"We don't control the Force"
Following the release of the Star Wars Black Series Wave 17 which was dedicated entirely to characters from The Acolyte, it was confirmed that Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh and the tracker Bazil would expand the Acolyte Galaxy Collection as Wave 20 releases. Originally planned to be a Spring 2025 release, the Wave actually landed (in the UK at least) in late December 2024.
Vernestra is number 08 in The Acolyte collection with the deep red artwork connecting on to Bazil and then backward in to the first six figures for the expansive montage. The rear of the box carries the same image as the side, while the blurb gives a very brief overview of the Jedi Master’s role in The Acolyte. Inside, the backing card - now colour coded to the collection - also features a background image from the Jedi Temple.
Vernestra Rwoh was seen wearing two distinct outfits during the events of The Acolyte, Hasbro has chosen her formal Jedi robes worn in the Jedi Temple for the figure which does provide a contrast to the ‘Mission’ Robes worn by the other Jedi released so far. The inner robes are made of white finish plastic with gold-painted trim around the collar. The skirt is a softer plastic piece and incorporates a simple belt painted in two-tone brown with a gold centre. The skirt is split at either side to aid articulation, and underneath are sculpted legs with a wrapped textured finish. These legs are re-used from the Dark Side Rey from The Rise of Skywalker.
Over the inner robes is a soft goods, light brown & hooded sleeveless robe. This uses the usual ‘Jedi’ fabric with a soft light finish that hangs reasonably well on the figure. The hood is tailored to sit well enough over Vernestra’s head - it can then be folded back and down out of the way with a bit of work. The lack of sleeves do tend to have the robe sliding off at the arms, and it therefore takes a little bit of work to pose.
The head sculpt presents a very good likeness to actor Rebecca Henderson in full Mirialan makeup including the markings across the top of her head. Facial printing is used to capture the realistic detailing of the eyes and mouth.
Rwoh comes with her lightsaber which is a simple hilt in gun-metal grey with a central gold trim. Into this slots a translucent purple lightsaber blade. The hilt can be slotted into Vernestra’s belt by way of a plug-in socket or will fit in either hands. There is however a considerable miss here as Vernestra is renowned in the High Republic books as using a light whip - also seen briefly in in the series - but a choice has been made not to develop or include a light whip blade to use with the saber hilt.
Vernestra has 19 points of articulation, retaining thigh swivels due to the use of the older legs from Rey, whilst also featuring a hidden set of butterfly joints behind the torso robes as well as a dual-jointed neck. Her wider outfit does prevent excessively dramatic posing but she is capable of a selection of lightsaber poses.
Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh is a visual figure with a good likeness to her scenes in the Jedi Temple during The Acolyte. The soft goods do work, but with limitations, and considering her lower robes are cast plastic, the argument around articulation is a little lost - and a sculpted outer robe similar to Princess Leia from the same Wave 20 may have been more visual. The other miss is the lack of a light-whip which I appreciate had seconds of screen time in The Acolyte, but is something that carries a lot of weight for those of us invested in the High Republic novels and comics.
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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...