The universe of Stargate has gotten deep and complex over the past decade. Humanity has been threatened with invasion more than once, from the System Lords led by Apophis and their warrior-race minions, the Jaffa, to the more recent Ori, another godlike race who conquer planets using religion. Along the way we meet many more friendly alien races, including the Tokra and the Asgard, a very recognizable gray race, the archetypal "extraterrestrial" seen in many incarnations throughout popular culture.

Diamond Select has created several very nice action figures based around this long-running series. The most recent 6- to 7-inch set consists of Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, SG-1's technical advisor and engineer; Teal'c, a Jaffa who betrayed his master in the first season and joined SG-1 in hopes of defeating the System Lords and restoring freedom to his enslaved people; Thor, an Asgard who has helped the SG-1 team on many occasions; and a "black ops" version of Teal'c, dressed in stealthy black uniform.

Each figure has many points of articulation, including ball-jointed neck and wrists (for the humans), with strong joints for knees and elbows as well as cut joints for the waist, upper arms and thighs to allow radial rotation and shoulders that allow a wide range of movement. The lack of any articulation below the knee, however, makes various standing poses difficult.

Each figure comes packed on a bubble card that includes a complement of equipment and a piece of a scale stargate. Collect them all and build your own stargate.

Pricey but impressive

Lt. Col. Samantha Carter comes dressed in her military green uniform over a black T-shirt and wears a removable rubber black vest covered with pockets. She is packed with her military rifle, a .45 automatic, a Goa'uld Zat gun, a radio, a G.D.O. ("garage door opener"—an identity device to prevent invasion through the stargate) and a yellow crystal. Included in Sam's package is a segment of the stargate that can connect to other segments to form the whole ring.

Teal'c comes dressed similarly to Carter in military green over a black T-shirt and a removable vest. He also comes with a military rifle (a P-90), a Zat gun, a G.D.O., a radio and a Jaffa staff weapon. The staff comes with two interchangeable heads, one in the open position and one closed. Teal'c comes with a second segment of the stargate ring.

Thor, a typical gray alien, is nicely molded. His ball-jointed head swivels nicely on his neck and allows for many angles. His body is a beige color painted with blue veins throughout. His black slanted eyes are those of the stereotypical alien. Thor has no wrist or cut thigh articulation, however. Thor comes with three nanorobotic Replicators and part of the ramp that leads up to the stargate.

This wave of figures is created using digital scans of the characters' faces. Carter's likeness, despite this fact, gets only a passing grade. I've seen far better likenesses, and much worse in action figures. Teal'c's likeness is perhaps the best of this series. His striking features are nicely depicted, including his golden Jaffa forehead tattoo. Thor is nicely done, but there are noticeable differences in facial proportions and paint.

Overall this is an impressive set of figures. I didn't see the "black ops" Teal'c, but the major difference is his uniform. When producing a wave of four figures, though, I think it odd to include the same character twice when there are so many characters and alien races to choose from.

On the plus side, mail in four proofs of purchase and you can get an exclusive Elite Serpent Guard Jaffa figure.