Hasbro Livestream Recap: Expanded Universe Bracket

 Hasbro had an 'Imperial March' livestream this past Wednesday and both the Black Series and the Vintage Collection had reveals, with the Black Series having more this time. Which is okay by me. Also the trailer for the Acolyte series dropped, and from a toy perspective I find it fascinating. As for the story I'll make my own judgment when I see it. So now onto the reveals! 


BLACK SERIES 




The Acolyte featured heavily for the Black Series as the entire wave, including Jedi Master Sol (who speaks in the trailer) and the lead character Mae (purple robes). Also you see the Jedi Master played by Carrie Anne Moss (Trinity from the Matrix movies). At the moment, I'm skipping character names because I don't know them yet. We also have a young alien apprentice that should make for a unique figure, and something Black Series collectors have wanted for Jedi: cloth robes! The recent Light Cruiser Luke and Darth Malgus have shown that the Black Series can get these right, and the new Jedi hopefully set a tone for future Prequel era Jedi figures for the line. 

Also revealed is the hologram collection figure of Darth Maul, as seen from Clone Wars Season 7. Admittedly I'm not a fan of these types of figures, but it's good enough to keep doing this. A replica was also revealed and that is Moff Gideon's helmet from the Season 3 finale of The Mandalorian! 


Additional Reveals: 

On Thursday the Black Series got more reveals: 




Amazon gets an exclusive Sith 3 pack featuring live action Thrawn with a Ysalamir, Clone Wars Microseries Grievous and Darth Vader (the only Sith and Dark Side user in this pack). Also revealed are a couple Wal-Mart/eBay exclusives as Baylan Skoll gets a cloak, but there's no height fix. Other than the cloak, it doesn't look like much of a change from the standard release. Vader gets a hologram figure, and this one might get some sales as he is seen like this in The Empire Strikes Back. 


Pipeline Reveals: 


Dedra Meero from Andor was that season's main adversary and will utilize the Tala buck from the Kenobi series for this figure. The Imperial Armored Commando from Mando (I'm a poet & didn't know it) Season 3 will be popular, as will the Enoch/Nighttrooper 2 pack, and the Yoda/Commander Gree Comic 2 Pack. Finally Ahsoka the White gets a figure, an easy repaint of the Mando Ahsoka. One is coming to the VC soon as well. 


VINTAGE COLLECTION 

I'll also add the ANH versions of Vader and the Stormtrooper from last week into this since I skipped it last week. 



Vader is a minor retool of the Dark Times Vader, this time with sculpted plastic over the shoulder armor as he was seen in A New Hope. And since I wanted a SW carded Vader, and was about to spend a fortune on a VC 93 Vader, Hasbro has decided to give him the original Kenner card! I wouldn't be surprised if they repack this on a Rogue One card one day. The Stormtrooper is a repack of the former Wal-Mart/eBay exclusive, but now it's a mainline figure. This figure is OT accurate with his holster for his blaster. But since I have nearly 20 of the RO Stormtroopers, I'm skipping this one. But for new collectors this is your chance to troop build Stormtroopers!! 






Jedi Sol and Mae the assassin highlight the Acolyte figures. The other figures of this wave have yet to be revealed, and hopefully this wave will be majority Acolyte figures. Praying the Wookiee Jedi is one of them! But the biggest news is the reveal of the all new sculpt of Leia Organa from A New Hope! VC 316 (Leia 3:16) features a plastic skirt, which does limit her from sitting in the Falcon, and reclining as she was when Luke found her. Maybe a cloth skirted one will be revealed in time. But so far she looks amazing! R2 is a repack of VC 149, this time clean, and with a new paint job on the dome. The VC reveals here, and with the new Bad Batch Rex are all in the same wave, so a themed VC wave looks possible now, and should clear up the slow drip of figures from the shows. My Bad Batch Hunter is still extremely lonely, and needs his brothers! 


