Updating POTJ: Part I

The Power of the Jedi line was fairly compact, coming on the heels of the voluminous POTF2/EP1 era. Should be pretty easy to tackle figures and toys that survive today...

...Ugh. Not really. While POTJ didn't have as many figures and toys as some other lines, it turns out there's a sizable percentage of the stuff that survives today. For those of you just joining us, we've been taking stock of the figures and toys from the earliest years in modern collecting that have not been meaningfully upgraded, and among other reasons, have found a way to keep their places in our displays today. In some cases, that can go back almost 30 years.

Power of the Jedi was an interesting line. Hasbro was able to merge POTF2 and EP1 into a single line consisting of figures and toys spanning all 4 movies and some EU material. It ran from about mid 2000 to early 2002. During that time, Hasbro put out some really deep cut characters (Bo Shek, Ketwol, Mon Calamari Officer), some common characters in very specific poses/circumstances (Dejarik Chewbacca, Jar Jar sticking out his tongue, Luke in Bacta tank), as well as providing us with the modern debuts of classic vehicles (B-Wing, TIE Bomber, TIE Interceptor). It had a nice mix of TPM, OT, and EU figures. The figures were highly detailed, taking cues from the improvements made during the Episode I line. POTJ also started experimenting with some innovations that worked (a figure with a record 39 POA!) and some that didn't (removable lightsaber blades). Most collectors look back fondly at POTJ as time when Hasbro caught its breath from releasing tons of toys that prioritized play features over accuracy (wild playsets, exploding figures, talking chips, spitting Hutts, Globs, and seemingly endless tweaks to the same base Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul figures). Hasbro used POTJ to take the opportunity to show some love to more serious adult collectors, at least until AOTC arrived.

So here's a bunch of POTJ stuff that has withstood the test of time.

Rules: Figures and Toys from the POTJ line that haven't been updated/replaced by more modern versions...

For reference, here is the whole series to date, consisting of 42 articles, 973 images, and 5 billion words:

POTF2: ANH
POTF2: ESB/ROTJ
POTF2: EU
POTF2: Vehicles/Playsets/More Part I
POTF2: Vehicles/Playsets/More Part II
EP1: Collection 1
EP1: Collection 2
EP1: Collection 3
EP1: Vehicles, Playsets, and More PART I
EP1: Vehicles, Playsets, and More PART II
EP1: Vehicles, Playsets, and More PART III



1. Shmi Skywalker: It's Darth Vader's mom! If it weren't for that bit of information, this figure might have gone down as the single most dull Star Wars figure ever made. I don't recall how well or how poorly it did at the time of release, but none of that should matter. It's Darth Vader's mom! I was super excited to get it. She's wearing a full blown shmata dress, and she's carrying around the controls to an old warehouse elevator for an accessory. She probably should have come with one of those view screens from the podrace, but whatever. Needless to say, Shmi has never been revisited, and probably never will. She would annihilate TVC if she were released today. I would put this on the list of figures that don't ever need to be updated, along with ASP-7. And EV-9D9, which is just fine. [Editor's note: Hasbro, if you're reading this, Bret is trolling me. EV-9D9 desperately needs to be updated. - Chris]

2. Sabé: Sabé was one of the many handmaidens and decoys that followed the actual queen around. For a society that boasted how peaceful it was, it was weird the lengths they went to in order to hide the identity of their leader. I also found it odd that they were not just physically interchangeable, but when a handmaiden stood in for the queen, she seemed to have no problem making executive decisions while the actual queen stood there in silence. I assume there was some EU explanation for this nonsense, but whatever. Palpatine must have learned from the Queen's tactics how to live his own dual lifestyle. Anyway, its a very nice figure. Limited articulation, but clearly a was top-notch in its day. Sabé's arms are sculpted so that both hands come together when stretched out in front with the blaster in hand. The POTJ Rebel Fleet Trooper tried the same "Two Handed Weapon Grip" tactic.

3. Queen's Royal Decoy: Another decoy figure for the queen, and I believe this is also Sabé. This was the outfit she wore when escaping Theed with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The sculpting and paint detail on this one is quite good, while it sacrifices articulation. I think most would agree this is an acceptable trade off. And NOT because "she just stands there" [puts fist through closest wall in frustration], but because it would ruin the aesthetic of the intricate gown, which ultimately is the point of the figure's existence. I don't see any way, especially in 2000 but probably not even today, that Hasbro would have the ability to sculpt meaningful lower body articulation. It's not big on "action", but it's a really nice figure. There was a time when Hasbro seemed intent on pumping out almost every version of the Padmé/Handmaiden outfits as possible. They made a lot of progress, but there's still a few left to go before we complete this crew.

4. Queen Amidala (Theed Invasion): Enough decoys, this is the real Queen of Naboo. This is the outfit Padmé wore while she addressed Nute Gunray and Rune Haako on their command bridge. I don't believe we ever saw it from head to toe on screen. In this case, for true screen accuracy, she doesn't "just stand there" [puts fist through another wall], she actually just sits there on her throne. So maybe they should have sculpted her like they did the weird sitting Emperor that came with the POTF2 Cinema Scene throne.

5. Fode and Beed: Two figures of this schmuck and both made it into this series. The first one was from the Episode I line, and was discussed previously. It came with the Jabba the Hutt / spitting chuba / gong set. That version of this character was nameless, and was billed simply as the "2-Headed Announcer." Turns out the figure was based on some pre-production images that didn't make the final cut. It survives today (according to these rules) because it represents a character that was cut or altered, just like the terrible puppet Yoda. It's more of a curiosity than anything else. This version has his name, Fode and Beed (actually, his full name is Fodesinbeed Annodue, for all you nerds out there), was updated to reflect the proper appearance in TPM, and was given his own POTJ card. In retrospect, I'm sure we could have done without this update (it is more useful than the whole Captain Ballast/Howzer thing), but times were good back then, and Hasbro had no problem giving us all manner of random figures.

6. Boss Nass: This guy is a Gungan of Tremendous Stature, and dwarfs his predecessor from the Episode I line. While it is better scaled, he is permanently happy and apparently likes to give out big hugs. The smaller version is poorly scaled, but has a more serious look while he endlessly points at things that annoy him, just like Uncle Owen. Personally, I feel they each have pros and cons, and neither is really better than the other, so I keep both around.

7. Mas Amedda: Mas Amedda was just a bureaucrat who Senator Palpatine used as an example of government corruption when explaining his difficulties to Queen Amidala. No character was too minor for POTJ, and I for one was happy we got him. In this version, he's wearing his garb specific to his Episode I appearance. Mas Amedda appeared again in AOTC and then again in ROTS. Hasbro gave us an updated figure for ROTS, but his outfit was completely different so this figure survives. The likelihood of an update seems remote.

Okay, so there's our first look at some POTJ survivors. Plenty more to go...

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