The Good: Great sculpt, Wonderful costume detailing, Decent paint details, Accurate articulation
The Bad: Light on articulation, Paint smudges
The Basics: Standing regal and tall, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine does little outside standing firm for the Dark Side as an Attack Of The Clones figure.
The Star Wars Prequel action figures can be a real tough sell for those who actually like toys that are, for lack of a better term, fun. The reason for this is quite simple; amid the fantastic lightsaber battles and space wars, the films are preoccupied with politics and interpersonal relationships. While this could make for better overall films (thought he dialogue is pretty terrible in many cases and does not), it makes for less interesting overall action figures. So, while the Episode 1 action figures had an inaction Senator Palpatine (reviewed here!), Attack Of The Clones had a pretty inarticulate, dull Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
The Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is Palpatine as he appeared in the political scenes in Attack Of The Clones (reviewed here!) set on Coruscant. He is sculpted to interlace his fingers and basically, his sole function is to stand looking regal in his robes. Even so, this is a decent sculpt with good detailing and one of the better Palpatines fans can collect. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is one of the essential Star Wars characters and this one is cool, even if it is one of the less exciting ones to play with.
This 4" Supreme Chancellor Palpatine figure is generally decent, but it is very much appropriate only for Attack Of The Clones. The robes are distinct to this Palpatine - he has a different colorscheme by the next film - and the facial detailing makes Palpatine looks pretty aged.
Basics
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in this form is a black and gold robed, calm-looking politician from any of the few scenes he was in in Attack Of The Clones. He stands flatfooted with stiff robes and a fingers molded open so the hands may interlace. He has a calm-looking visage that is carved with extraordinary detailing, including a strong, fine nose.
The Supreme Chancellor Palpatine figure stands only 3 3/4" tall, reminding toy enthusiasts and children that you don't need to be all that tall to take over the galaxy if you've got the Dark Side Of The Force working for you! Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is appropriately coifed in robes and boots with a benevolent grandfather appearance to him. This figure is made almost exclusively of hard plastic, save the fingers and descending arms of the robes, which are of a softer plastic.
This toy is a decent sculpt, capturing the facial features of Ian McDiarmid perfectly. Just as the robes are detailed with accent and trim details, the facial features are remarkable with the face having liverspots and piercing dark eyes. This figure even has fingernails molded onto the hands!
While the front robes of Palpatine are accented in gold, much like his costume was, I was frustrated to notice the paint on mine was smudged so it went off the figure, making it looks quite sloppy in the chest. Fortunately, Palpatine's folded hands eliminate this problem by covering it.
Accessories
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, comes with no accessories. This is thoroughly appropriate for the figure as the character utilizes no equipment in the film.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play, but Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is only fair in that regard. The Supreme Chancellor figure is exceptionally well-balanced when in a flatfooted position, and there is no way to pose his legs in anything but! This is a figure designed to have Palpatine standing around, making speeches and getting the better of the Jedi!
Despite having the slightly-flexible robes, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is a poor figure as far as poseability goes. He is graced with only five points of articulation and that is a huge letdown considering the overall quality of the figure. The lowered flexibility pretty much mandates collectors pose the figure in very set ways. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, as an action figure, has joints at the shoulders, elbows and neck. There is no articulation in the knees or ankles, which matters less considering that the robes are stiff and come down to the floor anyway. As well, this politician may rotate his full, straight arms, but that looks ridiculous. Instead, the elbow joint, which is a simple swivel joint, may rotate the forearms out so he may clasp and unclasp his hands. The figure might not be the most exciting figure, but it is accurate for the character.
Collectibility
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is part of the 2002 Star Wars saga collection of four-inch action figures. This series of Star Wars action figures was fairly common and the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine figure was #39 in that collection and was in no way shortpacked in the cases. As a result, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was pretty well available in the cases of this product and as a result is still widely available on the secondary market today. In other words, this Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is a poor investment and is more ideal for collectors and children who actually want an interesting Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to play with!
Overview
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is an interesting figure, but he is limited as far as play goes. That said, fans collecting essential eras of the Star Wars saga will find this one necessary and it is hard to deny that Hasbro got the flavor of the character right in making this a stiff, inarticulated figure.
For other Attack Of The Clones line figures and toys, please check out my reviews on:
#02 Arena Escape Padme Amidala
#10 Shaak Ti
#23 Yoda
Deluxe Yoda with Force Powers
Deluxe Nexu
Geonosian Starfighter
Hailfire Droid
8/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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