Geonosis 4 - Arena Battle
Description:
The Jedi Strike Team, led by Mace Windu, arrives at Petranaki Arena. Mace attempts to end the conflict before it even begins, but a squad of Super Battle Droids, along with an assist from Jango Fett's flamethrower gauntlet, send him leaping off Dooku's balcony...and the skirmish begins. 212 Jedi immediately rush to meet the droid army that pours out of the catacombs and onto the arena floor. A chaotic battle erupts that includes large beasts wreaking havoc, Geonosian warriors blasting energy cannons, and a lot of close quarters fighting - all while Dooku watches with amusement from his luxury sky box.
Reference:
Click for the full sized image.
Somehow Mace Windu knew exactly where to find Count Dooku. Were there signs in the catacombs pointing to the luxury boxes?
This party's over.
And the Jedi begin their carefully choreographed light show. That green lightsaber in the foreground belongs to Coleman Trebor.
Trebor is followed by Plo Koon, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Aayla Secura. In "Legends" (EU), these 3 Jedi had separate missions from the melee that would take place on the arena floor.
Shaak Ti and Luminara Unduli arrive with a flourish.
Pablo Jill and Kit Fisto strut their stuff.
Future traitor Barriss Offee along with future Sidious fodder Agen Kolar make their entrances.
Bultar Swan shows up along with...wait a minute...Coleman Trebor again? This guy is so nice he showed up twice!
After the platoon of Super Battle Droids distract Mace Windu, Jango Fett pulls a flamethrower out of his bag of party tricks - proving Mr. Windu wrong.
Fortunately, Mace Windu can leap away several stories down to safety. Maybe that trick could come in handy three years later.
He's got a lot of fuel in that gauntlet.
Nicanas Tassu and Sephjet Josall give their extra lightsabers to Anakin and Obi-Wan.
Oh, remember that whole comedic sequence in the foundry? Well, here's the payoff. C-3PO with a Battle Droid head marches into battle.
It's madness in the arena. That looks like it might be Fi-Ek Sirch who just stuck the landing after vaulting over some debris in the foreground.
Wait, don't forget the Battle Droid with C-3PO's head, also marching into battle. This is gonna be hilarious!
A Battle Droid Commander tries to shoot Mace Windu in the back. What a maroon!
An unidentified Jedi in the foreground deflects blaster fire from the C-3PO/Battle Droid head. Some sources identify the Jedi behind him to the left of the frame as Lumas Etima.
Coleman Trebor saves the day!
Jango Fett saves the day!
Windu seems to have met his match in the Reek, who is still rampaging around the arena.
After Mace gets "horned" and drops his lightsaber, Jango Fett tries to seize the moment. He whiffs badly.
Just for good measure, the Reek strikes again and stomps all over Jango.
I guess it's not always a pleasure to meet a Jedi.
Did you ever notice Jango's broken blaster pieces in the foreground? How about the slice missing from the top of the missile in the jetpack?
That's Joclad Danva in the foreground. He would have an interesting fate as the remaining Jedi were encircled by the droid army later on. To the right of him is Khaat Qiyn.
Jarissa Seng uses her outside voice to defeat her foe.
Battle Droid with C-3PO head is still at it...
...until an amused Kit Fisto ends that nonsense. Notice R2-D2 approaching in the distance...
So undignified.
Oh, yeah, remember this guy? The Acklay was alive and well during the whole battle...
...until Obi-Wan annihilated it.
R2-D2 arrives and deploys his PDHRM (Protocol Droid Head Retrieval Magnet)
This is such a drag.
R2 finds C-3PO's headless body, and gets to work.
This Super Battle Droid is a real jerk.
R2 performs head re-attachment surgery. Delicate stuff. I hope C-3PO pulls through.
Dooku calls time out so he can prepare for the game's final shot. He's gonna call the Picket Fence.
Figure Photos:
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Notes:
1. The back of the Arena Playset has the extendable bridge which serves double duty. Previously it worked to drop Anakin and Padmé into the foundry. Now it serves as Mace's runway.
2. The sky box isn't big enough for all of this, so some photo trickery is afoot. Take your pick (again), but we used the less purple Evolutions Jango instead of the Arena Showdown 2-pack. That Boba is just terrible.
3. Hasbro has the lightsaber ignition sequence covered! We could use some updates, but nothing is missing.
4. That Aayla figure is one of the most posable and well balanced figures in the entire line.
5. Shaak Ti is in need of a TVC upgrade. Luminara was released fairly recently in The Black Series.
6. Pablo Jill is good to go. Kit Fisto figures are pretty good. The "serious" ROTS release is best for this scene, although the headtails aren't quite right.
7. TVC Bariss Offee is excellent, while the TLC Agen Kolar suffices.
8. TLC Bultar Swan is good, but could be better, while Coleman Trebor is excellent.
9. While badly outdated, this Saga Jango Fett with the gauntlet-launching flame effect is perfect for this moment.
10. Mace got singed. Good thing the TVC version has a removable soft goods robe.
11. Again, that balcony needs to be much bigger to accommodate all of the action.
12. Nicanas Tassu was paired with Dooku for some reason in the Showdown 2-packs. The figure is good, but the lower tunic prevents leg posing. Sephjet Josall from the ROTS3D multipacks works as a minor Jedi, but it's a shame the legs are restricted.
