Recommended music: John Williams – Victory Celebration/End Title
This #StarWarsSaturday, we’re looking ahead to the 10th anniversary of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in December. Check out these trading cards from Topps Star Wars: Rogue One: Mission Briefing!
Since my action figures are still packed away, waiting for a new display, the cards keep coming out to play.
Topps launched the Rogue One: Mission Briefing trading card set in September 2016 to build excitement for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The base set includes 100 cards that cover stories from Episodes I to VI and the animated series from that era, including the creation and destruction of the Death Star.
The Manufactured Patch Cards insert set has 13 cards featuring a commemorative patch on a thick card beside a new character from Rogue One. They were harder to pull, arriving in about 1:2 hobby boxes, but can still be found at a reasonable price on the secondary market 10 years later.
Today, I’m showing the next four base cards, which wrap up the story from 1983’s Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi before transitioning into cards focusing on characters who first appeared in A New Hope.
Unable to watch Emperor Palpatine torture his son, Vader turns on his master, throwing the Emperor down the Death Star’s reactor shaft and sacrificing his own life by choosing love over dark side loyalty. As a kid watching this scene repeatedly on VHS, I was confused about what critically wounded Vader, but I loved going frame by frame to see the Force lightning and Vader’s skull appear for a moment.
This ultimate sacrifice not only destroyed the Sith as far as we knew, but fulfilled the prophecy of the Chosen One and crippled the Galactic Empire. Coordinated with the Rebel Fleet’s destruction of the shield generator on Endor and the Death Star II moments later, the Empire collapses, securing a triumphant galaxy-wide victory for the Rebel Alliance. Cue the “Victory Celebration,” or Yub Nub if you prefer the original Ewok song.
Next, the set focuses on individual characters. It starts with the greatest villain in movie history, then moves to a nameless background character who didn’t even get an official Kenner action figure until 1985 as part of “The Last 17” in the original The Power of the Force line. Back then, he was just called the “Imperial Gunner.”
The vintage figure was modeled after the sleeker jumpsuit from Return of the Jedi, not the padded chest-armor version seen firing on Alderaan in A New Hope. It wasn’t until 1996 that the character was officially called “Death Star Gunner” in The Power of the Force II line.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still breaking records in theaters, but if you want summer movies at home, you can watch The Mandalorian and Grogu on PVOD, with physical media and Disney+ releases coming soon. Or check out Masters of the Universe, which is still a top movie on Amazon Prime!
#RogueOne10
#RogueOneAStarWarsStory
#TheMandalorianAndGrogu
#ToyPhotography
Dale's Toys 