Darth Vader (Obi-Wan Kenobi) — Star Wars The Black Series #OWK 02

Overview

Darth Vader at #OWK 02 is the Mural Collection’s centrepiece — the antagonist who turns the Disney+ series from a hiding-Jedi-on-Tatooine drama into the rematch nine years in the making. Released July 2022, single-boxed, MSRP $24.99. The figure is a re-release of the 2017 Black Series Darth Vader (#43 in Phase 3) with one specific change: the inner soft-goods robe now sits underneath the chest armour rather than over it, which is the small but meaningful update that makes this version the screen-accurate Obi-Wan Kenobi series Vader rather than the more generic A New Hope/Empire Vader. Red lightsaber with removable blade. One accessory. The figure that the series was building toward.

The Re-Release Question: Why Buy This Vader?

There are a lot of Black Series Darth Vader figures. Phase 1’s #02 1980 Empire mould. Phase 3’s #43 from 2017. The Rogue One Vader. The Return of the Jedi unmasked Vader. The 40th Anniversary Empire Strikes Back Vader. The Obi-Wan Kenobi #OWK 02 figure is, fundamentally, the 2017 #43 mould with a tweaked soft-goods configuration and updated packaging — and that means the buying decision comes down to whether the soft-goods change and the Mural Collection packaging are worth the price of admission for collectors who already own a Black Series Vader.

For Mural Collection completists, the answer is yes. The mural-style packaging means this Vader is the visual centre of the displayed boxed set — the dark figure between the Wandering Jedi opener and the Reva and Inquisitor antagonists — and you cannot complete the mural without him. For collectors building a configuration-specific Vader collection, the answer is also yes, because the Obi-Wan Kenobi series Vader has a specific costume reading that the 2017 release does not capture. For collectors who already own the #43 and don’t care about the mural, this is a skippable re-release.

The Soft-Goods Change That Matters

Hasbro’s specific change between #43 and #OWK 02 is the inner robe configuration. On the 2017 figure, the inner soft-goods robe sat on top of the chest armour, which created a slightly bulky silhouette and a less screen-accurate look. On the #OWK 02 release, the inner robe is tucked underneath the chest armour, which is how the Vader costume is constructed in the show. The change reads as minor in description but significant in display: the figure looks tighter, more composed, more like the Vader who walks into the Fortress Inquisitorius.

The trade-off is that the inner robe is no longer removable or re-arrangeable on this version. Once Hasbro tucked it under the chest armour, they committed to that configuration. If you want a Vader where you can adjust the robe arrangement, the 2017 #43 is the better figure. If you want screen accuracy for the Disney+ series, the #OWK 02 is the better figure.

The Vader of the Kenobi Series

What the Disney+ series did with Vader was give us the version of the character at his most actively cruel — the Vader who is hunting, not the Vader who is monitoring or commanding. The series shows Vader walking through a city after Obi-Wan, dragging civilians out of cover, lighting people on fire because they are in the way of finding his old master. The Vader of the Kenobi series is the Vader at his most personally invested, because he is hunting the man who left him to burn.

The figure does not capture this directly — it is a static piece of plastic, not a performance — but the costume design of the show, which the figure references, communicates the character’s state. The chest armour reads as heavier. The cape reads as more enveloping. The proportions of the helmet and shoulders read as more imposing. Vader in this configuration is the Vader who has been Vader for nine years and has settled into the silhouette completely.

The Lightsaber and the Hook

One accessory: a red lightsaber with a removable blade. The hilt is the standard 2017 mould, which is the correct mould for the character at this period — the prequel-era hilt design carries through to the post-Order 66 Vader and stays consistent until the original trilogy. When the blade is removed from the hilt, the hilt clips onto a belt hook for stowed display. The figure can hold the lightsaber in either hand.

