For those that don't know, Carnor Jax and Kir Kanos are the central characters of the Crimson Empire series of comics. Jax and Kanos were Royal Imperial Guards, the Emperor's most loyal bodyguards. Following the events of Dark Empire, Kanos learns that Jax is responsible for the flaw in the Emperor's clones that allow Luke Skywalker to finally defeat Palpatine's clones. Jax hunts Kanos as he is the last one with knowledge of Jax's betrayal, while Kanos attempts to kill Jax for his treason.
The Royal Guards have always been one of my favorite character designs, and I've always been disappointed we never saw them do anything in the movies (except for that travesty of a scene in ROTS - Yoda sucks). I've been aware that there was a story focusing on the Imperial Guards for sometime but hadn't ever devled into it, until a couple of months ago when I found out there was a Trade Paperback containing all 6 issues of the story, and was available specially bundled with two Gentle Giant Bust-ups, the Royal Guard and an exclusive Holographic Emperor. I found it on eBay for $15 and grabbed it.
Comics being what they are I finished reading it in 15 or 20 minutes. I've read it a couple of times since, and it's one of my favorite stories. I'm saddened that Jax (who is a cool character, in my opinion) betrayed the Emperor (who is one of my absolute favorite characters), but then he aspired to be a Sith, and that is the way of the Sith, schemeing to attain more power and advantage over rivals. Anyway, I loved the story, and it prompted me to start hunting down the trade paperback versions of Dark Empire (which I've found) and Dark Empire II, so I could read the Clone Emperor storyline. Anyone familiar with the ROTS Royal Guards released last year may be interested to know that the armor underneathe the cloak is patterned after Royal Guards as seen in Crimson Empire.
When I finally read Crimson Empire I was already aware that Hasbro had announced the Jax/Kanos pack, and was already planning to get it, but reading the story cemented my desire to have these figures. I don't remember exactly but I wouldn't be surprised to find out I pre-ordered the figures as soon as I finished the book.
And now, after the long wait the figures arrived...
A few people complained that the paint was sloppy, or that the figures were clumsly placed in the bubbles and didn't make for a good display - which doesn't bother me, because I open my toys.
Well, my two sets didn't disappoint me at all packaging wise. There was nothing wrong with how either of the figures in my two sets were placed in the packaging, the feet seemed aimed in the proper direction, and the figs were holding their weapons, and everything looked just great, and I'm going to leave one set unopened for a while, because it does look good.
But I opened one set as soon as I was able. My thoughts on the figures themselves are as follows.
Kir Kanos
Kir Kanos wears a mostly red version of the Royal Guard armor, though his sleeves and pants above his boots are mostly black.
The helmet's not as tight on his chest as I would like - I guess it's at least partly because of the gathering of the cape material at his throat, it keeps the lower front of the helmet away from his body - it's soft plastic, but it still cool. The black on the figure is not as dark as I would like, but it looks really good, the new forearms look great, it's too bad they didn't see fit to upgrade the elbows to ball/socket joint. His right hand is very soft and too open to hold the staff by itself. The cape is great, much better than the ROTS fabric, and shiny to boot.
Carnor Jax
Carnor Jax aspires to me the next Sith Lord and it shows in his choice of armor. He wears an awesome looking black variation of the armor, with red sleeves and pants, basically the reverse of Kanos' armor, except the helmet coloring is even cooler.
Same issue with the helmet being pushed away from his body by the cape, and I think the visor should be a deep black rather than the red/black it is. I love the black of the boots, chest/shoulder and arm armor, as it's a very shiny black. The black on the belt, holster, and the bodysuit are a different shade of black which makes for a nice variety. Again, the the cape is greate material, not as shiny as the red cape, nor are both sides the same shinyness, with the inner side being better.
The bladed staves are really cool weapons, and I'm glad Hasbro included them. While I would have liked it had Hasbro included the force pike from the Saga figure (especially since I never got that figure, and I never will, since the ROTS version is far superior from what I've seen), the only accessory I really wish Hasbro had included is a Saga2 style stand. Or any stand, as they're a little hard to balance on their own.
I love these figures. The articulation could stand a little improving, I personally don't care too much about the lack of waist articulation, though a little swivel ability would be useful, but the most important spots for me would be the elbows, then to have some ankle movement.
For a fun variation you can put Jax's helmet on Kanos and I think it looks pretty good, but the reverse is not true.
In short, I love 'em, they're totally worth $20, and even more so the $15 I got them for, thanks to the sale at HasbroToyShop at the beginning of the month. I'm really glad I bought two sets, and I encourage anyone that likes at all the Royal Guards, Crimson Empire, or just armored guys in red and black to buy a set or two.
Anyone that's interested can get them from StarWarsShop.com, HabroToyShop.com, and EntertainmentEarth.com, from where they are available as the standalone Jax/Kanos 2-pack, or bundled with the Crimson Empire TPB and 2 Bust-ups. Crimson Empire TPB and Bust-ups available seperately, as well.
