Boba Fett, Boba Fett, Boba Fett! He’s on all of our minds lately. That’s impressive considering the last time we saw him alive, he was bested by a blind Han Solo with a stick.
Times have changed and with the advent of the Disney Plus series, he’s hotter than ever. Whether or not that has anything to do with Mafex reissuing their ROTJ Fett or not, I can’t say. What I can say is that I’ve already reviewed the Mafex (the original) and the Hasbro figure individually.
Now we find out how they stack up to each other.
Black Series Boba Fett Vs Mafex Boba Fett – The Sculpt
Both figures feature some really nice line work and paint apps. The Mafex, being the more expensive of the two, though, definitely has the upper hand here. The Hasbro Fett is missing the two triangles on the front of his helmet and the flight suit seems to be a lighter shade than it should be. I looked up what those were, and it turns out, the most scientific explanation I could find for the two sideways triangles was that there were simply indentions on the helmet. They served no purpose.
That being said, the Mafex included them, and the Hasbro didn’t.
Both helmets bear the 18 (though some are weathered almost completely gone) yellow bars. I’ve found contradicting significance to those bars. In the pre-Disney (Legends) canon, they were significant kills. Probably Jedi, Wookies, or other galactic baddies. After Boba’s return in season 2 of The Mandalorian, the bars were red. The red signifies mourning for a parent while the yellow signified vengeance.
Yeah, I can look stuff up.
The Hasbro’s arm tubes do not fall out every 37 seconds, which is a big plus in my book. That being said…
Winner – Mafex
Black Series Boba Fett Vs Mafex Boba Fett – The Accesories
The Mafex comes with three sets of hands, and that’s it. The Hasbro Fett has no extra hands, but instead comes with a flame thrower effect, two EE3 blasters (one chopped in half by a Skywalker), two jet pack effects, a removable rocket, and a fairly useless grappling hook.
No contest here.
Winner – Hasbro
Black Series Boba Fett Vs Mafex Boba Fett – The Articulation
Both figures have great articulation. The Mafex has way better elbows, but unfortunately, his joints haven’t aged well. He gets floppier every time I pick him up.
While the Hasbro lacks the elbow articulation of the Mafex, his joints are much tighter and he hasn’t fallen over once. When your displays are basically live-action domino games, the less a figure topples on its own, the better.
Winner – Hasbro
Black Series Boba Fett Vs Mafex Boba Fett – The Winner!
*opens the envelope* The winner is… HASBRO!
I based this on a lot of things, not just what you see here, but things I know as an owner of both. For instance, I’ve owned two Mafex Boba Fett RoTJ figures. The first one, the part that holds his range finder fell off, forcing me to glue it back on.
Thinking I found a faulty one, I gave it to my son and bought a new one. A few weeks later, the Fett I gave him fell over and his rocket snapped off. Thinking to myself, “This is what you get for giving a (then) 9-year-old an $80 action figure.” I glued the rocket back on and gave it back to him.
Then my very carefully displayed Mafex Fett took a dive off of a shelf for no discernable reason, and HIS rocket snapped off also.
There is NO fear that the Hasbro rocket will break, and even if it does, these things are so plentiful and cheap, it’s no big deal to buy another one. In fact, there is no fear in handling my Hasbro at all. The Mafex FEELS delicate.
Remember, this isn’t the reissue, so maybe they changed it up, but I highly doubt it.
The Mafex RoTJ is the best-looking Fett for your shelf, no doubt about it.
However, a modified Hasbro Fett isn’t far off, and you never worry about it. If you can afford both, get both.
If you’re the kind of collector that just wants one Fett, and he will be displayed using a display stand so he doesn’t fall, you have no kids or animals, and no one walks with a heavy foot in your domicile, get the Mafex (wait for the reissue in my opinion).
If you pose your figures a lot or do any photography with them, save yourself the heartache and get the Hasbro.
Regardless, with all of this Boba fanfare, I am actually a little surprised (I shouldn’t be, I know, I know) that the Star Wars fandom has found yet another thing to be toxic about, and this time it’s our boy Boba.
I really am enjoying the new series and as for “my Boba,” I tend to land on the side of characterization and growth. Just my opinion, please don’t @ me.
For some reason, I felt it was important to show each Boba’s scale next to a Vader.
With the Mafex Rogue One Vader With the Hasbro Black Series Empire Strikes Back Vader
Mafex Fett Here is a side by side of Fett and Vader in ESB for scaling purposes. Hasbro Fett
As I mentioned way back when I did my Hasbro Deluxe Fett review, I was saving my “glamor shots” of the figure after I was done touching up his paint. That time is now, and these are the pictures. Enjoy!
Return of the Jedi alternate ending It was probably at this point that Boba realized he was in a pickle. “Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold.”
“Oh s$#t!”
“Look Fett man, you may not dig it now. Just let it simmer in the back of that bucket head of yours. You’ll come around.” “Huh? Huh? Right? Don’t ya just love it?”