The Good: Costume looks basically correct, Cool accessory, Collectible value
The Bad: Ridiculous shape!
The Basics: The Imperial Guard Mighty Muggs might be one of the few Star Wars Mighty Muggs worth picking up.
The Star Wars Mighty Muggs are a toy line that takes a lot of heat from me. As a result, it is a very rare thing when I find one that might actually be worth recommending. In this case, the Imperial Guard Mighty Muggs figure is one of them. The Imperial Guard is the familiar red robed guard Star Wars fans came to recognize and merchandisers made a standard for their third wave of products (they are never in the first wave, seldom in a second release, but reliably part of a Star Wars merchandiser’s third wave).
Mighty Muggs toys look like they might be plush as they feature animated versions of recognizable Star Wars characters. However, the cartoon-like heads atop disproportionately smaller bodies simply revealed that the heads and toys were solid, like ceramic (they are, in fact, made of a super-hard, heavy plastic). This is as true of the Imperial Guard as it is of other Mighty Muggs figures.
For those unfamiliar with Imperial Guard, they were the Emperor’s royal guard seen in Return Of The Jedi (reviewed here!) aboard the "under construction" Death Star II. The Imperial Guards were generic guards in the Emperor’s throne room wearing red robes and tall helmets.
The Mighty Muggs Imperial Guard figure is good and anyone who has seen how Imperial Guard actually looked will recognize this bears a surprisingly good resemblance to the red guards seen briefly in Return Of The Jedi and probably a bit longer in Revenge Of The Sith. This Mighty Mugg includes a vinyl skirt around the legs which make him look like he is actually wearing robes and is quite distinctive from the other, mass-produced Mighty Muggs figures!
Basics
The Imperial Guard is a faceless guard with a red helmet as opposed to a face. The figure stands 7" tall. The Imperial Guard is dressed in red robes which are painted solidly onto the puffy body of the toy. However, around its waist and below there are is an stiff vinyl bell which represents the bottom of his robes and this makes it fairly distinct.
This toy is a poor sculpt which looks like an oversized, fattened up LEGO figure. Like all the Star Wars Mighty Muggs, this has a distinctive, separated head, that is not at all like the helmet on the Imperial Guard. The hands are open slightly and this allows the Imperial Guard to hold its accessory.
Accessories
The Imperial Guard comes with a 4" long force pike. It looks like a little gray and black plastic staff with a ball head that may be where the charge comes from. This fits into either of the Imperial Guard’s hands and it looks pretty good there.
Playability
The Mighty Muggs toy line was designed for no good reason I can find, perhaps just because someone realized Star Wars fans would buy anything. This heavy toy can be harmful to children and is more intended as a display statue. Sure, it’s a ridiculous display statue, but that’s about it.
Imperial Guard comes with only three points of articulation, all of which are simple swivel joints. He has joints at the shoulders and neck. The elbows do not extend, so all arm posing is straight-armed. To be fair, the figure does stand up, largely because of the stiff robe that encircles him.
Collectibility
The Imperial Guard is part of the Mighty Muggs Star Wars collection, which no one I know would ever spend money on. The value of the Imperial Guard has actually remained steady, probably because it is not at all horrible.
Overview
The Imperial Guard Mighty Muggs figure deserves a lot of credit for holding up far, far better than most of the utterly ridiculous toys, simply by having a shape much more suitable to the Mighty Muggs form.
For other Star Wars Mighty Muggs toys, please check out my reviews of:
Plo Koon
Qui-Gon Jinn
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Younger)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Older)
C-3PO
Luke Skywalker
Hoth Han Solo
Hoth Luke Skywalker
Grand Moff Tarkin
Bespin Luke Skywalker
6/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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