13. Here you can use the outstanding Geonosis Arena Showdown C-3PO with Battle Droid head.
14. Not confirmed as far as I know, but I believe here may be your best bet to get Fi-ek Sirch in a film accurate display.
15. While the aforementioned Arena Showdown C-3PO is perfect otherwise, here the opposite configuration is not possible. You'll need to use the battle droid body and Threepio head from the Saga Deluxe set.
16. Use the Battle Droid Commander from the Mace Windu Arena 2-pack.
17. Here is your best shot to get the Unnamed Human Jedi in a film accurate pose. Possibly Etima Lumas, this may be his on screen moment. Sadly, this is not confirmed, and the figure isn't particularly accurate either.
18. Coleman Trebor, after appearing twice in the opening sequence of the Jedi arrival, makes his big move.
19. Jango Fett rescues Dooku, who seems utterly unfazed by the entire sequence of events.
20. Again, either the Evolutions or the Arena Showdown Jango are nearly interchangeable. They're both excellent, but the Arena 2-pack figure is really too purple.
21. The Reek gets in on the action.
22. Mace puts and end to Big Daddy Clone.
23. Here, we opted for returning to the Saga figure, because the magnet feature means that there's no weird neck ball/peg sticking above the shoulders, as there is if you remove the head from the otherwise excellent Evolutions/Arena figures.
24. Joclad Danva from the Geonosis Showdown set has his battle moment in the foreground, while the ROTS3D multipack Khaat Qiyn is also present here.
25. It's probably a good thing that Hasbro didn't sculpt a screaming face for Jarissa Seng, because that would limit the possibilities for display, but still...
26. Crappy Deluxe Saga C-3PO is your best bet here...
27. ..and obviously Kit Fisto from the Walmart Droid Factory 2-pack with the "smile" and open palm have no interest in that crappy Threepio either.
28. To add insult to injury, throw any Super Battle Droid on top.
29. Acklay is back! He's quite terrifying.
30. Obi-Wan gets his revenge with an overly aggressive series of slashes and stabs.
31. The excellent R2-D2 from the C-3PO Geonsosis Arena 2-pack is perfect here. Hasbro opted for a hook that connects to C-3PO's neck, but it might have been neat to go with a magnet.
32. Not quite as accurate as the on screen tool, but the hook works as designed.
33. Fortunately, C-3PO's body isn't far.
34. The VC37 Super Battle Droid is the best overall, although it was a bummer Hasbro didn't use the Obi-Wan 2-pack mold with ankles. The bland paint job hurts the overall look, but the ankles are unique to that release.
35. After you stow away the retractable tow cable, this figure packs another hidden tool. He's got the soldering iron to re-attach Threepio's head.
36. I generally prefer the less angry face of the Dooku from the Geonosis 2-pack (with Nicanas Tassu), but this is otherwise interchangeable with the Evolutions figure.
Action Figures/Items Used:
The following figures were used in the above photos. These figures represent what the Bantha Skull staff
considers as the best version of the respective characters. Click through on the following entries
to go to that figure's full gallery. If that figure was part of a multi-pack, you will be brought to
the gallery for just that figure. From there you can click through to the parent set.
* Bantha Skull is compensated for any purchases made through any Ebay links that may appear below.
Name: Super Battle Droid
Definitive?: Surpassed
No Ebay link provided
Name: SAGA 02-11 - Battle Droid (Arena Battle)
Definitive?: Surpassed
No Ebay link provided
Name: Battle Droid
Definitive?: Surpassed
No Ebay link provided
Name: Battle Droid Commander
Definitive?: Close
No Ebay link provided
Name: Khaat Qiyn
No Ebay link provided
Name: Sarrissa Jeng
No Ebay link provided
Name: Selig Kenjenn
No Ebay link provided
Name: Sephjet Josall
No Ebay link provided
Name: Kit Fisto
Definitive?: Other Value
No Ebay link provided
Name: C-3PO
Definitive?: Definitive
No Ebay link provided
Name: R2-D2
Definitive?: Definitive
No Ebay link provided
Name: Human Jedi (Lumas Etima?)
Definitive?: Needs Resculpt
No Ebay link provided
Name: SAGA 02-31 - Jango Fett (Final Battle)
Definitive?: Other Value
No Ebay link provided
Name: R2-D2
Definitive?: Close
No Ebay link provided
Name: Battle Droid
Definitive?: Close
No Ebay link provided
Name: Rodian Jedi
Definitive?: Close
No Ebay link provided
The Missing:
These are characters that belong in this scene for which Hasbro has never made a figure. These characters are all
featured in our Unproduced Character Guide which we
have affectionately nicknamed Missing In Action Figure or M.I.A.F. for short. Clicking
through on the following entries will bring you to the M.I.A.F. entry for that character.
This scene is chock full of characters, but amazingly, Hasbro has given us a huge array of figures to replicate it in your displays. Almost every named Jedi has a figure, and the rest are either buried so deep in the background that they might not even be visible. Otherwise, they're all relegated to the EU anyway. Once again Nute Gunray is the most glaring omission, followed by the Orray/Cart, which has another prominent moment when it is first ridden by Padmé and Anakin, and then used by both as a shelter. Sar Labooda is the most obvious Jedi missing in toy form.