Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Clone Commander Gree

Release Date: July 2017, March 2020 (Reissue)

RRP: $24.99

With the resurgence of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+ clone troopers are very much back in the public eye, so of course Hasbro haven't wasted any time capitalising on that popularity amongst their various Star Wars toy lines. While there are a fair few new variants on the market it's also an opportunity to re-release a few old favourites as well. Black Series Clone Commander Gree was originally released as a Toys R Us exclusive all the way back in 2017, but in 2019 was announced to be returning as a Fan Channel exclusive - meaning it would be made available again via a select number of retailers. Gree is best known for his appearance in Revenge of the Sith, assisting Yoda with the droid attack on the Wookies on their home planet of Kashyyyk. When Order 66 came through Gree was foolish enough to try and take down the wizened Jedi Master, resulting in a rather quick death for the clone trooper.

Unlike some of Hasbro's other collector lines there's little to no difference between the boxes for general and exclusive releases, so Commander Gree's packaging is pretty much business as usual. The only main difference you'll find is the lack of designated number on the red spine, though it is interesting that Gree is one of the rare times you see the name also printed in a second language. On top of some great art of Gree printed on the front and back of the box by regular Black Series artist Gregory Titus, there's also a short bio on Gree and how ultimately he fell victim to Order 66 much like most of the other clones. Inside the box you'll find the figure and accessories neatly stored on a moulded plastic tray.

Right out of the packaging you can see that Commander Gree is definitely one of the more colourful clone variants out there, fully decked out in camouflage print armour mixed multiple shades of green, brown and silver. It's a much more involved and lavish paint scheme than any of the other clone troopers released in the Black Series thus far, and Hasbro have done a great job of not only getting the perfect camo print but ALSO scuffing it up with silver weathering as well. With such a good job done on the body it's a shame that the helmet is predominantly unpainted grey plastic, but the green paint apps certainly help it mesh into the overall colour scheme a lot better. The visor is particularly vibrant, so while it sadly doesn't have the reflective quality the actual suit's did it is suitably piercing and works perfectly as the helmet's main focal point. Gree's back is also moulded a little differently to the other troopers, not just sporting a second thermal detonator but also featuring an antennae piece protruding up from the backpack. All these clones may look identical other than colour on first glance, but it's amazing all the little differences and unique features they have when viewed close up. Due to presumably a combination of this figure being based on Gree's appearance in Revenge of the Sith and it being one of the earlier clone releases in the line, Gree does not have a removable helmet.

This will be the fourth time now I've written about the clone body's articulation (and there's still more clone reviews to come as well) so I won't be going into any great detail. However for those who might not have seen previous reviews the body consists of a ball jointed head with swivel hinge neck, ball jointed torso, swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles along with doubled hinged elbows and knees and a single swivel waist joint. Stiffness of the joints tends to vary from figure to figure but I found Gree to be one of the more flexible figures among my growing clone trooper army, though the fixed shoulder pads continue to be minor irritation. If they sat that little bit further away from the torso it would be perfect, but as it stands it really does stop those swivel hinge shoulders from getting much outward arm movement.

Gree's accessories include a pair of Macrobinoculars, a DC-15S short range blaster rifle and DC-15A long range rifle. The two blasters are the same that were previously included with Commander Cody (and would also later be included with Commander Fox), but the binoculars are a unique accessory amongst the clones at the very least. As usual since the mould only has one moulded trigger finger hand the left-hand grip isn't perfect, but with a bit of heat to stretch or tighten the grip you can get some good dual-wielding action out of the figure as well as having him hold the long range rifle perfectly. The bigger irritation are the binoculars, which are a really cool accessory but not really suited for either of the hands provided. Not to mention that even when Gree does a good grip on them, the arms don't bend enough to bring them close enough to the helmet for a proper pose. It's a shame, because Hasbro really did a good job on those binoculars - unlike the guns they're actually painted, and the moulding on them is quite impressive for such a small piece. It also kinda sucks that there's nowhere on Gree to store any of these accessories when not in use, since later clones would have holsters to store at least some of their pieces. While the fact most of the clones just come with the same accessories over and over again may seem boring, at least Hasbro provided a few different options here even if at least one of these pieces is going to have to stay in the box when Gree is out on display.

While the less diehard collectors out there are more likely to gravitate towards the more-developed clones that appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Black Series Clone Commander Gree is another excellent release of this mould and definitely out of the more unique variants out there. The camouflage paint job really makes Gree stand out amongst his peers, and the good commander is well-armed with accessories even if most of it is standard issue. Given that a reissue happened after so many years there's clearly a demand for the clone that was foolish enough to try and kill Yoda, so be sure to track one down before he really is gone for good. Now if only Hasbro could show the same love towards Commander Cody and reissue him as well...