Review: Star Wars Black Series Prince Xizor from Shadows of the Empire, Galaxy Collection Fan Channel Wave
- Mephitsu
- Mar 28
- 5 min read
"You see, to contend with Xizor is to lose."
Many of us that lived through the period between Return of the Jedi in 1983 and the start of the prequels in 1999 have very fond memories about Shadows of the Empire. This multi-media project from 1994 created an expanded universe story, featuring many of our favourite Original Trilogy characters, that spanned the gap between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. One of the characters created for the project was Xizor, a Faleen prince who had taken charge of the Black Sun crime syndicate and was working with The Empire against our heroes and the rebellion.
Despite forays into the Expanded Universe, very few could have predicted that Hasbro would begin to utilise the Shadows of the Empire project for new figures come 2025. The first of these was Prince Xizor, number one in what many hope to be a longer run of SOTE Galaxy Collection figures. Xizor comes in the standard packaging, part of a three figure ‘Fan Channel’ wave for Spring 2025 alongside Commander Baccara and the Commando Droid. Xizor is of course the number 01 figure in this new collection, with a purple theme colour assigned to the collection and in keeping with Xizor’s own robes. The box art utilises this colour pallet and will eventually connect to future figures in a wider montage.
The rear of the box carries a repeated image of the Xizor illustration and a short background paragraph for those not overly familiar with his role in the wider Star Wars Universe. Inside the box, the backing card utilises the same accented colour of purple inlaid with an illustration of what we can assume is Xizor’s Black Sun base of operations.
The figure is entirely new and features Xizor as we see him through much of the SOTE content in his ornate princely robes. These start with a simple pair of legs which are similar to Farmboy Luke but definitely not the same. These are purple in colour with wrapped legs and shoes in a lighter beige colour. Over this are the robes, applied as an upper torso ‘jacket’ and down into a softer plastic skirt piece. These robes are textured and in a grey base colour, but are then overlaid with ornate trims in bright gold and wit a central black belt with a golden, intricately sculpted buckle.
The shoulders are covered with a larger shoulder mantle that features another purple hue and is also trimmed in gold. From this, the arms return to the same lighter purple as the inner robes with gold bicep adornment, from which sit a pair of soft goods ‘sleeves’ that flow out from the main arm to give a further flourish to the outfit. The body is finished with more gold jewellery through sculpted bracelets and out onto Xizor’s green-skinned reptillian hands with sharp fingernails, each picked out in a darker brown colour.
Like characters from The Clone Wars and Rebels, Prince Xizor’s source material is animated - through the SOTE video game and a later cameo within The Clone Wars - or drawn through the supporting comic book series. This meant there were a variety of interpretations of Xizor across the various channels, with no live-action appearance or actor on which to base the sculpt. The Hasbro team have therefore interpreted these source images into a likeness and a wider figure with the right proportions and characteristics as though he were from live action - allowing him to mingle with any of the other Star Wars properties without looking out of place.
The headsculpt is quite intense in the way it has been created with its angular bow and head ridges leading down to the red eyes against the deep green of Xizor’s skin. From the back of the head we have two pony tails of jet black hair, each tied off where they start against the otherwise bald skull with more gold jewellery. The back of the neck and down into the exposed spine between the two sides of his shoulder mantle are further examples of the Falleen physiology with a reptilliant segmented spine drawn from the anatomy of modern-day reptiles or prehestoric dinosaurs.
Xizor’s commanding look is further enhanced by his single accessory, a tall golden staff with a circular headpiece adorned with purple flowing ribbons. The centre of the staff also features a purple grip with the section above this a smooth finish, and the section below ridged down till the end pommel which is rounded off. The staff can fit in either of Xizor’s hands, which feature a softer grip, or across booths hands for a more dynamic pose as though he were wielding the staff as a weapon or at least using it to threaten a rival or indeed a member of Black Sun.
Articulation is entirely pinless and there are 18 points of articulation in total, following the more recently established configuration. This includes ankle, knee and hip joints for the legs - with rotation built into the knee. Xizor’s legs are of course restricted by the flowing skirt, but you can utilise the splits at either side for wider stances. The waist is jointed with a ball joint allowing torso movement, and the neck jointed top and bottom with the latter more restricted within the socket of the torso and the top joint providing most of the head movement. The arms come with wrist and elbow joints, and a pair of shoulder joints that also feature butterfly joints where they connect into the torso - this makes Xizor expressive in terms of his range of arm movements, either through gestures or through use of his staff. The clever and restrained use of the soft good ‘sleeves’ means gravity is always in play, and the soft goods sit as they should, flowing vertically downward despite the arm position. Xizor is a joy to pose and stands perfectly secure once positioned.
I do probably have an unconscious bias for Xizor through my love of Shadows of the Empire, but it is clear this is an impressive figure built from the ground-up with no re-used parts, and designed in a way so not to sit in anyway out of place with any other Star Wars Black Series characters or particular era. Xizor’s only current issue is the lack of any contemporarys for display, although we do have at least a couple more incoming and rumours of more in the works.
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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