Figures That Make Me Happy:  Klaatu (Skiff Guard)

First, we need to talk about the name pill. The parenthetical "Skiff Guard" sub-designation is unnecessary. As of this time in the canonical nomenclature, this character is named Klaatu and there are no others that can lay claim to that nom de guerre (des etoiles). The sub-designation derives from some Kenner silliness. The Kenner name pill for the character we now know as Wooof read "Klaatu". This created the need to differentiate the green Nikto in the white jumpsuit, thus the parenthetical "In Skiff Guard Disguise" on the vintage card.

This meant that Kenner was operating under one of two assumptions. This first is that they thought Wooof and Klaatu were the same character who underwent a quick wardrobe change when going from the palace to the sail barge. This would have been quite silly since both Wooof and Klaatu appear on the deck of the sail barge mere moments apart from one another. They second is that they thought "Klaatu" was the species name. This would be very on-brand for them as most figures got generic names, so we'll go with that (though I think it was the former).

Before we move on from the naming subject, there's one more tidbit. This guy wasn't always Klaatu. For years he was the character identified as Yotts Oren. Now, Yotts Oren designates the green Nikto on the second skiff. So let's recap. Klaatu became Wooof, Yotts Orren became Klaatu and the green Nikto skiff guard became Yotts Orren. Got it? There's been a lot of name jumbling with the Nikto. Of course the figure Kenner identified as Nikto is the red Nikto guard named Lathe. What else should we expect from the company that came up with gems such as "Walrus Man" and "Prune Face"? Next, I'd like to talk about Nysad...sorry, I forgot why we're here.

As for the figure, it's not one I owned as a kid. As mentioned before, 1983 marked the end of my kid-era of Star Wars collecting (and it wasn't my choice). Klaatu (In Skiff Guard Disguise) didn't come out until 1984. I didn't own any of the 1984 figures as a kid with the exception of Wicket. I'm still puzzled how that one slipped past the parental embargo on Star Wars toys. Anyway, there's no nostalgic reason for my appreciation of this figure. Even though I was a little scared of Klaatu as a kid (as I was with all the green Nikto since they looked like green booger men), that's not the reason either. No, it's for a reason I mentioned with the Dr. Evazan entry in this series. I was convinced that Klaatu was going to be locked into dreaded POTF2 "Cinema Scene" status forever. POTF2 figures are bad, but somehow, the ones that came in Cinema Scenes are the worst of the worst.

This Klaatu was released in the "Jabba's Skiff Guards" cinema scene, which only contained one true skiff guard (Barada). It seemed that Kenner/Hasbro was more interested in playing up the "klaatu nikto barada" angle from the Day The Earth Stood Still than adhering to the accuracy of the title. This is the Klaatu figure:


I have to admit that it's not quite as terrible as it is in my mind's eye, but it's still bad. The trademark POTF2 lack of fabric detail sculpting makes it look like a wacky, waving, arm flailing, inflatable tube man. Since Klaatu appears on the deck of the Sail Barge and engages with Luke in mutual combat, I dreaded riding into the sunset with that 6POA blob of white plastic. Randy and I routinely placed Klaatu at the top of our wish lists. I remember when it was revealed (stealthily in the Sail Barge sizzle reel), I said to him, "WE DID IT!" Sadly, it didn't perform well at retail. It was still available at a discount for a year afterward. That gives me pause for campaigning for this type of figure anymore. Having said that, Barada is the only figure from that 3-pack that hasn't been updated, and he needs to be.

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