Monday, November 21, 2011

STAR WARS: Darth Nihl (Legacy series)

Presenting Darth Nihl of the One Sith Empire from the STAR WARS Legacy Series. Darth Nihl is a member of the Nagai race - a race of near-humans with pale white-skin and sharp features (often thought to be walking dead-humans) - also known as "Knives". They come from the planet Nagi from the Firefist Universe - one of the closest universes to the main STAR WARS universe that is still currently classified as "Unexplored" though the Nagai have actually tried several invasions and member of the Nagai have long traveled the STAR WARS universe, some of whom actually became Jedi.

Darth Nihl chose a different path obviously.

Darth Nihl was recruited by Darth Krayt for his One Sith Empire, initially serving as a "Fist"or warlord. Eventually however - given the more... "expansive" yet heretical view of how the Sith should be organized by Darth Krayt, Darth Nihl was eventually promoted to the rank of "Hand" (A position he would have to begrudgingly share with Darth Talon.) Upon becoming Darth Krayt's hand, Darth Nihl would lead an attack on the Jedi Praxeum on the planet of Ossus where he would find himself in battle against, among others, Jedi Master Wolf Sazen who would severely wound him (At the cost of an arm). Before his battle with the Wolf though, Darth Nihl was able to kill Kol Skywalker, ancestor of Luke Skywalker and father of Cade Skywalker - who was presumed dead after the destruction of the temple and who would later resurface as a bounty hunter.




Darth Nihl comes in a Comic Pack that includes Deliah Blue - the Zeltron love interest of Cade Skywalker and chief mechanic of the Mynock. I'm not really sure why the two were paired and I'm pretty sure the two have never gone toe-to-toe against each other.  The package's blister card reads "A powerful Sith Warrior and a savvy ship's mechanic are caught up in the attack on Princess Marasiah Fel. Darth Nihl battles Cade Skywalker, the son of a Jedi that Nihl killed in the Massacre at Ossus. Deliah Blue repairs the Mynock so that its crew, the Jedi and the gravely wounded princess can flee the attacking Sith." We'll do a review on Deliah Blue one of these days.


What's to like about Darth Nihl?

Well let's start with him looking like the ghost of a Native American Indian come back from the dead to wreak havoc on the white man. Darth Nihl's visage is downright scary and intimidating and does not even have the consolatory sex appeal that Darth Talon brings to the table. His presence is probably comparable to the contemptuous hatred that oozes from Darth Maul and in the comic books, Darth Nihl's hatred is matched only by his ambition.

Next up is his lighsaber. In a world where Imperial Knights prance around with gauntlets made of lightsaber disrupting Cortosis, even without Force powers, Darth Nihl wouldn't really care. Why? Well he's walking around with a Norse hammer that is presumably made of Yorik Coral making it highly resistant to even lightsaber blades.

Darth Nihl doesn't need to ignite his lightsaber - which, by the way, neatly clips to the back of his chest-piece and has a blade that can be removed (Unlike Darth Krayt's lightsabers). He can bash people all-day with it instead. It's a simple unique improvement which I believe is on-par with the creation of a double-bladed lightsaber.

But he does get scarier when he lights it - unfortunately his lightsaber is really long making it really hard to pose him.,


What's NOT to like about Darth Nihl?

I feel that Hasbro put a lot of effort into the detailing of Darth Nihl. Everything from the skirt tassels to the jagged shoulder pauldrons, to the arm vambraces to his chestpiece and lightsaber to his tattoos. Darth Nihl is a wonderful display pirce and he stands out in any collection. However this detail came with a cost in terms of his flexibility. Darth Nihl is an energetic fighter, not a straightforward brawler, but a acrobatic dancer of a fighter much like Darth Maul was and unfortunately what you see above is probably the extent of his pose-ability. 
Other than that, Darth Nihl is a wonderful piece to have, especially if you're a fan of the STAR WARS Legacy universe. This particular set was purchased in the Greenhills black market for PhP 1,000 and is available on Amazon for US$ 17.99 (Roughly PhP 750 plus shipping). 

More and more of these STAR WARS Legacy characters are entering the market. I am definitely looking forward to the day Hasbro completes this series:

(Photo courtesy of http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/2/28/Legacy_characters.jpg)


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