Star Wars 'Saga' Phase 1
Captain Typho
(Padmé's Head of Security)
For our German readers, it’s time for joke. Captain Typo. Very good. Ok. Next joke. Pade. Very Good. Good night.
Attack of the Clones consisted of a lot unnecessarily complicated or illogical assassination attempts on Padmé. The movie opens with one such attempt. An explosive device blows up Padmé‘s starship, but not while the ship is in the vacuum of space where all passengers would surely have died, but after it lands when the passengers are deboarding. This is when such an assassination attempt would offer the greatest possible chance for survival which serves the plot. Even though the attempts on Padmé‘s life were the central mystery of the movie, she somehow suspected an attempt and traveled in disguise as a Naboo pilot as did her head of security, Captain Typho, and that is the source of this figure.
The more iconic costume for Captain Typho is that of the Royal Naboo Security Force similar to the one worn by Captain Panaka in The Phantom Menace. Perhaps fearing confusion between the two characters, Hasbro decided to launch the figure support for Episode II with this more obscure pilot disguise for Captain Typho. A Security Force version of the character was ultimately released at the tail end of the Legacy Collection blue carded phase. That figure is one of the best figures you might not own.
As far as this figure, I don’t really have a lot of complaints other than it’s aged. In 2002, this would have been a pretty decent offering. It’s absent of play features unlike its Padmé companion piece. The experiment with the detachable blast affects has no lasting impact because, well, they’re detachable. In fact, I kinda of like them and it’s the one novelty from this era that I wish Hasbro had continued. The articulation is mostly standard 2002 fare with swivels at the hips, shoulders, waist and neck, but there is an additional upper arm swivel that aids in posing the figure in shooting positions. I don’t like the familiar problem of a closed trigger guard without an floating trigger finger, but I’ll live. The ability to “clip” the blaster to the belt via a peg and the removable pilot’s helmet make up for this. This figure still works today because Hasbro played it down the middle and there is no exaggerated pose or ridiculous play feature. The interactivity with the accessories compels me to bump it slightly ahead of other minimally articulated figures of the ear. 6 out of 10.