Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Emperor's Royal Guard

Release Date: June 2017 (Original), August 2023 (Reissue)

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

While the Star Wars universe is constantly growing with new characters to be made into action figures every day, the old favourites will always return one way or another. This rings especially true for anything that can be considered an army builder, so the Galactic Empire will rarely be short of new recruits. In celebration of Return of the Jedi's 40th anniversary in 2023 Hasbro reissued a number of Black Series figures in new packaging, and among them was the Black Series Emperor's Royal Guard. Reputedly the most skilled soldiers in the Empire, they acted as the personal bodyguard to Emperor Palpatine himself.

Though originally released as part of the "second phase" black and red boxed Black Series figures, the Emperor's Royal Guard has returned as part of the 40th anniversary Return of the Jedi range. Just as Hasbro did for the 40th anniversary A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back ranges these figures come in oversized versions of their original Kenner cards, which feature a nice big image of the Guards on the card alongside the name and film logo. It's also worth noting that here the figure is referenced as the "Emperor's Royal Guard" to be accurate to that Kenner packaging, whereas the original release simply referred to them as "Royal Guard". The back of the card is slightly less accurate to the classic figure, instead sporting small images of the other figures available in the range as well as a few sentences about what it is commemorating.

On first glance while you're certainly getting a screen-accurate Royal Guard figure, admittedly there isn't a whole lot to say about it. It's a relatively simple (albeit impressive helmet) on top of a flowing red robe which covers their whole body, which on this Black Series release is soft goods to give it the proper look. That enough is to cover the baseline of what would be expected from a Royal Guard figure, but this is the Black Series so of course that isn’t enough to justify the price. So what Hasbro have done is not only include a fully articulated body underneath that robe, but one with uniquely sculpted armour akin to how the Royal Guards have appeared in expanded media releases – particularly Crimson Empire. This adds a whole extra level to the figure, one of which has plenty of detailing to be impressed about. The glossy red body armour goes wonderfully with the darker burgundy under suit, adding some nice colour variation to what's otherwise a fairly plain figure. The robe completely hangs over the left arm but a slit all the way down on the right means that the body can be revealed for more elaborate poses. Removing the robe is also as simple as popping the head on and off too, given the Royal Guard two distinct looks depending on how you want to pose it.

Despite being a relatively older figure in the line the Royal Guard still has a pretty good level of articulation that nearly measures up to some of the newer releases. Underneath that red robe you'll find;

- Ball jointed head, waist and hips 

- Single hinge neck

- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles

- Double hinge knees

- Thigh swivels

To address the most obvious flaw with this figure first, despite having both head and neck articulation the shape of the Royal Guard helmet means it's largely unusable whether the robe is on or off. You can get a little bit of up/down movement but the collar section means side to side movement is impossible, so if anything the build of the figure is less about movement and more making it easier to take the head (and in turn, the robe) on and off. That aside the rest of the body is actually pretty impressive, as is the fact that you can get to most of the articulation even when the robe is covering it all up. The slit on the right side of the robe allowing you to expose some of the body really does make for some cool poses though, which makes it all the more tragic that we've never properly seen these guys in action on screen.

The Emperor's Royal Guards are armed with Force pikes and a blaster pistol, both of which are included as accessories with the figure. The Force pikes are a weapon unique to the Royal Guards, while the blaster is the small variety commonly seen wielded by Scout Troopers. When not in use, the pistol can be stored in the holster on the Guard's belt – completely out of sight when covered by the robes by easily accessible if needed. The pistol is very small and nicely moulded, but doesn't really fit into the Guard's hands very well. While the left hand is specifically moulded to hold it, it's still a bit fiddly for a weapon that ultimately doesn't look all that impressive. Truth be told the Force Pike is the only accessory that really matters though, and that's a beauty – nicely moulded with the correct silver and black colouring. While it might not quite have the stage presence of other Star Wars weaponry, the Force Pikes have a certain regal quality to them that make them the perfect fit for the Emperor's elite guards.

Given how much of the body is under cover there are plenty of ways that Hasbro could have cheaped out on the Black Series Emperor's Royal Guard, but instead they went the extra mile to sculpt a great quality body that won't even be seen most of the time. Sure there are a few limitations in articulation because of the design, but even then it's far less than you'd expect. For characters that spent the entirety of Return of the Jedi standing around looking cool and doing little else, this figure has considerably more to offer.