Emperor's Royal Guard — Star Wars The Black Series #38

Overview

Red Line #38 is the Emperor’s Royal Guard — the crimson-robed Imperial bodyguards who flank Palpatine in every ROTJ throne room scene, standing in silent menace at the edges of the Emperor’s presence. The all-red uniform is one of the most striking designs in the original trilogy’s Imperial roster — fully concealed, fully anonymous, a colour that reads as both ceremonial authority and imminent threat. The force pike they carry is the weapon of personal protection deployed at the highest level of Imperial authority.

The Royal Guard is the Red Line wave’s most prestigious army builder. A pair flanking an Emperor Palpatine figure creates the specific ROTJ throne room tableau that is one of the original trilogy’s most powerful visual set pieces. Multiple copies create the formation depth that communicates the Emperor’s protected status. Four total Black Series releases including a 2023 reissue and 2025 Halloween Edition. MSRP $19.99.

The Character and Visual Design

The Emperor’s Royal Guard is the most visually extreme expression of Imperial uniform design — where standard officers wear grey and Stormtroopers wear white, the Royal Guard wears all-crimson with no surface variation. The colour is not camouflage; it is pageantry serving a security function. The robes are ceremonial; the occupant is anything but.

The guards are specifically identified in expanded universe materials as the Emperor’s Hand candidates who failed or the most elite members of other Imperial force structures — not a separate organisation but a role assigned to people who have already passed through the Empire’s most demanding selection processes. They are silent in all canon appearances, which is itself a design choice: they don’t speak because speech would make them individuals, and they are not intended to register as individuals. They are an extension of the Emperor’s authority, expressed in bodies.

The fully-enclosed red helmet and robe create a figure with zero portrait quality concerns — there is nothing underneath the armour that Photo Real technology could improve. The quality is measured entirely in the robe sculpt, the force pike prop accuracy, and the crimson paint application’s depth and consistency.

Accessories

Force pike — the staff weapon carried by the Royal Guard throughout ROTJ. The force pike is a polearm with an electrostatic charge applied at the tip, capable of both impact and energy attacks. It fits both hands in the natural two-handed grip seen in the film. Articulation: 19 points via the standard dual neck scheme.

Army Building the Throne Room

The ROTJ Emperor’s throne room is the most clearly defined army building opportunity in the original trilogy. The specific geometry of the scene — Emperor at the centre elevated on his throne chair, Royal Guards flanking in formation — is immediately recreatable with this figure. Two Royal Guards with an Emperor figure creates the minimum display; four creates the full formation visible in the ROTJ endgame sequences.

The Royal Guard’s all-crimson uniform against the grey and black of other Imperial figures creates immediate visual focal point — the display’s eye goes to the red before anything else, which is what the design intends.

All Four Black Series Royal Guard Releases

Emperor’s Royal Guard (2017) — this figure: The original Red Line release. Emperor’s Royal Guard & TIE Pilot (Carbonized) (2023): Two-pack carbonized metallic finish variant. Emperor’s Royal Guard (2023): Standard Phase 4 reissue with updated production quality. Imperial Royal Guard (Halloween Edition) (2025): Novelty seasonal variant.

For army building: the 2023 standard reissue provides current Phase 4 production quality. The 2017 version and 2023 version are functionally equivalent for display; choose based on packaging preference or secondary market pricing.

The Royal Guard Beyond ROTJ

The Emperor’s Royal Guard appears in Revenge of the Sith flanking Palpatine as he transitions from Senator to Emperor, and in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett in degraded Remnant contexts. The 2023 and later releases reflect the Guard’s continued canonical presence in the Disney+ era. For the specific ROTJ throne room context, the 2017 Red Line version and 2023 reissue are both appropriate.

Secondary Market

Available at modest secondary market prices — army builder demand creates sustained interest, and the 2023 reissue provided additional supply. No production variants documented for the 2017 release.

Verdict

Buy for the ROTJ throne room display, Imperial prestige army building alongside Emperor Palpatine, or Red Line sequence completion. Two or more copies are the standard recommendation.

The Force Pike and Imperial Ceremonial Weapons

The force pike is not the weapon of the standard Stormtrooper corps — it is specifically associated with the Emperor’s inner circle, carried by the Royal Guard and certain other high-prestige Imperial bodyguard roles. Its presence as an accessory communicates that the Guard’s function is personal protection at the highest level, not general infantry deployment. The weapon’s polearm design enables a standing defensive posture rather than an aggressive combat stance — these are guards, not soldiers, and the pike reflects a defensive role.

In the EU expanded content, the Royal Guard are depicted as being among the most dangerous fighters in the Empire behind the Emperor himself, with training that surpassed Stormtroopers in both combat skill and operational secrecy. Their silence and immobility in on-screen appearances is not passivity but deliberate threat management — they are maximally threatening precisely because they do nothing until the moment arrives.

Two-Figure Formation Display

A pair of Royal Guards at either side of Emperor Palpatine creates the specific ROTJ throne room display that resonates most strongly for collectors who remember the film’s final act. The guards’ complete anonymity — no face, no name, no distinguishing feature except the identical crimson — makes them ideal for army building in a way that named characters can’t be: one figure duplicated is not a cheat but the correct representation of the Guard’s institutional identity.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Red Line. Related: Galactic Empire faction | Army Builders | Return of the Jedi | ROTJ Throne Room scene.