A special thanks to Yakface and Rebelscum for posting their archives which helped assist with these reviews.  

The purpose of the "Many Faces of..." series is actually multi-fold (yes I realize that is not a word).  First, it is a review of many of the versions of characters over the years.  Second, and somewhat more importantly, it is housecleaning for me.  A chance to look over my collection and evaluate why certain figures are within it.  Lastly, there is somewhat a catharsis here.  Some of these figures are not going to be in my collection after I write this up.  I am evaluating why I purchased them, why I kept them, and why I now don't want them or want them.  I am re-evaluating my action figures because, well it's time to do it. 

With some of these write ups I have switched out the accessories, especially with figures like Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes (The first two in the series).  So if you see some accessories on the wrong figure that is why.  It is a bad habit of mine, especially with figures that have had very cool accessories but are less than what they could be.  Also I am not at all planning to touch on figures I have already reviewed.  For those use the quick links section of the review section.   In some ways I wish I had done this last year with my first "purge" of action figures.   I could have really covered a great deal of ground and been more comprehensive.

Also this series is purposefully made that I can add to it later.  So if you ever come back and re-read them and they are additions, that is why. 

A last note, I said some of these figures are leaving, but by the time I post this they are most likely going to be gone, so do not take this as a trade or for sale post.

Before I begin I do feel it is important to point out that although I added some versions of Anakin to this I still hold the Prequels in some mild form of contempt.  Basically I view them as elaborate fan-fiction and rather than get into a full blown debate on the merits of the films let me refer you to Plunket's Reviews which hit on the major level of points I would be hitting on anyway.  Plus they are fun videos. 

Of all the characters I have ever liked, none make me ponder about what makes a character like Darth Vader.  At first he was just a bad arse guy in a suit of some sort, then suddenly he was our hero's father who had fallen from grace and then ultimately he was the evil villain who gained redemption.  I read once that "Vader" actually means father (I think in Hungarian, but I am not positive on that) which brings a funny level of foreshadowing to the character even before Empire Strikes Back.  

I have said a million times that Vader is the first character that made me feel anything real towards a character.  In the infamous "I am your Father" scene I was furious, not because I thought Vader was lying, but because I was mad that he could act that way to his son.  By the end of Jedi my mood had changed and I actually felt a bit sorry for Vader as he died.  A huge part of Vader is how underplayed he is, leaving several scenes open to interpretation.  For example, after the capture of Luke on Endor Vader stairs out into the forest.  There are a multitude of emotions going through, regret, frustration, fear, worry, ect, ect.  Still it is so well underplayed that the scene is able to resonate even now. 

The other side of the coin is Anakin Skywalker, whom I think was handled very, very badly in the prequels.  Many like to blame Hayden Christianson, but I tend to lean to the idea proposed by Plunket, he was handed total crap that nobody could have made great.  In that vein I offer anyone who doubts Hayden's acting to watch the film "Shattered Glass" in which Hayden plays a character who is semi-likeable and you discover he is a underhanded liar who makes up facts as he goes.  It is a similar storyline to Darth Vader (except by all accounts, the character in Shattered Glass was always an ass) but at the same time was something different.  Hayden does a great job in the role and is very convincing.  He also doesn't have to deal with a fake accent (not sure where that came from as Vader never really had one). 

Still with that contrast I am willing to keep Hayden's vestige as Anakin at a younger age.   But because I am not really happy with how Lucas handled him, I tend to ignore many of the figures which is why I have so very few of Anakin.  Still a couple have compelled me for various reasons.

Back to Vader, I never considered Anakin as being Darth Vader until he donned the suit.  To me, a greater scene would have been to have Obi-Wan and Anakin's duel earlier and Vader killing off the Jedi.  That was actually the way I had always imagined it in fact.  Hence I tend to avoid those Anakin figures that say "Darth Vader" on the box, to me that isn't him.

As I said, Vader really makes me think about what makes a character.  In his early appearances he became a huge character in my life, more so than many of my other favorites like Iron Man, Indiana Jones, ect.  He is a character I felt strongly about from early on. 

So enough about the Dark Lord of the Sith, on to the figures.  First I will touch on the very few Anakin Skywalkers I own and then move on to the big guy himself.  Technically they are the same character so no biggie.  Also there are a couple of things I want to mention about Anakin himself. 

