Saturday, February 15, 2025

Wrapping Up 2024: Pirate Captain Brutus (Port Borgo) from Star Wars: The Black Series by Hasbro

 

   Today I'm checking out the last of the action figures I actually purchased in 2024 and I think you'll be quite surprised that it's a Star Wars: The Black Series figure. It's been over a year since I last reviewed a Star Wars: The Black Series figure (I reviewed Sabine Wren from Ahsoka in 2023) and, to the best of my memory, I only purchased two Black Series figures last year: Osha from The Acolyte (who I found on clearance and am using as a mechanic/ tech expert with my G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures) and Pirate Captain Brutus (Port Borgo) from Skeleton Key. I haven't watched either of these shows and I haven't been tempted by much that Hasbro has released lately. In the days ahead I do have two Star Wars reviews of new releases, the recent Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia from A New Hope, as those are incredible versions of characters I'm legitimately nostalgic for. Last year was pretty boring for the Black Series to me, but Pirate Captain Brutus was absolutely a must buy. Why? Because he's a Shitsavane wolf man with five blaster pistols, that's why. I'm a huge fan of Lak Sivrak and Captain Brutus seems even cooler. Ready for a wolf man in space? Then join me after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 6 1/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, swivel/ hinge knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed waist, swivel/hinge shoulders with lateral "butterfly" hinges, swivel/ hinge elbows, balljointed wrists, balljointed neck, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: 5 blaster pistols.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars








The Positives:

* You want some positives? Are you really asking me what's so good about this figure? It's a space pirate wolfman wielding five blaster pistols with holsters for all of them. That's what. Reviews over. Go home!

Wait, wait. Stay. I'll try to articulate my point a bit better. Why do I like this guy? What drove me to pick him up considering I don't know him from Adam's housecat? He's a space pirate wolfman wielding five blaster pistols.

Shoot, shoot. Let me try one more time. This guy won me over just because he has coolness factor he's an interesting looking character who screams Star Wars and has a connection to a classic Cantina alien, definitely one of the scenes from the OT that seems to really grab the imagination. After seeing so many Imperials, Stormtroopers, and the like, this guy is a fascinating fringe character who really stands out.


* Lak Suvrak from A New Hope was based on an off the shelf werewolf mask. But you know what? It worked. There's just something incredibly cool about him and Brutus seems to also have the general appearance of a space wolfman, but he looks a bit bulkier than Lak Sivrak. He just seems like a bigger, bulkier Shistavanen. Heck, I like his "werewolf" design better than the designs from the 2025 Wolf Man film. His hair looks great, the grey face shows expression quite well, and those red eyes are pretty intimidating. 






* His hair is fantastic and looks pretty trends for being a space wolfman. 











* In fact, his whole outfit is pretty darn neat. He's wearing what looks like a duster, but it's covered with all kinds of armored bits and feathers and such. There are quite a few more paint applications here than you'd expect and some nice effects like the dirty bottom of the duster and the various textures on the leather bits.





* Here's a closeup of some armored bits across Brutus' shoulders and the feathers he wears over them. I love it. It's definitely showy in a space pirate kind of way. Is this guy going to be accepted in the high society of Coruscant or Canto Bight? Nope. Does he likely command respect walking through the underworld of Coruscant or in Jabba's Palace. Most definitely. 





* As Mr. Bean said when Irma Gobb presented him with a Classic Ship for Christmas, "Look at all those bits and pieces. Look at all those guns!" Because, yes, Brutus comes with five blasters. Let's start with these two. They're not matching but they both look like more traditional blaster pistols. Besides having really impressive designs and sharp sculpts, they even get some paint applications. A lot of attention was put into Brutus and it shows. 







* Brutus' other three guns look more like classic pirate flintlocks. Obviously these are blasters, but the designs are very much inspired by classic black power pistols used during the golden age of piracy. They have rounded, wooden handles and are quite ornate. Beautiful, with a very steampunk aesthetic. 



* Guess what? Brutus can hold every pistol, too. On his right hip is a holster where one of the larger pistols can sit. There's even a strap that helps keep it securely in place.










* On his left hip is another holster where one of the flintlock style blasters sits backwards, perhaps designed so he can cross draw it. 










* Three pistols can fit across his chest on his bandolier. This looks really, really cool and definitely captures the pirate vibe. I'm sure none of these are single shot blasters (single shot pistols were the reason pirates sometimes carried multiples at once) but you can still see what the Lucasfilm design team was going for.







* Hasbro has been changing their articulation model up a bit lately and there are definitely some differences in how Brutus is built versus earlier figures. He doesn't have bicep swivels nor thigh swivels, but the swivel/hinge knees kind of take the place of those. It's not too bad, though I did notice the missing joints. Still, this guy looks great and is a lot of fun to pose using different combinations of his five blasters. 






   I've always loved the rough looking fringe and bounty hunter characters in Star Wars and Pirate Captain Brutus definitely fits alongside those others. Having not watched Skeleton Key yet (other than a couple short clips of Brutus), I can't tell you much about his larger role in the property. As a figure, though? He's excellent and excels on coolness alone. I have a shelf of my Black Series figures that are all bounty hunters, scoundrels, and fringe aliens, and Brutus is going to look great with them. I've only ever seen this guy in stores once, so I'm assuming he's fairly popular? Brutus is an Epic figure and easily my favorite Black Series release of 2024.



This is the first figure of Pirate Captain Brutus I've reviewed. For more Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV reviews check out the following:

4 comments:

  1. Great figure. I have not seen him in the wild yet. The Acolyte had potential and some great moments, but overall, suffers from bad and inconsistent writing. I still like most of the characters. Using Osha as part of GI Joe Classified is perfect. It took me awhile to sit down and watch Skeleton Crew. It was a ton of fun with unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommend it. Not the greatest, but definitely fun.

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    1. We currently do not have Disney+. I'll probably start it back in March and catch up on some things. I really want to watch Daredevil.

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  2. Skeleton Crew is the most fun Star Wars has been since The Mandalorian!

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    1. I've heard nothing but good things about it from people who have actually watched it, so I am looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll restart Disney+ sometime soon and get a chance to watch it.

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