Clone Commander Doom

Man, everybody wants to get in on the Avengers 5 hype! Doom served alongside the twin Jedi Masters Tiplar and Tiplee. He led a flanking maneuver during the Battle of Vingo Vinda, supported by clone troopers including Fives and Tup. Aw, now I'm sad. The arc in which Clone Commander Doom appeared is genuinely heart-wrenching. Full spoilers for four cartoon episodes from 2014: when a clone trooper Tup's "Order 66" control chip malfunctions, he blacks out and kills his Jedi commander in the middle of a battle; a clandestine brain scan reveals the organic chip, but Tup dies after its removal; Fives is the only witness to this, so he's framed for an attempt on Chancellor Palpatine's life and gets gunned down in the street by Coruscant guards, preventing him from warning the Jedi of what was coming for them. And Doom was involved in precisely none of that. He was just a cool armor design to stand in a crowd, an intentional Easter egg to one of Dave Filoni's favorite non-Star Wars characters, Marvel's Doctor Doom. The guy was so much of an Easter egg, in fact, that he wasn't even named in the episode! You had to read the trivia entry on StarWars.com to get the joke. Doom wears the advanced Commander armor, which is basically the Phase II suit with a few add-ons: his helmet has a visor and an antenna, he wears a kama skirt like the ARC Troopers, and his belt has two holsters hanging from it. Surprisingly, this is not the same 2020 sculpt the newer troopers have used. The detail is a bit softer on the chest, due to the way Hasbro has decided to produce the toy: the chest armor is a separate PVC piece that fits over the body beneath, rather than just being a solid sculpt. That's the same way they do Boba Fett's armor these days, so there must be a benefit to it for Clones, as well. There was a 3¾" Doom released in 2015 (and side note, looking back at that review, how weird is it that I described the episode as "heart-wrenching" both times without having gone back to reread that one until now?), but its paint was a very solid green, which wasn't strictly accurate to the cartoon: his armor showed a lot of wear and tear, with the paint scraping off in spots, while the old toy made it look pristine. This one is definitely more weathered... on the front, at least. LIke usual, they quit trying when it came to his back. The decoration on the left side of his chest is gold with red and blue squares. but his skirt is missing the thin white hem along the edges. And don't worry if you buy this toy and the yellow stripes on the skirt seem to be flaing off: that's a specific design choice, they're specifically printed to look that way. One thing that's not correct, though? The face of his helmet is white, rather than the gray of his arms and legs; it should match the limbs. The 2020 Clone body already had better articulation than the one that had come before it, and this one ups the quality again. It has swivel/hinge ankles, double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljoint hips, a balljointed chest, pectoral hinges, swivel/hinge shoulders (with the pauldrons on rings so they can turn with the arm), swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck, and barbell head. The knee- and elbow-pads are separate pieces that float around the joint, and the skirt is fully softgoods, so it doesn't block things at all. The band that ties it together is meant to be hidden behind the belt, but on my figure it sticks out underneath it. Eh, I can deal. Commander Doom is very light on accessories. All he gets are a pair of DC-17 blaster pistols, the standard issue handgun for Clone Troopers. Those aren't terribly exciting, but that's what he used on the show, so the choice suits him. They can fit in the holsters on his belt, or be held in both hands. We normally say with Clone Troopers that it would have been nice if they'd given him a removable helmet (since they all have the same face, after all), but in this case we'll make an exception; not because he never took his helmet off in the episode, but because he's Doom: maybe he was horribly scarred at some point and now hides his face at all times. Clone Commander Doom is a Target exclusive, revealed at the beginning of May and shipping just last week. At the same time Target offered Commander Thorn, another Clone inspired by Marvel Comics, though his connection is much less obvious (if it helps, his helmet has wings painted on it, and his signature weapon is a laser Gatling gun called the "Hammer"). Doom is the big winner though, and it's awesome that he's made it into The Black Series at last. -- 07/25/26 If you could homage any character as a Clone Trooper, who would it be? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.