This is probably my favorite figure of Anakin on the basis of looks.  My major knock on the figure is the lack of knee articulation.  While it has been fixed in battle packs and deluxe packs, at the time I just wanted a figure to have the Clone Wars TV show so I settled on the single pack as the Battle Packs and Deluxe Packs held very little appeal to me. 

What I really enjoy about this figure is the hints of Vader like the shoulder pads but also the figure looks like an individual, it would have been easy to have gone too far with the Vader accents and ruin the figure.  But they didn't and instead you get a figure that is reminiscent of the characters future while being it's own character.  Would have been nice if the folks doing costumes for the Prequels had done that.

I think this really is one of the better Anakin figures ever put out, at least mold wise.  I think it is a shame that Hasbro couldn't get it right the first time.  With the Star Wars figures having already made a quantum leap in articulation by the time Clone Wars hit, the fact that Hasbro chose to step back for a moment rather than forwards says a great deal.  Sure the "corrected" articulation was available in a battle pack, but $20 for a $6 figure is not a bargain.  Even now with corrected articulation and new mold the fact Hasbro chose to release an inferior figure at the point they had made such strides shows how Hasbro is a bit clueless when it comes to their core audiences. 

Still I am not getting rid of it, I like that mold and resent the idea of upgrading literally weeks after it was released.  He is more of a display piece to begin with anyway, I mean I really don't use Anakin that much.

I find this to be one of the more interesting Anakin figures, not at all because I like Hayden Christianson being added to the end of Return of the Jedi but because this figure manages to have translucent while keeping details and color.  The effect isn't 100% effective but I think it is more effective than it was with the Obi-Wan Spirit figure that had been done previously.  Also this figure has great articulation which makes it pretty cool to have. 

For the most part this figure gets shunned by the "original" spirits of the Jedi (from he POTF Cinema Scenes).  Although it is fun to have the old guys poke at the young guy from time to time.   Still I do dig this figure and he has his uses in that respect so I keep him around, after all my comic is a comedy so anyway I can poke a joke with a figure gets added in. 

This is probably one of my favorite figures featuring Hayden's likeness.  I really wish this concept idea had been applied to the film.  This would have been a great transition from Anakin to Vader.  He has the leather, the cape and basic Vader elements while still clearly being Anakin.  Not sure why nothing of Anakin's costume changed when he turned to the Dark Side, but it didn't.  However, I really felt that visually something needed to happen to cement Anakin had become something else.  Then again the prequels fail on so many levels already that this becomes just another lost fail point in a large group of fail points. 

Again this becomes a display piece just out of the nature of the figure.  He is really unusable to me any other way but I do love the way he looks and would have liked to have seen him on film this way. 

Next up, another Clone Wars version, but this time from the original cartoon.

This figure is based off of Anakin's appearance in the second Clone Wars series.  He is done in a more realistic style which is cool with me as one of the few issues I had with that series was the odd looks to it.  The figure is from the sequence in which Anakin goes to Nelvaan and saw visions of his possible future.  He got tattoos shortly afterward but nowhere has it been revealed to my knowledge of why the tattoos appear to have gone by the time Episode III begins. 

This is also a figure I point to when many start saying the new Vintage line has just started getting articulation right for Star Wars figures.  This figure came out in 2007 and is pretty close to full articulation that the Star Wars figures have had for a while.  All that is really missing is wrists and ankle articulation.

This is a figure that was unexpected when it came out in the 30th anniversary collection in the Expanded Universe wave but it is also kind of unique in that can be considered a "core" character but has a unique look to him.  That and he comes from one of those very rare moments in which Anakin was not a whiney spoiled young man and had some other and more in-depth character to him. 

Next up is a set of figures that I think it is a crime that have never been updated...

Let's face it, the POTF figs were not the best in the world.  They had max 5 points of articulation and in the case of the Spirit Anakin, those don't even work.  Still the shock of my collecting life is that these two have never been updated into modern figures.  Yes I know Lucas re-edited the end of ROTJ to have Hayden Christianson at the end.  But even if you like that ending, there was another man in that spot for well over two decades.  He signed on to do that part and was actually there until the films were redone.  Personally I feel like a huge gap is in my collection without both of these figures having not been updated.

