Star Wars The Black Series Emperor Palpatine with Throne

Because the Emperor demanded this.

This is the second time the Emperor is being released in the line. Hasbro has made some improvements from their previous attempt and it shows. 

Looks like he's been sitting too long. His robes will have to be straightened out a bit once out of the package.

Click images to enlarge.

Here's the comparison with the previous version. The new robes look much better. The previous one comes across as more of a raincoat. That said the new robes I think can be further improved. For one the hood portion sits too high. It should rest on his shoulders. It does however has a nice shape to it though. Another thing I don't like are the pointy ends of the lower part of his sleeves. They are too pointy and stand out too much.

The robes are removable. The figure reuses the same body as the previous version. There's one major difference and that is soft goods is now used for the"skirt" portion to enable him to sit on his throne. The sash is a separate overlay piece.  

Just to show you the legs which are the same.

I'm not sure if he's got a new head sculpt. They look very similar. His skin tone is more pale now,and there's also quite a bit of shading. He looks screen accurate and menacing compared to the previous figure.   

Accessories. He comes with two alternate heads, Force lightning hands and his walking stick. I would have liked if he came with his lightsaber.

The alternate heads has him wearing a sinister smile (below left) and an angry, gritted teeth expression (below right). They both look awesome. I think they did a great job with the teeth. The smiling head seems to have more flesh tone. The heads may be used on the previous figure if you like. Maybe have some clones running around or something.   

The Force lightning hands are essential to the character and I'm happy they included them this time round. The look pretty good. A gripe I have are the bent out of shape fingers, notably on his left hand. I also feel that the tips of his fingers should be skin tone and not blackened. Unless he used it so much that they're burnt. Did he do that? I'll need to rewatch ROTJ. These hands have the normal swivel and hinge articulation.

Also included with the figure is his throne. It looks very nice! There's some minor paint issues but other than that I have no complaints. The throne may be rotated. It is rather stiff to do so though and you might as well position the throne properly before placing it down.

The purple cushion uses a soft pvc and is quite soft to the touch. The consoles on the outside of the armrests are different while those on the inside are the same.

The Emperor looks great sitting on his throne.

It might cause him some backaches though.

The throne suits him and similar sized figures well. Black Panther can just about squeeze in while the Joker is too big. Not that he has the best articulation to do so.   

The articulation is the same as with the previous figures. There's a ball hinge neck, ball hinge shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, swivel and up and down hinge wrists, ball joint waist, ball hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees and ankle hinge and pivot. The "skirt" has some allowance and he's able to spread his legs somewhat.

Comparison shots.

Great figure! I like the improvements and the stuff he comes with. If you didn't pick up the Emperor previously this is the one to get. Thanks for viewing!