Star Wars The Black Series Bossk and Dengar review

Two Empire Strikes Back dudes in the form of Bossk and Dengar don't exactly get the most amount of screen time compared to some secondary characters like Boba Fett, yet much like with a lot of background characters in the original and prequel trilogies, they still stick into our memories for how creative the designs were combined with them being part of a specific group or faction that made them recognizable in some regard. Much like how we would recognize Kit Fisto and his iconic smile, despite him not saying a line in Attack of the Clones, we would tell who Bossk is despite him only standing around in the Star Destroyer while getting orders from Darth Vader. I always thought Bossk was such a badass in terms of design, while many people would probably think Dengar looked less impressive (hell, we got Robot Chicken slandering him by using toilet humor gags of some kind). Will my opinions on the characters be the same for their action figures? Let's find out!

Here we have Dengar in-hand, wearing a mix between very dark brown armor plating over his white basic jumpsuit. Not essentially ideal for stealth, but maybe he would have been able to fit in any 70s aesthetic. The sculptwork for his outfit is decent, with a bit of color break up via the gunmetal on the torso or gray from the belt. I do like the backpack attached onto him, especially with the extra paint apps used to make it feel more complete than it otherwise would be. Some of the straps could use a better shade of gray than the cheapy color used from the PVC but otherwise this works fine.

The head sculpt is mostly good, with the fabrics being wrinkly and bunched up while covering most of his face, but there isn't a wash to make them dirty. He does have a scar across his face, though. His articulation consists of a ball joint at the neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotation at the elbows, single jointed elbows, wrist rotation as well as a up/downward hinge for the right hand and an in/outward hinge for the left hand. There is a diaphragm joint, ball jointed hips, thigh rotation, double jointed knees, and ankle pivots as well as hinges. He can be posed holding his long yet thin rifle pretty decently.

He can have the backpack removed without issue, though unlike the somewhat unsightly but still okay circular ports we usually see in old Marvel Legends, the asymmetrical shape of this port will look weird without a bit of a gap filler that import companies would normally provide. He also has an optional pistol for anyone not interested in leaving him with his long range rifle.

As for Bossk, this figure is in a different kind of jumpsuit, one almost similar to what the Rebels wear in their X-Wings or anything comparable (albeit in yellow instead of orange). The chest piece on him is different this time around, and he lacks any gloves and boots to further showcase his alien appearance. I love the scales that are on his exposed skin, and while the jumpsuit isn't painted to simulate his dirty, gritty appearance, he at least has been given some paint to showcase his scaly textures on the lower limbs as much as on the face. That being said, the straps do get in the way of the legs somewhat, but I appreciate that the tube that goes around him from the right side of his stomach to the back is painted in different colors.

His head is easily the best part of the figure, from the paint applied onto the scales to the reptilian eyes and even the articulated jaw. I always like it when action figures have that feature added. His articulation is almost the same as Dengar's, but the elbows and diaphragm somehow have worse range overall. The former barely reaches 90 degrees while the latter can't even budge that much. He can hold his rifle somewhat okay, but only with the left hand.

Overall, Bossk and Dengar are the kind of characters I would recommend if you want to complete your ESB cast. The latter was actually pretty decent (especially from paying $6 for him at Ross), while the former is disappointing since his articulation sucks ass. I know Black Series poseability is everywhere, but this is embarrassing considering it's a 2015 release. But now that they're with Boba Fett, I guess I should get 4-LOM, Zuckuss, and IG-88 at some point. Here's hoping they're even better than Dengar!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Dengar)

⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Bossk)