Boss Nass.  Did you know his first name was Rugor?  I did not.  It even dates back to the old EU, many years before the Disney purge.  Fascinating stuff.  Boss Nass is ridiculous, but kinda fun at the same time.  He had a larger-than-life kind of personality, but I attribute this to the fact that he was voiced by Brian Blessed (Yes, Jimmy, I knew this.  EVERYBODY KNEW THIS!). He was huge, and he was intimidating.  He could have been scary at some points when he spoke, but his slobbering and Loony-Toons-ish head shaking betrayed him.  He was the proud leader of the Gungans.  In another Star Wars bit of trivia that I did not know, Nass is an Ankara Gungan, a race known for their shorter bills, hooded eyes, and stockier builds.  Jar Jar Binks was a member of the Otolla race, known for their longer bills, stalked eyes, and lankier builds.  I have no proof of this, but it sounds like some nonsense retconning.  I think they just designed Boss Nass to look huge and imposing as a ruler over the other Gungans, but went too far and he ended up looking like a different species. I don’t recall seeing any other Ankara Gungans in the film.  Maybe I missed them, but it seems all the other Gungans in the film were Otollas.  So he’s a one off, but the EU made him another race altogether.  Whatever. 

Boss Nass was susceptible to Jedi Mind tricks, and therefore provided him with his bongo submarine to speed Qui-Gon on his way through the planet core.  Later, Queen Amidala, with the help of Jar Jar Binks, set up a meeting with Boss Nass to work out a pact and fight together against the droid invasion.  Nass (inexplicably) named Jar Jar as Bombad General.  Finally, when the war was won (after the Gungans served as little more than a diversion), Nass participated in the Naboo victory celebration, and was awarded the Naboo Globe of Peace, which was really just one of those plasma static electricity balls that your 7th grade science teacher brought to class.  I assume he put it on his mantle after the party.

I liked this back in 1999.  I thought it was a great looking figure.  The facial expression captures him at his most regal.  His eyes are expressive, and his large billed mouth is set in a stern frown.  The coloring of the figure is pretty good, right down to his toenails.  But in particular, the skin patterns painted on the hands are awesome.  Since he’s only got his hands exposed, there’s not as much of this detailing to see as on a figure like Jar Jar Binks with his bare arms.  Nass’s robe is a rubbery plastic that can be removed, revealing his casual black track suit underneath.  The figure has 6 POA.  He’s got a neutral stance, although his right hand is sculpted into a permanent pointing gesture.  I think he’s telling Jar Jar where he can stick his heyblibber. 

Nass comes with a weird staff as an accessory.  He can kind of hold it with his left hand, although it’s not that secure.  I don’t believe he ever had this thing during the film, and Hasbro couldn’t come up with anything else to use instead.  I guess that’s fair, because other than the aforementioned Orb of Peace, there’s really no logical accessory for hm.  At another time, perhaps he could have had a throne, or maybe a hologram of Theed for the war planning. 

So this figure was cool and all…until the POTJ line when Hasbro gave it another go at a Boss Nass figure.  Just look at the comparison shot above.  I never realized how ridiculously undersized this Episode I figure actually is.  The POTJ figure is pretty cool.  Yeah, it’s basically a salt shaker, but look at it!  It captures Boss Nass at his most insanely jolly!  So that said, while this figure is not as good overall as the POTJ version, its still works in your displays because, if nothing else, of the more serious expression on his face.  He can’t be a grinning fool when he’s looking to have Jar Jar Binks pyoonished.  Who would take him seriously?  I’ll give this figure a 4.  The POTJ version is better, but Hasbro could probably do better than both today.