And that is why they stay, I will be very straight about the fact I think these figures are not up to par with modern figures and even at the time I wasn't too enamored by the POTF line.  It really wasn't until Hasbro figured out articulation helped the figures out (around Episode III) that I really heavily collected Star Wars again.  Although I did get some of the updates with POTF, I never felt they were where I wanted Star Wars figures to be.  Now I patiently wait for these Anakin's to be updated to make my collection feel more complete, will it happen?  Hasbro (or Lucasfilm) seem very resistant to the idea, but we got Willrow Hood, so you never know. 

OK enough of the appetizer, now on to the main course, Vader himself beginning with the oldest of the set, Vintage Vader...

It is figures like this that make these reviews difficult.  It is very hard to rate a figure made in 1978 by today's standards so what I try to do is go back and think about how I felt about the figure way back when.  I do think this is probably the best figure ever done in Kenner's run of the Star Wars line.  He is one of the few figures that look very close to his appearance in the movie.  The head sculpt is nearly spot on (but a bit flat) and the details in the shoulder pads and devices in the chest are pretty well done.  Granted the articulation is less than what would be remotely acceptable today, back then it was what we got and really good articulation wouldn't reach the United States for a few years (with lines like Micronaughts, and small lines like Black Hole, Chips, Dukes of Hazzard who all set the stage for the O-Ring Style of GI Joe). 

This figure is probably one of my favorites as a kid, and still is in many ways.  This is still my Vader I had as a child (but he is the one I bought shortly after ROTJ, the first one I had didn't fair very well.  Remember that in the original run of Star Wars the main characters would get brought forward with new cards if their looks didn't change).   Clearly, this figure isn't going anywhere. 

Moving forward to the over-muscled POTF 2 again.  This time Vader from the Final Jedi Duel.  While the few POTF2 figures I had left my collection years and years ago, this one lingers for one simple reason, on my desk I have this figure, the Luke from that set and Obi-Wan (also one of the POTF2) locked in battle on my vintage Degobah playset.  It is one of the few set ups I tend to keep constant cause I just kind of like it really.  But as a figure this one really falls short of the mark due to almost no articulation and what little articulation he has is pretty useless as he is pre-posed.  Really the only props I can give the figure is mold as it is a vast improvement even though the vintage line's was one of the best molds of that era. 

But the major difference with POTF2 is that there had been figures with decent articulation released at that point in the United States, so having figures that were little more than statues made little sense at all.  In fact it seemed to purposefully rub against the grain a bit.  With Vintage you can kind of forgive a bit since the only other line at that point in 1:18th scale was Adventure People for the U.S. (Micronaughts had not hit the States at that point but were around in Japan).  Point being the Adventure People had the same articulation as early Star Wars.  While SW was there when lines came out with better articulation (the aforementioned Micronaughts) I can see the argument for keeping consistency in the line (more so than now at least).  Hence why, in general, I look less favorably on POTF than I do the original line.

Now moving forward...

Some figures are bought purely for novelty, this is a prime example.  The figure is based on Vader's appearance in the Marvel comic series.  He often had blue highlights which was normal for characters in all black back in the day.  The reasons for the highlights is very clear when you think about it.  The way comics were printed back then it would be easy for a character to be washed out if they were in all black and essentially you would have a shadow or a silhouette.  The blue brought out detail and thus the reader could see the character in question.  With new printing techniques there are much better ways now to bring out details on a character in all black but back then the options were somewhat limited. 

Without the novelty of having that coloration the figure loses a great deal.  The articulation is very limited and really he is little more than a statue.  Still Vader is a character I can justify such a variation of.  I have a great many fond memories of the Star Wars Marvel comic even though I admit details do escape my memory.  If pressed I would have a hard time telling you a great many details like character names, ect.  Still I remember seeing Vader with the highlights and liking it even back then. 

There is another variation that has lighter colors but personally I prefer the darker highlights.  I think it gets the essence of Vader's appearance without making him look too busy.  Again I have this one for novelty's sake, but there are worse reasons to have figures in a collection.

