Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul

Presenting the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul.

Now again before you jump out of your chair to buy one NO THE BLACK SERIES DOES NOT INCLUDE A LIGHT-UP LIGHTSABER - that's Photoshop (because I think it's cool).

Without a doubt, this is the gem of the First Wave of Black Series figures to hit the market. Not that I don't appreciate the Black Series Luke Skywalker. Speaking of Luke Skywalker, you should know that the Black Series Darth Maul is juuuussssttt a tad bit taller than little-old Luke.

Now if you thought that the Star Wars Vintage Darth Maul was the bomb, just wait till you see what the Black Series Darth Maul can do!




On a side note though: I wish that Darth Maul - the original - stayed dead and did not have to come back as a cyborg spider. Yeah it's great that his hatred fueled him that much, but I think he was more bad-ass with real legs jumping around doing acrobatics. His fighting style became... brutal. More power based versus the dance of death that he did in Episode I. Feel free to disagree.

Also when he came back as a cyborg, Darth Maul tended to talk too much. I mean how many lines did he have in the entire Episode I? Now Darth Maul can't seem to shut up.  Maybe he's making up for lost genitalia. I don't really know.

Anyway, the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul's blister pack reads a simple "The Evil Sith Apprentice Darth Maul engages in a fierce lightsaber duel with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. 'At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge.'"

Darth Maul comes with everything you see here: A dual-bladed Lightsaber whose ends can be detached and whose shaft can be split in two; a monocular, and; a spare head attached to Darth Maul's robes. When not in use, you can use the spare head/robes as a spare Harry Potter Death Eater.

What's to like about the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul?

Well normally I would just say it's Darth Maul. What's there not to love? He's bad-ass to the core! It really is a contest as to who would scare people the most if they showed up at your door: Darth Vader or Darth Maul?

Vader is such an icon of fear and terror that's it's practically ingrained in our heads to fear him. But Darth Maul? Holy crap who didn't tense up when Darth maul made an entrance in the Naboo Hangar bay? And who didn't say "Oh crap!" when he lit his second light-saber blade?

The only scene in that trilogy in my opinion to beat that was Yoda drawing his lightsaber.

Anyway, the articulation of the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul is excellent! The only advantage that the Vintage Darth Maul has over the Black Series Darth Maul is the Vintage's ability to do a split.

And the Black Series Darth Maul is capable of some really classic Darth Mauil poses:

And the detailing of his head is simply exquisite - you can see the hatred seething from behind his yellow eyes:

The Star Wars Black Series Darth Maull can interchange his head with one that includes his Sith Robes. It's actually one of the best set of robes I've seen on a Star Wars action figure and it's hella better than the one from that the Vintage Darth Maul has.

The Black Series Darth Maul's lightsaber can be attached to his belt and he can actually look through his monocular.

And yes, the Black Series Darth Maul can actually kneel. Here you can see the extent of how far apart you can spread his legs:

Now cutting apart Darth Maul's lightsaber actually makes him even cooler:

What's NOT to like about the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul?

As much as I love the Black Series Darth Maul, there are a few problems. Again most of it has to do with his Sith robes. When the Sith Robes are on, more often than not you find yourself having to reattach his head as it keeps popping off. He can barely... come to think of it, he CANNOT turn his head. And his articulation is hampered by the actual robe.

Take a gander at the image to your left and note how the Sith Robe - and therefore his head as well - start to rise when you move his arms up.

So no, while the robes are on he cannot look through his monocular, nor can he - awww - cross his arms like he does in Episode I. What you see here is the extent of his articulation while the Black Series Darth Maul has his Sith Robes on:

Another problem is how soft the Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul's lightsaber is. It was actually a challenge to keep his lightsaber straight while shooting him:

But other than that? The Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul is soooo cool!

This particular Star Wars Black Series Darth Maul was purchased in Hongkong for HK$ 200 (Roughly US$ 25.79 or PhP 1,124.76)