Wrapping up 2019: Purge Stormtrooper from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    While Hasbro released quite a few figures in Star Wars: The Black Series during the last few months of 2019, they really didn't release that many from The Rise of Skywalker: 8 were from Episode IX, 5 were from The Mandalorian, 6 were from the Original Trilogy, 2 were from Clone Wars, 1 was from the comics, and 3 were from Jedi: Fallen Order (I'm not counting the Carbonized variants, because those are just chase variants). For The Black Series releases from Triple Force Friday, only 32% were from the new film. That's pretty crazy, right? I liked The Rise of Skywalker but it definitely seems that Hasbro didn't have that much faith in it moving merchandise. They've got some cool stuff coming out in the next few months, although definitely not the amount of product you'd expect to show up based on a new film. Anyways, let's talk about today's figure: The Purge Trooper from Jedi: Fallen Order, the new single player Star Wars video game. I preordered to deluxe edition of the game which actually came with this figure, although GameStop did sell some of the figures by themselves (presumably figures from preorders that folks didn't pick up, as the figure wasn't packaged with the game). The Purge Stormtroopers first appeared in the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic in 2018 and are a special group of troopers under the command of Vader and the Inquisitorious. Apparently these troopers are the last batch of Jango Fett based clones and they definitely dress in similar armor to the clones. There are multiple different types of these guys in Jedi: Fallen Order, but this guy is actually a Purge Stormtrooper Commander. Let's check him out after the break and see how this guy turned out after the break...

 The Facts:

Height: 6 inches tall

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, a ball jointed abdomen, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a hinged neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: DC-15 and DC 15A blasters

Non-Scalper Price: $23 dollars by itself or $83 dollars bundled with the game ($93 for the deluxe game bundle). 

 Comparison:

* Since the Purge Commanders wear the Phase 2 Clone Trooper armor and the kamas of the commanders, the Purge Trooper is largely the same as Clone Commander like Commander Wolffe (on the left). The Purge Trooper is also sporting a shoulder pauldron though, which is exactly the same as the pauldrons worn by the Sandtroopers (on the right). Except for the helmet and the belt, the Purge Trooper is mostly reused from previous figures.  

 The Positives:

* If you own any of the Phase II clones or commanders, you kind of know what to expect here. That being said, this figure does look really good. The armor is very striking in person with a very glossy black and blood red accents. These guys are quite fearsome. I like the addition of the shoulder pauldron and the white stripes on the armor. It's very ceremonial looking. The colors and pageantry of the uniform definitely seem very reminiscent of the SS, which isn't a good thing on its own (seriously, Nazis suck) but it does visually tie in to the idea of the Empire being space fascists. I mean, these guys are essentially hunting down the Jedi in an effort to purge them from the galaxy. You'll now be even more enthusiastic every time Cal Kestis takes one of these guys down, won't you?

* The helmets on these guys are really cool. They're very different from both Stormtrooper and Clone Trooper helmets, actually very similar to the Clone Paratrooper helmets. The visor is a very deep, dark maroon color.

* Another mark identifying this as a Purge Trooper Commander is the blood red Imperial cog on the Trooper's shoulders. It looks great (please ignore the "lens flare" in my photo).

 * While the Purge Troopers kamas look a lot like the kamas of some of the clone leaders, like Captain Rex, it's actually a but different. Well, the belt is, anyways. There are no holsters and there also are two red plastic pieces that trail off from beneath the belt buckle and rest under the edges of the kama. The kama can rest under them, too, but I think having them under the kama is correct.

 * The Purge Commanders carry many of the standard Clone Trooper weapons, one of which is the DC-15. We've seen this weapon dozens of times in the Black Series, but here it is again. It's not weathered at all but it does have a paint application on it.

* Next up is the DC-15A, another popular Clone blaster that has been included with most clone trooper releases.

 * The Purge Trooper/ Commander utilizes most of the body of a standard Clone Trooper figure, meaning he's durable and nicely articulated. His hips are restricted a bit and, sadly, his shoulders don't have the revised pauldrons that allow for a better range of motion. Still, he's not bad; just not as good as recently crafted figures.

The Negatives:

* The lack of the newer shoulders that slide under the armor is missed here, and the joints are starting to show their age.

   The Purge Commander (this isn't the standard Purge Stormtrooper, despite what the package says) is a Great figure. Yeah, there's a lot of reuse here, but the consistency still works for these troop builder styled figures. The guy will definitely jump out on your shelf, particularly if displayed alongside your clones or standard Stormtroopers. I really wish we'd gotten some of the more unique weapons these guys wield in the game that allow them to fight against the Jedi (like electrostaffs and electrobatons), but maybe we'll get some of the variant troopers wielding those down the line later on. Fallen Order is an excellent game and I really hope Hasbro revisits it from time to time for more figures, as I'd love Greez Dritus, Cere Junda, the Ninth Sister, Jaro Tapal, and Merrin to make appearance in the line.