Of course this wasn't the only comic pack to feature Vader...

This figure is an oddity to say the least.  His mask more resembles the concept art with the exception of what appear to be fangs on the mask.   This figure often gets overlooked because of the "white Vader" (featured below) was such a huge departure.   This one is kind of cool though.   He came in the comic pack that also featured Leia as a Jedi Knight taking over for Luke after he dies.  Yes the whole "Infinities" series was odd.   I do really like this Vader overall though.  He has all the essential elements of Vader but has them differently than in the films. 

I am not sure if the differences in the outfit or the fact Vader's face is unscarred is ever explained.  I only flipped through the series and never really looked it over until years after they were published.  Still it makes for an interesting variation on the idea.  I do hate the fact he has no leg articulation and have no idea why Hasbro wouldn't improve the figure with a set of knees that could move. 

This is one of those figures that if you like alternates that have a purpose behind them is a must have to a collection.  He is an interesting discussion piece and a chance to show off nerd cred.  Other than that I would say stay away.  Fun though he may be he is also a slightly inferior figure that many would pass up on. 

This is the Infinities comic pack Vader that gets the most attention.  This figure is representative of the "What if...?" tale in which Vader survives the end of Return of the Jedi and the Emperor escapes.  To be honest it is a messed up story that makes even the most hardcore Star Wars fan say "WTF!!?"  Still there is a novelty level to this figure.  In many ways it is just like the Arctic version of Snake Eyes from the ROC Line (covered in The Many Faces of Snake Eyes Review).  In many ways the figure is funny, often he has been referred to as "KKK Vader."  Anyway you slice it he is a radical departure from the norm, the exact opposite of what one would expect from a Darth Vader figure.  As such he does have a huge level of novelty to him.  

I would say collectors of unusual of "novelty" figures would have to grab this one, he is unique and is likely not to come back very soon, if at all.  He does come with a pretty kick-ass Princess Leia to boot, so there is some incentive to grab this figure.   His one major knock is those sliced/cut arms, this is especially wrong since most of the Vader's at the time had ball joint arms, not sure why the sliced arms was repainted but with such a figure that is likely never to return it would seem any toy company would want to put out their best mold at the time.   

Speaking of novelty, this figure is another one that falls into that category.  Translucent figures have a certain level of fun to them anyway, but when you can actually justify one you have a win-win situation.  Such is the case with Hologram Vader.  However what could have been a really rocking idea was killed by using a POTF2 mold (one of the ones that had that whopping extra point of articulation in the forearm of his Saber hand).  At the point he was released the figures were making HUGE strides in articulation.  While not quite where we are now, there were plenty of other molds that could have been used to give this figure a more dynamic appearance.  Because of this Vader can't even do the signature "hands on hips" pose he did when he was a Hologram in the AT-AT, which is weird when you think about it.  I mean, wouldn't you want to have the figure do a signature pose like that?

Even with that major knock, it is a fun figure to have at least.  He is another one that is great for the novelty figure lovers out there.  

Moving on we get to something very unique, and is some ways a must have....

This is of course the Darth Vader based on the concept art of Ralph McQuarrie, and he is simply an awesome figure.  It should be noted that this figure was actually released before the above Hologram Darth Vader (Thus, bringing to point my remarks about articulation with that figure).

There are noticeable differences with this figure and "normal" Vader figures, for instance he comes with a blaster (and working holster) but it should be kept in mind that Vader evolved quite a bit from his initial drawings.   He does have cut elbows but beyond that his articulation is pretty spot on.  He does come with two heads, not sure why that is but it is something to note.  His cape resembles a more "Batman" look, again Vader evolved quite a bit from his initial appearances.  This figure is a fun one just for the fact he is cool to stand beside of regular Vader and to see how much things change from concept to actual application.  

I also think this figure illustrates a great deal about how things change from ideas to final application (actually all the concept figures do this quite well).  In many ways I think that this is one of the reasons the prequels didn't have as much of a "Star Wars" feel to them.  There were a lot of hands in making Vader from his original concepts and in that I think lies a huge piece of what made Star Wars great.  Lucas himself said that now you think it and then it is made.  Look at the concept of Chewbacca and you realize how Star Wars could have looked (if he were a CGI character as I imagine he would be if Star Wars were made today).  Vader would still be cool I think, he has the least changes from concept to character (but there are noticeable changes) but if you look at the concept figures as a whole you begin to see Star Wars almost looked very different, and I am not sure that Star Wars would have been as appealing if the concepts didn't go through so many interpretations before the final screen looks.  I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me anyway.

