Count Dooku put on his best Wicked Witch of the West impression when he made like a tree and got outta that joint after Yoda and the clones showed up.  He got on his nifty Geonsoian-made Flitknot speeder and raced to his secret hangar, escorted by a pair of Geonosian starfighters.  He was eventually spotted by Anakin and Obi-Wan in a Republic Gunship (how random was that?) and chased down to the hangar.  Dooku left the speeder behind during his escape from Yoda, but according to The Clone Wars series, he did eventually retrieve it for later use.

Hasbro rarely screws up a vehicle, large or small, and this was no exception. It’s a nice speeder in the tradition of so many such offerings over the history of the line.  The sculpt is accurate to the unique design in the film, with the forward positioned seat.  The features are minimal, but effective. The front foot pedals are adjustable, so not only do they interact perfectly with the included Dooku figure, but they also double as kickstands to keep the speeder upright when at rest.

There’s a plastic seatbelt that keeps Dooku in place, which helps the one included action feature work.  There’s a button on the back of the speeder, which, in turn, activates a lever that touches Dooku in the back, which in turn, activates the button on the Dooku figure’s back, causing the right arm to swing up and down.  Sounds like a Rube Goldberg contraption, but it does work.  Dooku never wielded his lightsaber in this silly fashion in AOTC, but you know, it’s for the kids. 

The Darth Tyranus figure itself is pretty pedestrian.  It’s got hinged knees and a wide stance, which does allow it to interact perfectly with the foot pedals, something that most biker scout figures would be jealous of.  The aforementioned action feature works as designed, although it won’t exactly knock your socks off.  It’s supposed to be almost a hundred degrees in NY/NJ the day this is published, and for the record, I’m not wearing socks anyway.  So while better Dookus exist, this one works as the rider for the vehicle, and therefore maintains some value in your collection.

The figure isn’t great, but does work almost flawlessly as designed, and interacts nicely with the bike.  The speeder itself is a nice piece to add to your display.  So we’ve got Dooku, his speeder, and his FA-4 droid.  We just need Hasbro to come through with the Solar Sailor.  This get’s a respectable 6.