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Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Action Figure Review: Prince Xizor from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro


   What is Hasbro doing differently with the Black Series in 2025 than they did in 2024? They're releasing characters I have nostalgia for, baby. So far this year I've picked up the newest versions of the classic ANH Luke and Leia and now I've ended up with a third figure: Prince Xizor! That's more figures Black Series figures than I purchased in 2024 and 2023. Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire came out in 1996 and just felt massive. As the marketing hype said, it was like a Star Wars movie release without a movie. I was really getting into Star Wars at that type and it was pretty exciting to have new characters who were getting action figures and other merchandise. I still have both of my Kenner Prince Xizor figures (one was sold by himself and another came in a 2-pack with Darth Vader); in fact, I think I have all of my Shadows of the Empire vintage figures. I've been hoping Hasbro would finally delve into this era of Star Wars as I really want Chewbacca as Snoova, Dash Rendar, Luke in his vest, Leia in the blue outfit, Leebo, and Guri. Prince Xizor's a great start, though. I believe the last time Hasbro made a Prince Xizor was in 2008 as part of a comic pack with Princess Leia. That's been a minute, as they say. Let's check out Prince Xizor after the break...



The Facts:

Height: 6 1/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, swivel/hinge knees,  ball jointed hips, ball jointed waist, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ lateral "butterfly" joints, swivel/ hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, a barbell jointed head, and 2 swivel ponytails.

Accessories: Staff.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars






The Positives:

* Prince Xizor looks excellent here, just like I remember from the book jacket, the vintage Kenner Power of the Force 2 figures and all of the various art commissioned for the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project. This image from the Hildebrandt brothers is the first image of Xizor that comes to my mind when I think of the character, and I think Hasbro's Star Wars team did a bang up job of capturing the character's mixture of regality, charisma, and menace. His robe, while mostly all plastic (there are fabric pieces on his elbows) is quite ornate with a unique texture etched into the material. The complicated belt buckle is also quite cool. Not sure what purpose it serves, but it looks neat and seems befitting of someone who likes to show off a bit. The gold trim of his outfit is vibrant with a metallic sheen and the paintwork is neat and clean. 





* The portrait is excellent and it definitely captures Prince Xizor's depiction as a very charismatic alien. Yeah, he's a Falleen with pheromones, but he also seems like someone that others species would look at and say "Yeah, he's a handsome dude." The sculpt is excellent and there's a nice light wash on parts of him to really add some depth to the sculpt. 








* Check out how both of his ponytails (there's a longer one and a smaller one) are articulated. They each have a swivel at the base!



* Xizor also has a really cool visible scaly spine running down his back. That's an impressive detail! The Falleen are reptomammals (like Tauntauns), so they have some unusual anatomy at times.







* While most of his robes are plastic, these streamers that hang down from elbows of Xizor's outfit are made of fabric to ensure they don't get in the way of posing him. I think it's a use of soft goods that we can all get behind as they look great and there's no real way that plastic would have worked here. They're attached at the decorative cuffs above his elbows and they flow nicely whether you just have him standing around menacingly or have him battling the foes of Black Sun.












* Here's a closeup of Xizor's mummy-like boot wraps and the elaborate pattern on his robe. There's a cut in the front middle of the robe and two cuts on the sides that allow him to take wider stances. 







* Hasbro has been changing the articulation up a little bit on most Black Series figures and there are joints that Xizor has that others don't (like the boot swivel) and joints he's missing (like a thigh swivel). When all is accounted for, I think he moves pretty well, especially considering his ornate robe. Full battle poses might be tough, but he does have some solid leg movement thanks to the well thought out cuts in his robe. His upper body moves great and everything feels sturdy and solid. This guy just oozes (or should I say secretes) coolness.








* Prince Xizor's only accessory is his staff. I've seen it in some drawings of the character and it was included with the comic pack figure back in 2008, so it's probably from the comics. It's a cool piece and the headpiece rotates. Probably just due to the staff being molded in two separate pieces, but still worth nothing, I guess. 






   I'm quite pleased with Prince Xizor. I think the only change I would have made would have been to include his weird staff from the 1996 2-pack figure or his odd blue energy fans. Still, this guy is from a book and mumtimedia project no longer considered "canon" that's nearly 30 years old, so getting him at all seems like a big win. He's excellent with some fantastic sculpting and a really impressive headsculpt. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure and another strong Black Series figure for 2025. Think we'll see any more Shadows of the Empire figures? 





This is the first figure of Prince Xizor I've reviewed on this site. For more Star Wars: The Black Series figures, check out the following:

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3 comments:

  1. 555April 11, 2025 at 4:49 AM

    Finally! Ah boy I'm hoping for a Swoop at some point so I can also get the full SoTE set. Thanks for making the distinction about Shadows being a multimedia project - it's a point that's been overlooked for years now. If you do get a chance, listen to the Shadows soundtrack by Joel McNeely - Xizor has a great theme that fits his character perfectly.

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    1. Barbecue17April 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM

      Dash Rendar was just revealed at Celebration! How cool, right? The Shadows Soundtrack is really good. I put Xizor's theme on for a listen and it is a great character piece.

      SOTE was such an innovative project. I think the High Republic was trying for something similar in terms of the breadth of different releases, but I kind of got burnt out on it. SOTE was huge, but limited enough that you could almost take it all in. It seemed limitless to a 6th grader.

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  2. 555April 25, 2025 at 2:03 AM

    I haven't seen the Rendar pictures but I'm looking forward to your review. Shadows still holds up really well, almost the Mandalorian of its day in how neatly it was able to fit into the universe without upsetting the existing storyline.

    As for the High Republic, I think it caught a lot of the flak from the oversaturation of SW in general, and didn't get a fair shake. Also it seemed pretty much to be Cavan Scott doing everything from the novels to the different comic titles - that's enough to burn out anyone. Looking forward to more of these reviews

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