It’s borderline insanity that we haven’t had this figure documented yet (notice that I didn’t say reviewed).  Some fans have a most wanted figure and they can name it on the spot.  I am not that fan.  At any given moment, I have about twenty “most wanted” figures, and the rankings change constantly include which one is at the very top.  It’s constantly changing for me, but one that has always been on that list is EV-9D9. I’ve been obsessed with the character since I first saw Return of the Jedi.  She scared the pants off me as a timid ten year old.  I love things the things that scared me as a kid.  I was a devotee of the “Creature Double Feature” on the local UHF channel on Saturday afternoons.  Those vibes have stuck.  I’m so obsessed with getting this figure in the Vintage Collection that CJ has even started a counter-campaign of of spite.  He actually published a book about it.

We are currently in the midst of a Last 17 feature, of which EV-9D9 is one.  As part of this feature, we look at the most recent modern release that is a counterpart to that Kenner Last 17 figure.  This 1997 release of EV-9D9 is just that.  Given my love for the character, you can imagine my surprise when I realized we have never reviewed it in the nearly eighteen year history of Bantha Skull.  This is especially noteworthy considering how easily accessible decent quality carded samples remain a full twenty eight years later (that’s crazy if you think about it).  I paid a whopping $13 for the carded sample above, and that included a Star Case (a $3 value).  By now you should realize that on these reviews of twenty-plus year old POTF2 figures, very little of the review will focus in the figure itself.  I’d just as soon give an earnest review of A.B.C. chewing gum.

One thing I’ve been obsessed about it whether or not the 1997 EV-9D9 is actually 100% new.  Is it using some of the 1985 tooling?  I didn’t start this particular line of questioning.  One of the early luminaries in the modern line did, but unlike him, I’ve never given up the debate.  If you look at photographs of the two figures side by side, there are definite differences, but there are also uncanny similarities, especially in aspects that seem potentially arbitrary.  That made me change the question.  Could it be a recast of the vintage figure where the modern sculpt starts by making a wax imprint of the Kenner figure, and then tweaking it?  Again, because of the uncanny similarities, this seemed plausible, but this was based on looking at photographs.  Holding the two figures side by side, I realized this was not possible because the Kenner figure is slightly larger.  Such a recast would be the same size.  Still not willing to give up on my quest to prove how slighted EV-9D9 has been in the modern line, I posited that 1997 Kenner used the 1985 Kenner figures as their spec instead of going back to the reference material.  That had to be it to explain why some details on the two figures were so exactingly alike.

Nope.  I talked to someone in the know.  It turns out the EV-9D9 was one of the characters for whom Kenner had outstanding reference material.  The reason that the two figures have so many commonalities is that the same company working twelve years apart was using the same high-fidelity reference material.  Harumph.  Well, I’m still angry.  There’s no excuse for this O96 figure having only ONE figure in the modern line while stupid diaper-swaddled Dengar has a had three!  She has speaking lines.  She’s memorable.  She’s a droid.  She appears in new media.  What the heck?  It’s somewhat incredible that we’re through eleven combined years of the Vintage Collection, and this O96 character hasn’t cracked the lineup.  With respect to the 1997 release, I guess it’s not terrible aesthetically.  It just seems to suffer from typical POTF2 gigantism and lack of articulation.

Speaking of articulation, I have to wonder if Hasbro could do a new EV-9D9 that is both accurate and fully articulated. IG-11 and IG-12 would seem to say yes.  The elbow-less and knee-less 8D8 seems to say no.  Hasbro, if you can not do an EV-9D9 that is full articulated without jarringly upscaling the width of the limbs, don’t do it at all.  My ticker can’t take the heartbreak of a repeat of the 8D8 situation.  I’m still working my way through the emotions of the recent Han Solo miss.  Back briefly to the 1997 figure, one instant complaint fans had is that the articulated jaw from the 1985 figure was dropped, but I personally think the inclusion of the “datapad” is a much better trade off.  One thing it does have in common with the vintage figure (aside from some aesthetic choices) is that the long and rubbery legs warp easily.  My loose sample was twisted right out of the package.  This lack of articulation, warped legs, and gigantism compel me to give this a three, BUT WAIT.  We have some late breaking news:

This figure is EV-9D9.  This figure is EV-9D9.

Per the Nomadscout “this isn’t the Carson Teva I want” rule, I can give this figure a 4 out of 10.