Top 5: Most Wanted Star Wars Black Series Figures

This month's top five list is blasting off to a galaxy far, far away and looking at Hasbro's Star Wars Black Series toy line. Though I've only really been collecting these figures for a few years, it's quickly become one of my favourite and most collected toy lines – even though my primary focus has always been on Star Wars television series and video games rather than the movies themselves. As such there are still PLENTY of characters I'd like to see brought into the line, and it was very difficult to narrow it down to just five. So without further ado here are the five figures I'd like most from the Black Series line, and for the sake of ease I've chosen to not include anything from the recent Book of Boba Fett – simply because everything I do want from that series I think I can safely assume Hasbro will be releasing in a year or so.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series 'Gaming Greats' Electrostaff Purge Trooper

Release Date: October 2020

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

Jedi: Fallen Order felt like the gateway into a largely unexplored chapter in the Star Wars universe, and with it the game brought plenty of memorable new characters and new nuggets of lore. One such aspect was the use of Purge Troopers - previously introduced in the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic but used most prominently here. Highly specialised troopers that worked alongside the Inquisitors to hunt down the remaining Jedi, the Purge Troopers are incredibly skilled fighters adept in a number of combat types. Hasbro released a standard rifle variant as part of the Black Series in 2019 as a GameStop exclusive, and a whole year later a second Black Series Electrostaff Purge Trooper followed as part of the growing Gaming Greats sub-line. This figure was also released as a GameStop exclusive in the USA, however was made a bit more accessible to rest of the world via Hasbro's fan channel.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series 'Gaming Greats' Scout Trooper

Release Date: October 2020

RRP: $24.99/£24.99

Ever since first watching Return of the Jedi Scout Troopers have been my favourite variant of trooper in the ever-growing Galactic Empire army, but as someone who tends to mostly avoid buying vehicles (for space sake) it can be quite difficult getting a good figure of them these days. While admittedly there was an individual Archive Series release of the trooper back in 2019, the fact they are synonymous with Speeder Bikes usually means more often than not they’re bundled together as part of a larger set. But there’s been quite a bit of Scout Trooper love in the Star Wars universe recently, with them making prominent appearances in both The Mandalorian and Jedi: Fallen Order. That latter appearance is particularly notable as it’s a rare time we see them sans Speeders, with Hasbro capitalising on that to produce the Black Series Gaming Greats Scout Trooper. Released as a GameStop exclusive in the US and via the usual fan channel in the rest of the world, this version of the Scout Trooper is armed with a deadly electro-baton and quite adept in melee combat.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Cal Kestis

Release Date: October 2019

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

As we further explore the period of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Star Wars fans are discovering more and more Jedi managed to survive Order 66 and have their own stories to tell. One such character is Cal Kestis, former Padawan and star of the 2019 video game Jedi: Fallen Order. Hunted by the Imperial Inquisitor Second Sister, Cal embarks on a mission that sees him travel across the galaxy to unlock the secrets of a Jedi Holocon. The Black Series Cal Kestis figure was released as part of 2019’s Triple Force Friday celebration - marking the release of Fallen Order, The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker with a slew of new merchandise.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Second Sister Inquisitor

Release Date: October 2019

RRP: $20/£20

After a stagnant period of underwhelming entries, the Star Wars video game library finally managed to claw back some of its former glory with the release of Jedi: Fallen Order. Taking place during the great Jedi purge that took place in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the game was praised for its single-player storyline focus in a period in the Star Wars timeline still rife with storytelling potential. It's launch was one of the main focuses of 2019's Triple Force Friday, with Hasbro releasing several figures from the game in conjunction with its release - and among these was the Black Series Second Sister Inquisitor. The Second Sister is one of the main villains of the game, stalking Jedi fugitive Cal Kestis across the galaxy. Though the Second Sister is original to the game, the Inquisitorius have been a popular part of the new Star Wars canon for some time now - previously appearing in a number of comics and novels, and more significantly the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Toybox REVIEW: Star Wars Black Series Purge Stormtrooper

Release Date: October 2019

RRP: $24.99/£23.99

The end of 2019 saw the world gripped by a new wave of Star Wars mania not only coming from both The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian, but from Jedi: Fallen Order - the brand new video game thrusting players back to fallout of Order 66 and the great Jedi purge. The release of the game was also celebrated as part of Triple Force Friday with a wave of new releases from Hasbro's Black Series line, which also included a few store exclusive releases to keep collectors on their toes. If fans wanted to bolster out their Stormtrooper ranks with Darth Vader's elite Jedi extermination unit, they'd need to visit GameStop to get a hold of the Black Series Purge Stormtrooper figure. In the US the figure was also available to those who preordered the special edition of the game, while in the rest of the world fans unfortunately needed to clamour to whichever online retailer was lucky enough to have it for sale.