Padmé Naberrie was one of Queen Amidala’s handmaidens.  Her job was not only serve as an advisor and confidant of the queen, but also protect and serve.  To that end, Padmé was Amidala’s eyes and ears on Tatooine, while the queen herself remained safely aboard the starship.  Padmé gathered knowledge about the planet, but in the process of the expedition to get the hyperdrive repaired, she befriended young Anakin Skywalker.  After her adventures on Tatooine, Padmé returned to serving in Amidala’s entourage.  She supported the Queen during her attempt to convince the Galactic Senate to intervene on behalf of Naboo, and after that failure, she returned to Naboo.  The Queen, with the assistance of Jar Jar Binks, was introduced to Boss Nass, where she OHMYGODAMIDALAISTHEQUEEN!  SHE WAS THE QUEEN THE WHOLE TIME!  HOLY CRAP!  HOW DID WE NOT SEE THIS COMING!  HASHTAG MINDBLOWN! 

Okay, so that was a complete shocker.  But anyway, we got this Padmé figure as part of the Episode I line launch.  It didn’t look like much, basically a young lady in peasant gear.  But given all the wardrobe changes that the character underwent during the film, it would seem that this was, by far, the outfit that got the most screen time.  Now, the clothing on the figure is sculpted quite well, with a nice amount of texturing,  The paint washes really bring out the details and depth in this otherwise simple outfit.  It is this type of detailing that was completely absent from the previously reviewed Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon figures.  The figure is very simply articulated, with only the neck, shoulders, waist, and hips having swivel joints.  The hard plastic skirt prevents the legs from moving a whole lot.  While the lack of knees and ankles obviously makes the lower body articulation almost useless, at least a softer skirt would have allowed the figure to assume a sitting position. You know, like when Padmé is piloting a starship, or eating breakfast.  One thing that bothers me is that the figure has a slight walking stance, which includes her left foot being flexed with only the toes touching the ground.  It’s a very specific stance, reminiscent of the Luke figure that came with the POTF2 Purchase of the Droids cinema scene.

The headsculpt looks absolutely nothing like Natalie Portman.  I daresay it looks more like a young Sansa Stark.  The hair, however, is fairly intricate, with a very long style coupled with intricate braids and a bun.  This looks pretty decent, although it does inhibit the rotation of the neck swivel.  Finally, the figure comes with a handheld viewer, which, oddly, was actually used by Shmi while the group watched the pod race from their VIP pod thing.  There’s a little decal that mimics Anakin’s podracer on the screen, but it’s printed so that the vehicle is vertical instead of horizontal.  This probably would have been a better accessory to go with a future Shmi Skywalker, while maybe Padmé could have come with a giant shoulder mounted quad missile launcher, or even a zipline.  The figure can hold the screen in either hand (but not easily with both).

As with C-3PO, this figure is most notable because it is the only figure of Padmé in this outfit, and is in desperate need of an update.  It may not be the most demanded figure among collectors, but at some point, it deserves another look by Hasbro.  It’s Luke’s mom, for crying out loud.  It’s the outfit she was wearing when his parents met for the first time.  As it is, the figure gets a 3.  Other than the nicely sculpted hair and outfit, there’s not much to get excited about.  You need it because there’s no better option for Padmé in this outfit, but you don’t have to like it.