Savage Opress

With the new Clone Wars Wave 11 (2011) coming out this Saturday, I figured it was time to get this review out of the way since I’ll have another Savage Opress figure before long.

Savage Opress is a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother. If you don’t know what that is, try and picture Darth Maul (the mean little bastard with the double lightsaber) from Episode 1, only yellow and taller.

Opress was taken from his village by Asajj Ventress to help her take revenge on Count Dooku (heeheehee) after he had betrayed her. Dooku (heeheehee) was tricked into taking him on as his new apprentice, but in the end neither he nor Ventress could control Opress’ rage. The Clone Wars episodes that he starred in were some of the best of the series.

The shirtless Opress is numbered CW55 and comes in Wave 9 (2011) (which also included Cold weather Gear Plo Koon and Clone Commander Jet). The packaging for the newest Clone Wars figures has changed a bit. The “Galactic Battles” card and die aren’t as prominent in the new waves as they were in previous ones. Don’t worry, though. The card and die are still included, just tucked away behind and beneath the figure in the blister card.

Also included with him are two battle axes, one big and one bigger. The Bigger of the two also comes with a projectile, but it’s not spring-loaded. It has a spherical portion under the nose that locks into a circular next in-between the “blades” of the battle axe. When you push the straight lead shaft of the missile, it pops out. It’s a nice little solution that looks odd, but keeps the accessory from being overly large.

Anyway, I prefer the smaller axe anyway since it’s of a relatively more realistic size. The figure can also hold it by the haft instead of by the handles it uses for the bigger one, making it less awkward looking.

Speaking of holding the weapon, the figure can do so pretty well. His hands are sculpted with extra long, clawed fingers, but despite that, they can grip either the handles or the haft pretty well. The attention to detail in the sculpt is welcome despite the fact that The Clone Wars series CGI aesthetic means a lot of smooth, flat areas.

More on detail: since this is the shirtless version of the character, Oppress gets to flaunt his tribal tattoos in all their glory. We never got to see Darth Maul’s body, but apparently, Dathomirian tattoos go all the way down the body and over the back. Hasbro didn’t skimp on the designs here. He’s cast in a nice, soft, light yellow plastic and the black lines are tampographed on for a nice, clean look.

So far so good.

But here’s where things go pear-shaped: Articulation. He doesn’t have it. Like many figures who have skirts, his limits his lower body almost completely. Though he has knee joints (swivel-hinges), the skirt is so close around the hips that it makes those joints (ball-shaped swivel-hinges) useless. It doesn’t help that there is no ankle articulation, either. Without his stand (also included in the box), he would have been limited to a standing pose.

Upper body articulation is the standard Clone wars set (and that most other toy lines for that matter): swivel wrists, swivel-hinge elbows, swivel-hinge shoulders, and a ball-jointed head. Because of the shirtless body, Hasbro decided to forgo the usual torso crunch joint.

Speaking as a “play” rather than “display” collector, I wouldn’t recommend this figure. Despite looking absolutely awesome (just look at that scowl!), Savage Opress just didn’t feel as fun as say Commander Jet or Plo Koon. I was as surprised as anyone since he was the whole reason I was excited about getting Wave 9 (2011).

If you’re a display collector who just wants to sit him on a shelf next to the rest of your Sith collection, then by all means, hunt him down. I will admit that the gorgeous yellow color of his skin and the wicked-looking weapons he comes with add a lot to a display. But if you’re the kind of collector that is looking for an awesome toy that is fun to pose, this isn’t for you.