COUNT DOOKU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Count Dooku was a menacing Sith Lord and central figure in the Clone Wars. Once a Jedi, he became disillusioned with the Jedi order and thirst for greater power.”

For each entry in the Prequel Trilogy, they really tried to introduce a new and compelling villain.  They had three really strong starting points, but all three ended up being a lot of wasted potential, at least until the Clone Wars cartoon came along and actually tried to do something with them.  For Attack of the Clones, arguably the weakest of the three prequel films, Lucas got Christopher Lee, one of the greatest actors ever to grace the silver screen, to portray the role of Count Dooku, the second attempt at a decent foe.  To say the role squandered Lee’s talent is something of an understatement.  Still, he did have a cool look, and he was still Christopher freaking Lee, so no one’s gonna say no to some action figure love for this guy.  He was the final main prequel foe unaccounted for in the Black Series, but now he finally gets to join the line!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Count Dooku is figure 107 in the Black Series line-up.  He closes out this round of figures (the Sith Jet Trooper bridges the gap between the Knight of Ren and this figure as number 106, but he’s a repaint, so I haven’t picked him up yet), and is our second prequel figure in the set, which is a little surprising, since they tend to be fewer and further between than the other films.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He actually manages to be one of the most poseable Black Series offerings, especially for one of the Jedi.  He’s even got the butterfly joints like we saw with the Sith Trooper, which I hope are going to become a more regular feature for the line, much like the double ball-jointed necks have.  The sculpt is an all-new affair, and another really good one at that.  The head has a really nice Lee likeness, and they’ve certainly captured his rather impressive height.  The line has been going back and forth on cloth vs plastic for the capes, but Dooku goes with cloth.  While it does rob him of the cape’s proper collar from the film, it nevertheless works very well, and with its two-tone design, it’s definitely among the nicest cloth pieces from the line.  Dooku’s paintwork is mostly pretty basic, with the exception of the head, which of course uses the face printing for a nice realistic look.  Dooku is packed with his distinctive curved-hilted lightsaber (which no one on the production of the films apart from Christopher Lee seemed to understand was not designed to be held like a standard lightsaber….sorry, it still bugs me), which has not one, but two blades.  The first is a standard one, but the second has a slight spread to it, simulating it being swung around.  It’s a pretty cool idea, and I’d like to see more of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Attack of the Clones lies in an odd spot for me.  It’s unquestionably my least favorite Star Wars film, and I genuinely think it barely even qualifies as a movie.  Despite that, I’m filled with an odd bit of nostalgia for the film and all the stuff associated with it, Dooku very definitely included.  I was definitely on board for this figure, and I think the final product is yet another strong entry in this latest round of figures.

Count Dooku was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.