Black Series Padme Amidala

Presenting the Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala as she appeared in the Geonosian Arena in Episode II - right after a Nexu ripped off precisely enough of her clothing to get our motors running :)

Surprisingly there aren't that many Star Wars 3.75" figures of Padme Amidala from the arena. We think that there are about one or two. We have the original that comes with a chain and a miniaturized column that you can chain her to that splits in half. We really didn't like that figure because it was one of those still-posed spring-action figures. Kinda sexy, but severly limited.

So when we saw a Black Series Padme Amidala we just had to get it but it was not being distributed by local retailers. Happily a dear friend took a short trip to Hong-Kong where she found her.


The Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala's blister card reads: "Padme Amidaa is captured during a mission to Geonosis and must fight or her life in the execution arena." Okay first of all, she was not on an official mission, and was only there because Anakin Skywalker did not have the intestinal fortitude to keep Padme from leaving Naboo.

We wonder if the Jedi Council would have sent 212 Jedi to Geonosis had it just been Obi-Wan Kenobi who had been held for execution in the Geonosian arena and not a Republic Senator.

The Black Series Padme Amidala comes with everything you see here: a SoroSuub ELG-3A hold-out blaster that she can holster on her side, and a DT-57 Heavy Blaster that she took from a Droid in the arena.

What's to like about the Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala?

Well sadly we're not in love with the way she looks unfortunately - though we'll discuss that later. We do believe that the figure bears closer semblance to Maisie Williams (Arya Stark).

What we do really love about the Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala is the detailing. Hasbro has really gone out of its way to add texture to the clothing of its characters from the Vintage series. We saw this with the leather texture of Mara Jade's jumpsuit, and we see it again here with Padme Amidaa.

Check out those tiny creases in her pants, around her armpits and around her breasts. Note how the tear of her suit hovers above her skin just like a loose garment.

And those abs! But the best part is actually the slash marks on her back. Those are actual grooves - and probably signs that Padme Amidala should have bled to death (So little blood? Even if it was a flesh wound, she must heal quite fast).

Articulation is average, a lot like  Mara Jade's which therefore means she cannot do the splits or anything like that, and possesses the ability to twist at the upper torso instead of at the waist, so her cute dimple of a belly button will always face forward:

Padme Amidala can dual wield both her hold-out pistol and heavy blaster, and has limited kneeling abilities thanks to the lack of the dual-jointed knee system:

What's NOT to like about the Star Wars Black Series Padme Amidala?

As mentioned, we're not a fan of how she looks more like Arya Stark than Senator Padme Amidala - have a felling someone will eventually figure this out and use it for a custom Arya.

But then we suppose detailing at this size has always been difficult - easier with the men for some reason - probably due to their rougher features versus the delicate features of the female Star Wars characters.

Another big bummer really which seems to be common-stance with the Black Series is the limited hip movement and the lack of a double joint knee system that would allow them to kneel.

Last problem is her weapons. They're really soft, easy to distort and she has difficulty holding them in either hand.

Other than that, a very, very, very, VERY big improvement to the original AOTC Padme Amidala released in 2002.

As Padme was a gift, we don't know how much she was acquired for, but she is available on Amazon for US$ 18.99 (Roughly PhP 854.55 plus shipping)

Now where did we put our Nexu?