Pipeline Reveals: 


Live action Thrawn and the Jet Trooper are the main single card highlights. A 4 pack of unnamed X-Wing pilots are coming, as named characters will no longer be in troop building packs. And finally a Blurrg makes its way into the VC! The only downside is he comes with Season 1 Mando. And the Playset reveal is Moff Gideon's Light Cruiser hallway. My guess is the pack in will be a Darktrooper, but that wasn't confirmed by Hasbro. Also revealed is the date when the next HasLab will be revealed: the week of May the 4th! It will be a VC HasLab once again, and once again the Black Series will benefit from all new sculpts of new figures thanks to the efforts of VC collectors! Kinda kidding but also not kinda kidding. 


EXPANDED UNIVERSE BRACKET


Originally I had some characters from Disney games and comic books, but to Hell with that! Honestly I prefer Legends aka "Star Wars Truths" figures over almost any OT or PT figures. If it weren't for the 1990's novels and comic books, Star Wars would have been a dead property until the Special Editions hit theaters in 1997. So, despite Disney determining which figures get made, adding a couple of figures from this era should be considered. These top figures were my top choices for the SWTVC March Madness, and the end round voting begins Monday! Here's the link: https://linktr.ee/swtvc


And now onto the Round of 16: 

1. Joruus C'baoth (HTTE)
2. Luuke Skywalker (Last Command)2
3. Mara Jade (Vision Of The Future Cover)
4. Kyle Katarn (Dark Forces)
5. Admiral Daala (Jedi Academy)
6. Dash Rendar (Shadows Of The Empire)
7. Guri (Shadows Of The Empire)
8. Jaina Solo (Dark Nest Trilogy)
9. Jacen Solo (Dark Nest Trilogy)
10. Anakin Solo (New Jedi Order)
11. Tahiri Veila (New Jedi Order)
12. Darth Caedus (Legacy Of The Force)
13. Ben Skywalker (Legacy Of The Force)
14. Captain Gilad Pellaeon (HTTE)
15. Lumiya (1980's Marvel Comics)
16. Exar Kun (Great Sith War)


Determining the fate of these VC figures is the 30th Anniversary Expanded Universe Yoda with Kybuck coin! Heads is Yoda, Tales is the Jedi Logo. Higher seeds are always Heads! Winners posted after the colon by the matchups! 



Round 1 Matchups 


1 C'baoth vs 16 Exar Kun: Exar Kun

8 Jaina Solo vs 9 Jacen Solo: Jaina Solo

5 Admiral Daala vs 12 Darth Caedus: Daala

4 Kyle Katarn vs 13 Ben Skywalker: Ben Skywalker 

2 Luuke Skywalker vs 15 Lumiya: Luuke

7 Guri vs 10 Anakin Solo: Guri

3 Mara Jade vs 14 Captain Pellaeon: Pellaeon 

6 Dash Rendar vs 11 Tahiri Veila: Tahiri


Round 2 Matchups


16 Exar Kun vs 8 Jaina Solo: Exar Kun

5 Daala vs 13 Ben Skywalker: Ben Skywalker 

2 Luuke vs 7 Guri: Guri

14 Pellaeon vs 11 Tahiri: Tahiri


Round 3 Matchups 


16 Exar Kun vs 13 Ben Skywalker: Ben Skywalker 

7 Guri vs 11 Tahiri: Guri


BRACKET FINAL ROUND 4

13 Ben Skywalker vs 7 Guri: Ben Skywalker 


EXPANDED UNIVERSE CHAMPION: BEN SKYWALKER! 


So my Final Four is all set, and technically it's all Skywalker's! Next week, here are the matchups: 


1. Ben Skywalker vs 4 Rey

2 Bespin Luke vs 3 Anakin Skywalker 


Photo credits: Black Series, BS and VC Pipeline reveals is State O Verse (X/Twitter & Instagram). VC photos from BanthaSkull. Ben Skywalker image from an online image search. Coin images from Rebelscum. 


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