Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma

Presenting Captain Phasma from the Star Wars Black Series 6" Action Figure series.

When King Leonidas told Xerxes that clearly he should have marched his women to the Hot Gates instead of his men, Leonidas had Gwendoline Christie in mind. 

To the uninitiated Ms Christie brought our second favorite Game of Thrones knight (After Bronn who we believe will win the Iron Throne win the end), Brienne of Tarth, to life. In December she'll march out into the silver screen clad again in armor as Captain Phasma, the Commander of the Stormtrooper Legions of the Imperial Remnant known as the First Order, in Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

If we discount the existence of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, then Captain Phasma is the first solid example of a politically powerful female in what used to be a male-dominated Imperial army. 

In fact, save for the female Jedi who commanded in the Republic Army prior to Order 66, there is still no movie or animated evidence of a female in command within the Empire - that we know of, and again discounting the now non-canon Expanded Universe (Sniff Sniff Mara Jade and Ysane Isard). 

Unless Captain Phasma is revealed to be Mandalorian. 

The Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma's blister card reads: "Clad in distinctive metallic armor, Captain Phasma commands the First Order's legions of troopers." That's about it. 

We understand that Captain Phasma has become something of a chase figure that is rarer than Kylo Ren. There's also a bit of controversy about her thanks to her costume being available in the boy's section of clothing, when Captain Phasma is a girl.

WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THE STAR WARS BLACK SERIES CAPTAIN PHASMA?

Yup. Despite her being "rare", we're starting out of the gate with what we don't like about her.

FIRST: Her armor. Captain Phasma in the 2nd trailer of Star Wars Episode VII, portrayed her wearing what appeared to be black First Order Storm Trooper armor. Rewatching the video after we got this figure made us realize that she wasn't dressed in black armor, Captain Phasma was wearing chrome armor which was reflecting the environment around her which was why it appeared black.

So honestly, that's our first gripe about Captain Phasma: We'd like to give her a chrome bath. There's a DIE-CAST METAL 7 1/2" version of Captain Phasma that's being sold for US$ 24.99 (In Disney Stores. Roughly PhP 1,174.53) being sold for US$ 99.99 in Amazon (Roughly PhP 4,700 plus shipping) and even THAT's not chromed. We get that StormTrooper armor in the past doesn't appear metallic, but when we watch that movie, we'll feel the need for some Cylon.

SECOND: Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma's rifle: It's all sorts of bent out of shape. Sadly we can compare it to the Black Series StormTrooper's gear which is made of sturdier plastic.

Our Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma's Blastech also bends along the barrel to the left.

So the next generation Blastech no longer has a folding stock - so  maybe they'll shoot straighter. There is what appears to be a small barrel undeneath the main barrel. This could be a laser pointer or a micro-grenade launcher. Or nothing other than a grip. We'll have to wait for the movie to find out.

That scope won't help Captain Phasma hit anything.

THIRD: Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma's poor articulation in comparison to the Black Series StormTrooper. We believe the term "clunky" can be applied to Captain Phasma. She does not have the wrist articulation of the Black Series StormTrooper - her wrist articulation seems more appropriate for someone who was holding a sword rather than a rifle - so try as you may, Captain Phasma cannot bring her Blastech's stock into her shoulder.

Now the Black Series Captain Phasma can be FORCED to kneel. The sturdiness of her cape is the only thing that keeps her up. The problem is that Disney decided to give her an extremely hard ammunition belt which again we have to compare to the soft plastic of the Black Series StormTrooper that allows the StormTrooper to spread his legs and kneel without a problem.

WHAT'S TO LIKE ABOUT THE STAR WARS BLACK SERIES CAPTAIN PHASMA?

FIRST: The detailing. We love how her helmet's viewports can catch the light or appear matt black. We also love the rank insignia carved into her chest: Six pips. Six clear pips, makes Captain Phasma a Captain of the Line in the Imperial Navy versus a regular Captain. We love how the jowls look sharp enough to cut.

We like how the Black Series Captain Phasma can clip her rifle to the side of her right thigh. She no longer needs a holster.

And don't forget to see the detailing that went into Captain Phasma's cape. You can see pockets and where the cape can be folded or furled.

SECOND: Well we're fans of Gwendoline Christie, so it's nice to have an action figure of her.

This particular Star Wars Black Series Captain Phasma was taken as a part of a barter agreement, but retails locally (good luck, she's somewhat of a chase figure here in the Philippines) for PhP 1,499.75 (Roughly US$ 32). She is NOT available as of this time on Amazon. Word has it that she is a part of Series 2 of the Episode VII Star Wars Black Series and should not have been released.