The single-accessory loadout is the figure’s biggest weakness. For $24.99 MSRP, collectors are paying for a re-release with one weapon. There is no head-under-the-helmet alternate sculpt, which is the most commonly requested missing feature for any Vader figure. There is no second pose hand. There is no dust effect or ignition effect for the lightsaber. The figure ships with what it ships with, and the soft-goods configuration is what justifies the purchase, not the accessory count.

Articulation and Build

17 joints. Ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows and wrists, ball-jointed waist, barbell-jointed hip, swivel thighs, double swivel-hinged knees, rocker ankles. The articulation is the standard Phase 3-onward Vader tooling and supports the full range of two-handed lightsaber poses, the cape-billowing dynamic stances, and the more contemplative standing poses. The figure stands well on display without falling over, which matters because Vader is heavy — the chest armour, the helmet, the cape — and a less stable build would be a constant balance problem.

The head sculpt has no head underneath the helmet. This is the design decision Hasbro has made consistently for the Vader-helmeted figures, and it is the correct one — including a Sebastian Shaw or Hayden Christensen unmasked head would have ballooned the price and would have served a different display use case. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series does include the brief unmasked moment when Obi-Wan cracks the helmet open, but that scene is brief enough that Hasbro’s choice not to include an unmasked head feels right for this release.

The Mural Collection Position

Vader is the visual anchor of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Mural Collection. Displayed in the boxed mural, his silhouette dominates the centre. Displayed loose, he is the figure that every other figure in the collection is reacting to — Obi-Wan Wandering Jedi (#OWK 01) is hiding from him, Reva (#OWK 03) is trying to please him and then betray him, the Fifth Brother (#OWK 04) is serving him, Teeka (#OWK 05) and Ben Kenobi Tibidon Station (#OWK 06) are operating in the world he has built. The collection works because Vader is the gravitational centre.

Display Vader alongside Obi-Wan Wandering Jedi for the Episode 1 narrative setup. Display him alongside Reva for the Inquisitor command-structure scenes. Display him alongside the Phase 1 Vader (#02) and the various other-era Vaders for a chronological Vader collection — the #OWK 02 sits in the middle of that timeline, after the original trilogy and before Rogue One but conceptually distinct from both because of the hunting-Obi-Wan narrative context.

Sculpt and Paint Notes

Hasbro sculpted the figure beautifully. The small triangle vent on the helmet’s chin, the widow’s-peak shape on the front of the helmet, the larger chest control box — all the screen-accurate details from the Kenobi-series costume are present. The outer soft-goods cape looks bulky in product photography but reads correctly in person, particularly when arranged with patience. Hasbro gave Vader the correct height: he stands about one head taller than a regular 6-inch Black Series figure, which is the screen-accurate proportion.

The paint application is restrained and effective. Vader is a black-on-black-on-black figure, which makes paint application difficult, but Hasbro picked out the silver and red details on the chest control box cleanly. The helmet’s lens areas are painted with the correct red-tinted reflective look. The figure has no balancing issues in display.

Secondary Market

Single-boxed, non-exclusive, mass-retail release in July 2022. Available below MSRP on the secondary market. Verify the lightsaber blade is included and the cape is undamaged. No production variants documented beyond the soft-goods change from the 2017 #43.

Our Verdict

Darth Vader at #OWK 02 is the right Vader for the Mural Collection and the right Vader for collectors who want the Disney+ series-specific configuration. It is not the right Vader for collectors who already own the 2017 #43 and don’t care about the mural. The soft-goods change is the only meaningful update, and whether that change is worth $24.99 depends on what you are building.

Buy this figure if you are completing the Mural Collection, if the Kenobi series mattered to you, or if you want the version of Vader at the moment he is hunting the man who made him. The figure is the visual centre of the collection it belongs to, and the collection does not work without him. The hunting Vader. The series-defining antagonist. The figure that justifies the rest of the collection’s existence.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 4 Obi-Wan Kenobi Mural Collection. Related: Obi-Wan Kenobi Wandering Jedi P4-OWK-01 | Reva (Third Sister) P4-OWK-03 | Fifth Brother (Inquisitor) P4-OWK-04.