Mace Windu (TPM) — Star Wars The Black Series 50th Anniversary

Overview

Mace Windu (TPM) is a Best Buy exclusive in the Black Series 50th Anniversary sub-line, released in April 2021 at $24.99. This is a straight re-release of the standard Black Series Mace Windu in 50th Anniversary packaging — the same figure, the same accessories, the same engineering. What you’re getting is a genuinely strong figure: butterfly-jointed shoulders, a soft-goods Jedi robe that actually works, a removable-blade purple lightsaber, and a photo-real head sculpt that captures a young Mace Windu from The Phantom Menace as well as the Black Series has managed.

The only real limitation is the belt — it has no hole or clip for hanging the lightsaber hilt, which means the saber can’t be displayed stowed at the hip. For a Jedi who carries his weapon constantly, that’s a missed opportunity. Everything else on this figure works.

Articulation

18 joints. Barbell-jointed neck, ball-jointed lower neck, butterfly-jointed shoulders, swivel-hinged shoulders, swivel-hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, ball-jointed waist, barbell-jointed hip, swivel thighs, double swivel-hinged knees, rocker ankles.

The butterfly shoulders are what separate this from a standard Black Series figure in terms of posing range. Standard swivel-hinged shoulders allow a figure to raise its arms out to the sides and forward from the body, but they can’t swing the arms across the chest. Butterfly joints add that forward sweep, which unlocks proper two-handed lightsaber poses — the high guard, the forward-thrust, the forms that Mace Windu specifically uses in his Vaapad combat style.

The double swivel-hinged knees and rocker ankles give the legs good range for dynamic stances. The figure has no balancing issues and looks great on display in both neutral standing and active combat poses.

Accessories

3 accessories. Soft-goods Jedi robe and lightsaber with removable purple blade.

The blade detaches cleanly from the hilt. Mace Windu holds the saber well in both hands — the trigger-finger grip works in the right hand, the left provides a stable two-handed hold. The butterfly shoulders make these holds display convincingly.

The soft-goods Jedi robe is the accessory that separates this configuration from a simpler release. Soft-goods cloaks on Black Series figures are a mixed record — too many look bulky, hang wrong, or create the Cone Head problem when the hood is up. This one works. The proportions are right, it drapes naturally on the figure, and the hood sits over Mace Windu’s head without adding volume that makes the head look wrong. That’s a better result than average for this accessory type.

The absent belt clip is the one specific criticism. There’s no hole in the belt to hang the lightsaber hilt from — common on Jedi figures, conspicuously absent here. It means the saber is either in hand or loose on a shelf, with no tidy display-stowed option.

The Head Sculpt

The photo-real portrait is the version of the figure people describe as phenomenal — the specific sculpting of a young Mace Windu from Episode I, before the weathering of the Clone Wars and before the specific strain of the Palpatine confrontation in Episode III. This is the Council member in his prime, and the likeness reflects that.

Mace Windu at The Phantom Menace

This is Mace Windu at the Jedi Council’s most consequential decision point — the evaluation of Anakin Skywalker. His scepticism about the midi-chlorian count, the refusal to train the boy, the insistence that the Sith presence be investigated rather than acted on immediately: these are the decisions that define Windu’s character and set the prequel trilogy’s trajectory.

The TPM configuration places him before all of that consequence has landed. He has the robe, the Council authority, the purple lightsaber that Samuel L. Jackson specifically requested and Lucas approved — the figure is Mace Windu as introduction rather than Mace Windu in crisis. For display alongside Battle Droid (TPM) and Qui-Gon Jinn (TPM) from the same Best Buy wave, it’s the correct configuration — the Jedi at the beginning of the end.

The Tartakovsky Comparison

For collectors who have or are considering the Mace Windu (Clone Wars Tartakovsky) from the Walmart wave, the TPM and Tartakovsky versions cover genuinely different characters in a meaningful sense. The TPM Windu is the Council member with the soft-goods robe and the ceremonial authority. The Tartakovsky Windu is the general who handled the Battle of Dantooine solo — larger, more imposing proportions, the specific design language of the 2003 animated series. Both are worth having; they serve different displays.

Best Buy Exclusive Acquisition

Best Buy exclusive at $24.99, April 2021. Straight re-release of the standard figure in premium sub-line packaging. No tooling changes, no variations recorded.

Secondary Market

Best Buy exclusive 2021. Secondary prices typically $22–40.

Verdict

Mace Windu (TPM) 50th Anniversary is the right Council-era Mace at the right price — butterfly shoulders that enable proper lightsaber poses, a soft-goods robe that doesn’t embarrass itself, a genuinely good photo-real head sculpt, and the purple lightsaber with removable blade. The missing belt clip is the one specific gap. Best Buy exclusive, $24.99.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | 50th Anniversary. Related: Battle Droid (TPM) P4-50A-BDT | Qui-Gon Jinn (TPM) P4-50A-QGT | Mace Windu (Clone Wars Tartakovsky) P4-50A-MCT.