Still even a moderate Star Wars fan would (I think) appreciate the concept looks of these characters and Vader is probably the top of the list.  I love it and it is nearly my favorite Vader of the all, but not quite...

It is extremely hard to give this Vader a title because he has been redone so many times.   Evolutions Vader might have been appropriate as that was the first time he appeared (in the Anakin to Vader evolutions pack) but then again he has been repackaged (with minor tweaks here and there) in fact he is the Vader currently out in the vintage line (with some minor tweaks to the helmet, although it is hard to call the figure a new figure despite those tweaks).  It is a good representation of Vader with ball joint elbows (finally) as well as knees.  He has the best articulation of any Vader but does have some knocks on him, most notably his ability to hold his lightsaber.  

Don't get me wrong, he CAN hold it, but often the grip is kind of weak.  I've had a few of these (as they have been repacked in many multi-packs) and often it is dumb luck if you can find one that can hold the saber without dropping it by looking at it.  Also with the way he has his right hand it is impossible for him to hold the saber in that hand.  That is a tough call as it is cool to have a gesturing hand but logic would say that hand be the left.  He also has a hard time holding the saber with two hands.  

Still if you are looking for a pretty good Vader, this is the one, unless you luck out below I think.  

Obviously when Hasbro did the Force Unleashed wave, they wanted some familiarity in the figures, thus a new Vader was needed.  What we got was something really, really cool and something I honestly never realized I wanted.  

If you played the game, you know this figure comes from the end of the game where you must duel with Vader.  As you fight he gets more and more damaged.  This is representative of the fight about half way through, by the end of the grueling battle Vader is looking pretty bad.  This figure is one of those that I have to say I have always wanted but there was no way to justify making him until The Force Unleashed.

A few knocks though, the main one is the "non-damaged" parts look like crap when you apply them.  Then again this fig is intended to be displayed as "damaged" so that isn't a huge deal.  The other knock is the helmet is very hard to fit straight on his face.  It also appears (when the damaged half is removed) that the eyes don't match up, which is very odd to say the least.  Even with the knocks he is ultra awesome and probably the only way to get a battle damaged Vader is through Force Unleashed so thankfully he got damaged there.  His cape is also very damaged with holes and frayed edges, so that is a nice accent to an already cool figure.

Obviously I say grab him if you have a chance.  He was carried over into the Legacy line from the 30th anniversary line so he is relatively easy to still get, but when he was out he sold very fast so you never know.  

But, what I consider the best Darth Vader has, surprisingly had very limited release.

This has all the great elements of the above mentioned "Evolutions" Darth Vader with one HUGE detail different, the hands.  Rather than being in a gesture as the above evolutions one, this Vader has a closed fist that easily grips the hilt of the lightsaber very firmly.  His left hand can hold the saber as well but also has that signature "pinch" as when Vader chocked the Imperial in Star Wars (notice I refused to call it "A New Hope" but is also beside the point).  

His helmet generally sits well but occasionally slips, but the helmet is removable (as one piece, but that is all you need).  He also comes with one of the coolest battle stands ever, a figure stand of Obi-wan's robes right after his defeat in Star Wars.  A nice touch that just accentuates the figure drastically.  

To the best of my knowledge this figure was released only in the 30th anniversary collection.  As I pointed out, this is pretty much the same figure as we have seen over and over but with much better hands.  Why this great figure has not been re-released to death (or at least with those hands) is beyond be, but minus the t-crotch hips he is a perfect Vader IMO.  

It seems like a minor tweak, but honestly the hands brings this figure way ahead in my mind.  I would have to recommend grabbing this figure if at all possible for that reason alone.  Let alone the Obi-Wan figure stand as well.

So that concludes this edition of "The Many faces of..." stay tuned as next time I go through Spider-Man.  Until then, insert you favorite catch-phrase here!