Thursday, March 6, 2025

Star Wars The Black Series Ki-Adi Mundi and Darth Sidious review

These two wrinkly, old guys have one big thing in common beyond force sensitivity and lightsabers: memeable quotes. Ki-Adi-Mundi has "Your thoughts dwell on your mother?" as well as "What about the droid attack on the Wookies?". As for Palpatine, he's probably got too many to list in the Prequel Trilogy, and they range from "We will be watching your career with great interest" to "I love democracy" and just about everything he says in Revenge of the Sith. Henceforth Darth Senate >>>>>> Ki-Adi-Mundi. Let's review them both!


Here we have Ki-Adi-Mundi in-hand, and we have a generally new sculpt to represent this peanut-head Jedi.  The arms and legs could probably be reused from another character, but they look to be new for this character. The torso is certainly unique with the design Mundi's Jedi tunic is made in, with how the brown vest-like pattern stands out for the shoulder region's more pointed traits almost like actual shoulder pads in addition to the red belt with a pouch of sorts for the Jedi Master to carry certain items. The way the length of the arms combined with the size of the hands could make them appear oversized somewhat, though.


The head sculpt, though soft in terms of etched details, does at least look like the actor and practical make-up utilized in the movie, especially with them making sure what little hair he has isn't forgotten. A wash would be nice, though. His articulation consists of a double ball neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, swivel above the elbow, elbow bend over 90 degrees, wrist rotation, inward wrist hinges, a diaphragm joint, ball jointed hips, rotation above the knees, 90 degree knee bends, and ankles that hinge as well as pivot. He has his lightsaber, uniquely sculpted and with a translucent blade with a fragile peg like always so I won't use it too much.


I have no other photos to showcase but with Commander Bacara coming soon, this would be the perfect gag to showcase. Order 66 can't happen any sooner, Penishead!


Up next, we have the Senate himself. The figure is almost entirely covered up in cloth as with prior versions of the character. While I would like to see some new sculptwork to make the fabrics more dynamic and without making him too baggy, Hasbro at least went a step above in not just making the robes and cloak a burgundy like in the movie, but to also make the patterns distinct this time around from the typical offerings they've made before. On a side note, I always loved this version of Sidious the most for how much it contrasts the predominantly black clothing of the Sith, from Maul to Dooku and even Anakin in either fallen Jedi or pure Vader forms. The hood being a solid piece does make me wonder how Hasbro could pull off that off with the rest of his clothes, especially if it could compromise articulation.


His head sculpt is a reminder that the attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but he can assure you his resolve has never been stronger. Articulation is otherwise the same as Ki-Adi-Mundi, even if the head is somewhat limited by the hood. The red lightsaber, even if it's handle isn't as gold as I remember it, completes this character somehow. I know some crusty OT purists will be like "he never should use a lightsaber Lucas bad reeeee", but they can suck my dick.


He also has alternate lightsaber hands, perfect for zapping Windu and Yoda in battle. These are always something I wanted to have for a Black Series Palpatine, and it's great to have those hands without having to buy another Sidious from ROTJ (here is a comparison with an old pic btw), and I'll stick with what I got after seeing yet another ROTJ Palpatine come without stitching for his hood. Honestly, the ROTS version of Sidious is the best version of the character Hasbro has made. Between the unique robe color scheme, lightsaber, and alternate hands, this feels like a breath of fresh air after seeing Hasbro reuse the ROTJ version constantly. Makes me want a regular Sheev Palpatine. Until then, get this figure if you haven't. Do not hesitate, show no mercy.


Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Ki-Adi-Mundi)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Darth Sidious)

No comments:

Post a Comment