This is the first Purge Stormtrooper/ Commander I've reviewed. For more figures from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III, check out the following:
0-0-0 (Triple Zero)
442nd Siege Battalion Clone Trooper, 212th Attack Battalion Utapau Trooper, Coruscant Guard ---(Phase II), and 501st Legion Clone Trooper 4 pack
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar and First Order Officer
Admiral Piett
Ahsoka Tano 
AT-AT Pilot 
Battle Droid
Baze Malbus
BT-1 (Beetee)
C-3PO
C-3PO & Babu Frik
C-3PO (Resistance Base) 
Cal Kestis
Captain Cassian Andor (Eadu) 
Captain Phasma
Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton)
Captain Poe Dameron
Cara Dune
Chewbacca (Target Exclusive)
Chewbacca (The Force Awakens)
Chirrut Imwe 
Chopper (C1-10P)
Clone Captain Rex (HasCon Exclusive)
Clone Commander Gree
Clone Commander Fox
Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi
Clone Commander Wolffe 
Constable Zuvio
Darth Revan 
Darth Vader (Emperor's Wrath)
Death Star Trooper
Dengar
Dewback/ Sandtrooper
Director Krennic 
DJ (Canto Bight)
Doctor Aphra
Dryden Vos
Elite Praetorian Guard
Elite Praetorian Guard (with Heavy Blade)
Emperor Papatine and Throne
Enfys Nest's Swoop Bike/ Enfys Nest
Ezra Bridger
Finn (First Order Disguise)
Finn (FN-2187)
Finn (Jakku)
First Order Flametrooper
First Order General Hux
First Order Jet Trooper
First Order Snowtrooper
First Order Snowtrooper Officer
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
First Order Stormtrooper
First Order Stormtrooper Executioner 
First Order Stormtrooper (with Gear)
First Order TIE Fighter Pilot
Gamorrean Guard
General Grievous
General Leia Organa
General Veers
Grand Admiral Thrawn (SDCC Exclusive)
Grand Moff Tarkin 
Guardians of Evil 4-Pack
Guavian Enforcer
Han Solo (Exogorth Escape)
Han Solo (Mimban)
Han Solo (Solo)
Han Solo (The Force Awakens)
Hera Syndulla
IG-11
Imperial AT-ACT Driver
Imperial Death Trooper
Imperial Death Trooper, Captain Cassian Andor, and Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) 3 pack
Imperial Hovertank Pilot 
Imperial Jumptrooper
Imperial Patrol Trooper
Imperial Shock Trooper 
Imperial Royal Guard 
Inferno Squad Agent
Jaina Solo (Legends)
Jango Fett
Jannah
K-2SO
Kanan Jarrus
Kylo Ren 
Kylo Ren (SDCC 2016)
Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi) 
Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)
Kylo Ren (Throne Room) 
L3-37
Lando Calrissian (Solo)
Lando Calrissian (The Empire Strikes Back)
Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard)
Luke Skywalker 
Luke Skywalker (Death Star Escape)
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight)
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master) 
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Master)- Ahch-To Island
Luke Skywalker (Skyalker Strikes)
Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony)
Mace Windu
Maz Kanata 
Moloch
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Force Spirit)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Padawan) 
Obi-Wan Kenobi (SDCC 2016) 
Offworld Jawa
Padme Amidala
Phase 1 Clone Trooper Commander, Phase II Clone Trooper, Imperial Stormtrooper, and First Order ---Stormtrooper Officer four pack
Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron and First Order Riot Control Stormtrooper
Porgs 
Princess Leia (Bespin Escape)
Princess Leia Organa 
Princess Leia Organa (Hoth)
Qi'ra (Corellia)
Qui-Gon Jinn
R2-A3, R5-K6, and R2-F2
Range Trooper
Rebel Trooper
Red Squadron (R2-D2, R5-D8, and R2-X2)
Resistance Tech Rose
Resistance Trooper
Rey & D-O
Rey (Island Journey)
Rey (Jakku) & BB-8 
Rey (Jedi Training)
Rey (Jedi Training)- Crait
Rey (Starkiller Base) 
Rey's Speeder (Jakku)
Rio Durant
Sabine Wren
Sandtrooper Sergeant, Crimson Stormtrooper, Lieutenant OXIXO, and R2-Q5
Scarif Stormtrooper
Scarif Stormtrooper Squad Leader 
Second Sister Inquisitor
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Eadu)
Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha)
Sith Trooper
Snowtrooper 
Stormtrooper (Mimban)
Stormtrooper (With Blast Accessories)
Supreme Leader Snoke (Throne Room)
Tobias Beckett
Tusken Raider 
Val (Vandor)
Vice Admiral Holdo
Wedge Antilles
X-34 Landspeeder & Luke Skywalker (SDCC Exclusive) 
X-Wing Pilot Asty 
Yoda (Force Spirit)
Zuckuss