Release Date August 2025
RRP: $24.99/£24.99
With the number of different Star Wars video games there have been over the decades, Hasbro are unlikely to run out of character choices for its "Gaming Greats" range of Black Series figures any time soon. But then again, they don't really need to look to the past either when there are so many popular characters from recent memory deserving of a place. The line has been steadily building up the cast of Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor games, but outside of lead character Cal Kestis the rest of the Mantis crew have been inexplicably absent. Until now that is, as Black Series Nightsister Merrin has finally been released - giving Cal a helping hand in what's mostly been a sea of rogue Jedi, Inquisitors and endless trooper and droid repaints.
"A powerful majik-wielding member of the Mantis Crew, Merrin spent most of her life in Dathomir after escaping the massacre of her coven. She became an ally to Cal Kestis, leading her to leave Dathomir and pursue her own path."
Admittedly it's been a while since I bought a Black Series figure so the line's packaging revision isn't exactly "new" anymore, but it's the first time I've experienced it and it marks a significant improvement - combining the best elements of the previous two styles. The packaging returns to the standard rectangular shape of the old "red label" boxes, together with the design elements of the sloped-sided mural boxes that succeeded them. Just how well the mural parts of these new ones join with the older style boxes I don't know, but it's nice that they're once again a convenient shape for display/storage. The 28th release in the "Gaming Greats" range (denoted by the blue box highlights and foil sticker), the front of Merrin's packaging features a nice big window to get a good look at the figure inside. This window is carried over to one side of the box, whilst the other features the aforementioned mural artwork. The character artwork is then repeated on the back of the box, where it is accompanied by a small character bio. Inside, Merrin and her accessories are neatly stored on a moulded clear plastic tray.
Naturally this figure is based on Merrin as she appears in Jedi: Survivor, where she swaps out her more traditional Nightsister look from Fallen Order for something a little more space-faring. While she still retains some Nightsister elements like the red inner-robe and gold necklace, it's now supplemented with a leathery chest piece and short-sleeved hooded jacket. The jacket is made of soft plastic, so doesn't feature a moveable hood that you can bring up over the head. It's a great outfit that highlights the evolution of the character over the course of the two games well, and Hasbro have done an incredible job of bringing it to life in figure from. From nearly head to toe every bit of the outfit is covered in some sort of moulded detailing - whether it's simply textures conveying fabric types or more specific details like buckles, bandages or markings. A lot of the paint apps are small and so easy to miss, but have been applied with precision. The head sculpt is an excellent likeness to how Merrin appears in the games, where she is portrayed by and modelled upon actress Tina Ivlev. The grey skintone compliments the outfit nicely, and while the gold Nightsister markings are a little pale they are nonetheless visible to complete the look. The hair is also very nicely moulded and coloured a darker shade of grey to the skin. Overall it's an absolutely fantastic looking figure - not only nailing the outfit with all the different textures and subtle paint apps, but also the body with a skin tone that doesn't look too glossy and/or plasticky.
Articulation is about what you would expect from a Black Series figure, however improvements made to the line over the years means Merrin is pretty damn good for a figure of her price point. Altogether she features;
- Ball joint head, neck, waist and hips
- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, hips and ankles
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Wrist and boot swivels
The move to fully ball jointed heads and necks (as opposed to the ball hinges seen on older figures) has definitely been one of the most noticeably success stories on modern Black Series releases, and here the movement in those areas (as well as the torso) proves to be particularly fluid. The use of butterfly joints in the shoulders is great as well, however here they don't add a great deal of additional movement so it's easy to forget that they're there. A more controversial change the line made however was the switch to swivel hinge elbows and knees, which do benefit some figures but here do break up the flow of the sculpt quite a bit. That said it is less noticeable in the knees, as you can use the boot swivels located just below rather than turning the knee itself and making Merrin's legs look awkward. No hinges on the hands are a little surprising (instead being straight swivels), but presumably it's because the female body hands are smaller than the male body ones and it's harder to implement. While it would have definitely added to her overall poseability, it's nothing that the figure struggles without. In fact even with some minor nitpicks Merrin poses fantastically - striking a good balance between a pleasing sculpt and dynamic articulation.
Merrin also features three different accessories, which feels especially generous for a standard Black Series release. These include a small knife, a spear (which in-game is the same weapon, enhanced by Nightsister majik) and finally a translucent green magick effect piece. The knife is a simple piece - moulded in grey plastic with painted brown wrap around the grip. When not in use, it can be stored on the holster located on the back of her belt. The spear is a little more elaborate - featuring the same blade but a longer shaft with black and brown ridged grip sections. Both weapons can be held in either hand (the left hand offering a more angled grip), and the spear easily held in both for a two-handed staff. The most interesting accessory in the set though is undoubtedly the majik effect piece, which feels more like something you'd find in a Transformers or Marvel Legends figure than a Black Series release. The soft plastic piece is designed to fit over Merrin's left hand, but honestly it works well in either. While not an especially elaborate effect piece it conveys the look of the Nightsister majik really well, whilst also a great change from the usual pace of Star Wars accessories.
Having been away from this line for some time now, Black Series Nightsister Merrin is exactly the kind of figure I needed to suck me back in. Not only is she a character that's been long overdue a figure, but Hasbro have pulled her off spectacularly. It's very easy to look over the flaws and limitations of Black Series articulation (which admittedly are still very good for the price point) when you have a sculpt this good, and the great selection of accessories offer plenty of potential when it comes to display and posing. Short of wanting a Fallen Order version of the character to go with it, it's hard to see how any fans of the games would be disappointed by this release.
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