Presenting General Grievous from the Star Wars Vintage Edition Series.We have to admit that we really didn't want to get this guy having been seriously disappointed with past General Grievous Action figures from other Star Wars series that.... just didn't give him justice or capture how deadly General Grievous is - especially as depicted in Star Wars Episode III.
So we held off from buying General Grievous when he was on the stands. We didn't bother giving him a second glance. That is until a particularly horrid day at work found us looking at him on sale on the toystands - the very last one available.
And we took him home.
Easily one of the best buys the Dungeon ever made.
Because it's a Star Wars Vintage Edition figure, there's nothing much on the blister card. However we have a unique opportunity to correct the legion of... less informed movie goers who snickered because George Lucas made a "robot" that had a cough.General Grievous is not a robot.
He's a cyborg.
Born Qymaen jai Sheelal of the reptilian race known as the Kaleesh, the man who became General Grievous was an almost god-like sniper in the war between the Kaleesh and the Huk (A sentient insect species who look like Praying Mantises).
Like any hero, he met a girl, fell in love. The girl was Ronderu lij Kummar, a sword master. When she was killed by the Huk, it broke Qymaen Jai Sheelal and he went on a rampage all the way to the Huk's insectoid throneworld. On the verge of extinction, the Huk engaged with corrupt negotiations with the The Galactic Republic, and the Galactic Republic led by the Jedi beat Qymaen Jai Sheelal's forces all the way back to Kalee - which explains his mad-on for Jedi.
He became an enforcer for the Intergalactic Banking Clan till the Huk resumed their aggression against Kalee. On the way back to his homeworld the Banking Clan bombed his shuttle, rebuilt him as a cyborg and gave him to Count Dooku as a new secret weapon. Under Dooku's tutelage, the freshly coined General Grievous would grow to become the head of the Separatist Army and a reknown lightsaber collector.
What's to like about the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous?The First thing we love about the Vintage Edition General Grievous is the equipment that he has. General Grievous comes with a two lightsabers (lit), two lightsabers (unlit), a DT-57 heavy blaster pistol, and a removable cloak that still identifies him as a Kaleesh General on the back (Who would have thought that General Grievous was nostalgic?).
We have to note that previous incarnations of General Grievous gave him a white cloak with a red interior. The Vintage Edition General Grievous has the correct dark-gray color.
It also has a pair of pockets in the interior of the cloak. The Cloak adds sooo much drama to General Grievous and - even if it is shorter than the movie version - you can imagine him monologuing in front of the other Separatist leaders, and you can store his sabers and blaster inside with no ill-effects.
The second thing we love about the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous is the wonderful articulation which makes him quite menacing:
General Grievous can also use his blaster - not that that's important.
The third greatest thing about the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous is the expressiveness of his face. There's a touch of anger, dumbfoundedness, and even suspicion depending upon where you look at his eyes.
The Fourth and Greatest thing about the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous cannot be explained with words alone. Instead we'll show you. The Vintage Edition General Grievous can do this:
Well the lightsabers don't light up, that's photoshop, but the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous is movie accurate with very little to no loss to his upper body articulation! And he becomes a joy to pose after:
And General Grievous can kneel:
He's totally bad-ass especially when you start giving him other weapons:
As a bonus, Hasbro actually allowed for the removal of General Grievous' chest plates which reveals his organic origins - lungs.
Gross.
There are only TWO things we don't like about the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous.
First off is that they didn't bother to give him four lit-lightsabers, or four un-lit lightsabers, only two lit and two un-lit. If you want to recreate his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, you will have to do what I did, salvage unused lightsabers.
The second thing is that while they made advancements with his upper body, they more or less ignored his lower body. General Grievous's legs are so soft he can barely stand. He needs a more sturdy base.
Other than that, the Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous is one of the best Star Wars Action figures in the Dungeon. Hands down. A must have.
The Star Wars Vintage Edition General Grievous is available on Amazon for US$ 54.95 (Roughly US$ 2,472.75 plus shipping). This particular General Grievous was picked from Toys R'Us Robinson's Galleria here in Manila, Philippines for PhP 400 (Roughly US$ 8.88).
Gotta love the coughing robot.
The only thing that pisses me off about this figure is the gummy Legs.
ReplyDeleteAnd he needs holes in his feet for stand use.
Glad I picked him up back in the day (along with 2 Body Guards) his cape is seriously nice.