As the primary antagonist of George Lucas' original vision, Emperor (or Chancellor) Palpatine was the ruler of the Galactic Empire and an insidious dictator. He is the Dark Lord of the Sith, and that's that. He is portrayed by actor Ian McDiarmid in five of the six original films, first making only a brief appearence in the classic The Empire Strikes Back.
Joining the alliance of holographic Funko Pop! figures (there are now officially three) is #40 in the series, Holographic Emperor, an Exclusive from Toy Wars which pretty much sold out in nearly a single afternoon. We are unsure of the number actually produced, but it is likely 1000 or under (we will let you know if we hear otherwise). This bobble-head figure joins my Holographic Darth Vader which was sourced from the Dallas Comic Con Convention in 2013. The other that is floating out there is a 2012 SDCC Holographic Darth Maul which was produced in an edition of only 480 and fetches upwards of $400 at auction!
With the thrill of the next Star Wars trilogy just ahead this figure surfaces, or should we say glowingly pulsates its way into our lives in such an elegant, simple design. You can compare/contrast it to the original figure that was released earlier last year here.
Though the color version does have a closer resemblance the actual character, especially when it comes to the pallid greenish-grey flesh of the character's visage, the glow-in-the-dark version brings an emotional connection to the sci-fi-ness of the holographic transmissions made throughout the saga.
The overall effect is almost transluscent and waxy cool, and like others in the series of figures comes with the optional logo-emblazoned stand. The Star Wars characters are the only series that consistently has included its trademark logo. Though the figure stands flat without it as well. And the glow, oh, this has got to be the most perfected GITD piece yet! We tried to get a good shot.....
Certainly to be one of the more sought-after figures from Funko in short order, a whole new cadre of figures will soon follow in the coming months, rounding out beloved characters of yore, including: an Unmasked Darth Vader, a new Luke Skywalker, Cantina Band figure, the "Invisible Pilot" and others. We are in love with this figure and hope you can find one if you didn't order this early on. And we recommend bookmarking Toy Wars for all your Funko needs!