RRP: $22.99/£21.99
If there's one thing that Hasbro can count on being big sellers in their various Star Wars toy lines at the moment, it's Mandalorians. The success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ has propelled the warrior creed to the very forefront of the Star Wars universe, and every new addition is able to turn heads. Even bit-part characters such as Bo-Katan Kryze loyalist Koska Reeves can make a big impression when played by the likes of WWE superstar Sasha Banks (real name Mercedes Varnado). Now another Mandalorian is added to the collection with the release of the Black Series Koska Reeves, joining the previously released Bo-Katan in her fight against Moff Gideon and the remainder of the Empire.
"A master of hand-to-hand combat, Koska Reeves is loyal to Bo-Katan and is a member of a band of Clan Kryze Mandalorians striking back at the Imperial remnant."
Figure number 12 in the Mandalorian assortment of Black Series figures, Koska Reeves comes in standard packaging sporting connecting mural artwork. Curiously Reeves isn't just depicted in the artwork with her helmet on, but is stored in-package with it fitted as well. While Bo-Katan was depicted her in artwork with helmet as well, it's a rarity for Black Series figures to be packaged with their helmets on if they have a properly painted head underneath. Part of me wonders if it has anything to do with Sasha Banks' likeness and it potentially clashing with Mattel's range of WWE figures, but that is purely speculation. The back of the box features the same character artwork as the spine, alongside a short bio telling you a little more about Reeves. Open the box up and the figure/accessories are neatly laid out on the usual plastic tray, with the jet pack detached to fill up the tray space usually reserved for the helmet.
Koska Reeves is a slight retool of the Black Series Bo-Katan Kryze figure, sporting a brand new head sculpt as well as an altered belt piece that only has one holster. Unfortunately the straight reuse of parts means Reeves isn't quite screen accurate though, as the onscreen version lacks Bo-Katan's shin armour. Though not a deal-breaker by any means, it's a shame Hasbro didn't do that little bit extra since it's not a huge change to make. Most people probably won't even notice, but the little inaccuracies in these figures due to mould reuse are getting more and more noticeable. Thankfully the Bo-Katan mould has a lot going for it anyway, easily being one of the best figures the Black Series has put out in the last few years. And it looks great here again in Koska Reeves bright blue armour, standing out nicely from Bo-Katan's more traditional Death Watch look but still very much looking like part of her unit. The dark grey weathering they've added also gives it a touch more realism. The head sculpt has a reasonably good likeness to Sasha Banks – maybe a little soft in detailing but quite clearly her. But the more impressive part is how well they got the hair details down, with the head sporting loose braids on either side and the ponytail at the back.
Sharing the same body as Bo-Katan means Koska Reeves also has exactly the same articulation, consisting of in total;
- Ball jointed head, lower neck, torso and hips
- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles
- Thigh swivels
I'll repeat again what I previously said in my Bo-Katan review – overall this might not sound like much but wow does it work well when put altogether. The move to a ball jointed neck is one of the best decisions the line has made, offering far superior movement without breaking the sculpt as much. The ball jointed waist pulls its weight too, providing some great movement even with the absence of a waist joint to compliment it. Even the swivel hinge knees work well when there’s decent bits of armour moulded on to mask the body contortion. Finally the shoulder pads continue to be wonderful - gliding effortlessly into the shoulder cavities rather than being consistently irksome like they were on the old ESB Boba Fett mould.
It's rather irritating how more and more Mandalorian (or Mandalorian-adjacent) characters become "deluxe" releases, even though when you compare the accessory count they aren't really that much different to standard releases like this. Koska Reeves carries over all the same accessories from Bo-Katan, consisting of her helmet (with moveable range finder), jet pack and twin Mandalorian blaster pistols. While I'd argue that the helmet and jet pack shouldn't count as accessories since they're part of her armour, for whatever reason Hasbro consider them as such. Both are identical to the ones included with Bo-Katan save for colour, naturally done up in Reeves' more predominantly blue colour scheme. The inclusion of two blasters is a little curious given that she only has one holster, but that just goes to show how much was carried over from Bo-Katan even when it wasn't necessary. Her rifle, which would have required a unique mould, is sadly absent. Still, I guess you could consider having a spare blaster a positive and it's always fun to pose these figures dual-wielding, it's just sad to see her more unique aspects forgotten about.
With Bo-Katan being one of my favourite figures released in 2021 there was no doubt that Black Series Koska Reeves was going to be another winner, but it's shame Hasbro had to skimp on making the figure 100% screen accurate. Given that Koska Reeves is only a side character (for the time being anyway) I can understand why Hasbro chose to cut costs, but at the same time with Mandalorians being the easy sellers they are (not to mention it being Sasha Banks) it probably wouldn't have been that difficult to sort out some new lower legs to go with that retooled belt. Even when it's seemingly little differences like these, it's nice to see the variations in Mandalorian armour. Still, with a great head sculpt and fantastic poseability it remains both a solid release for the Black Series and a worthy addition to its ever-growing collection of Mandalorians.
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