a much improved sculpt of Ray Park in full makeup with the facial markings printed in a darker red than the original figure and with crisper lines. The eyes are menacing from beneath the black and red facial features, and they have done a great job of capturing that snarl expression. Each of Maul’s horns is crisper and sharper than the previous release and are picked out in a bone colour.
The robes will sit up and over Maul's head for the hooded look, and conversely, they can also be removed to reveal the full new body beneath. Due to how the figure is packed you will find the skirt's soft goods (which are not removable) are creased and folded up, but these will smooth out and fall into place with a bit of work. With the robes off you can also see a couple of other elements of the figure with a socket on Maul’s belt for his lightsaber, and a removable wrist control on his left wrist that he uses to control his Probe Droids.
The saber itself is also new and slimmed down from the original release and cast in a darker silver finish with red control sections. The hilts can be connected together for the full weapon or used independently as dual sabers. The connection is tight and secure and is fully straight, yet once disconnected the plug and socket are not overly visible. Each saber accepts an included red translucent blade. Due to the scale and circumference of the saber the clips on these are smaller than we have seen previously, and with a tight fit to hold them in place, they need to be handled with care to avoid any bends or breakage.
Maul’s final accessory is his Macrobinoculars, another new piece but not necessarily an improvement over the original with this new 2024 version lacking some of the detail we did see on the original release. They are a similar colour to the saber and also feature red component buttons/indicators.
Maul features a single set of gripping hands that are able to hold both the sabers and the binoculars well enough. Articulation is also enhanced to support all of the included accessories, with a full pinless body and 23 points of articulation. While the legs are fairly standard in design, the arms have additional rotations at both the forearm and above the elbow and also feature a butterfly shoulder. The neck is dual-jointed and the torso also has plenty of movement to aid sitting on the speeder.
Before we move to the Speeder itself, the other part of the set is Maul’s Sith Probe Droid, one of three that he employs on Tatooine. This is a new piece as well and like the movie prop is predominantly black in colour with an outer shell and inner eyepiece. Around the side are the lens and sensors, and a flexible antenna sits at the rear of the droid. There are no further decor applications on the Droid and while it looks OK as it is, there is perhaps an opportunity missed for some variation in the black and some silver components we see on screen but not translated into the figure.
The Probe Droid is mounted on a clear flight stand. this again is new and while similar to the one used for the Training Remote for Luke a few years ago, it is much bigger and places the Probe Droid at the same height as Maul’s head for display. There is no articulation here, the Droid is fixed into place and there is no ball joint as such that allows it to be tilted or posed. The base is also quite small considering the height and that does leave it a touch exposed in terms of stability as it doesn’t have the weight to hold itself completely stable.
The Speeder is the final piece of the set, another brand new piece in the Black Series and as far as we know exclusive to this SDCC release. The crescent-shaped vehicle is cast in brown plastic with weathering added and panel lines drawn. The seat segments are an orange finish with trim in beige, while the handlebars and foot pedals have black and grey components painted. The control panel set between the handlebars on the main body features individually painted buttons in white, red, and green and then three decal or sticker pieces to show the various displays for the speeder - two with a red hue and the lowest one in blue with black parts.
The Speeder’s repulsor lift feature is created using a clear teardrop-shaped stand and plug-in socket that raises the Speeder a half inch or so off the floor. The socket is ball jointed but set back up into the vehicle so while there is some tilt available, it is not as extensive as similar Speeders we’ve seen previously.
Maul’s articulation works in full to allow him to sit naturally in the single seat with his gripping hands connecting to the control handlebars. These are also articulated so you can move them to line up with the figure and any pose. Maul’s feet include foot holes and there are corresponding pegs on the speeder that allow the feet to be secured in place. Once seated there are a handful of posing options - most outside of what we see on screen, but it is possible to have Maul riding and using his Sabers or his Macrobinoculars.
All in all the set ticks plenty of boxes. It brings us a new and much improved Darth Maul - although the figure is also coming in the Dual of the Fates set later in the year for those not enamored by the Speeder - although I do think the Duel of the Fates version has a rubberized skirt rather than soft goods which are specifically for this Sith Speeder Set. And it still meets that exclusivity level by making the Speeder is exclusive to the set, as far as we know, as are the Probe Droid and the Binocs - although there may well be future releases that change this. These parts are all well executed and combine into a world-building display of the various Maul scenes on Tatooine.
The soft goods on Maul had to be used to work with the seated speeder, but this is the only part I am not fully sold on as I can’t quite get on board with the pleated look and I suspect we may see some after-market 3rd party options being used for some collections. Price-wise, this is £61 in the UK, so if we price Maul as a single figure at £25 you are paying an additional £36 for the Speeder and Probe Droid - and for the exclusive anniversary packaging which will be desirable for inbox collectors, particularly with a corresponding Battle Droid and STAP release heading our way for Hasbro Pulse Con 2024.
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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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