Updating POTJ: Part III

Preface:

The first round of bracket voting for this year's SWTVC March Madness is open. CLICK HERE for the SWTVC Link Tree for the voting link. Also, please see this year's schedule below:



Here's Part III of our deep dive into Power of the Jedi survivors. This entry focuses on a bunch of OT stuff from POTJ 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 are all the previous entries in this gripping drama series that will have you on the edge of your seat:

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
POTJ Part I
POTJ Part II



1. FX-7:

Full gallery and review

First thing's first: Take a quick guess how many POA this figure has. Don't look it up. You have 5 seconds to throw out a number. Answer is at the end of this story.* Here's a rare pre-2006 figure that I not only think is "good enough", but is outstanding in its own right, regardless of the fact that it is pushing 25 years of age. If this figure debuted today in TVC, I might think it was a solid addition to the line. Chris gave it an 8/10 in our official review (and I concur), and it may be the best figure in this image. The figure was re-released once in one of those Target Special Action Figure sets from TVC 1.0. I believe it's the 2nd oldest figure to have been repacked in those sets, behind POTF2's 2-1B. While 2-1B could have used an update even then, FX-7 not only fit right into those sets without a hiccup, it would likely still do so today. It's practically a unicorn among figures, one that doesn't seem to age much at all. Bottom line, it most definitely belongs in your collection today, and few would argue it needs an update.

2. Mon Calamari Officer :

Full gallery and review

Indicative of the "collector-friendly" approach that Hasbro took during the POTJ run, here's a deep backgrounder that made it into the main line. They took the POTF2 Admiral Akbar figure of the day, did a bit of retooling, a lot of repainting, and gave him a removable helmet. In 2001, this wasn't just a "smart retool", it was a brilliant retool. It's unlikely we'll ever get an update to this guy, and that's okay, I suppose - at least given the current meager tooling environment. We rated the figure a below average 4/10, but as a deep cut backgrounder, he works well enough either milling about the Home One briefing scene, or on the bridge helping destroy the Empire. He could definitely be upgraded, even with some slight retooling of the TVC Admiral Ackbar figure, but it is what it is. I'm glad he exists.

3. R2-Q5:

not reviewed at this time

This was the first release of R2-Q5. He's a blink-and-you'll miss him character, found on the Death Star II during both Vader's and the Emperor's arrivals. The figure itself is fairly unremarkable at this point, and may be outdone by the DSII hologram accessory he comes with. In 2020, when Hasbro was putting the 5POA era "in the vault" as they claimed, they released a series of "last hurrah" Celebrate the Saga multipacks that were largely ignorable, but had a couple of diamonds in the rough. One of them, was R2-Q5. This version had far superior scaling and detailing on the body of the astromech, and even had a little door that opened to reveal an articulated claw. However, it lacks the third leg, which is unfortunate since the commonly seen images of the droid (one during from ROTJ, one from a promotional image) both have him with the extended 3rd leg. Also, the 5POA version does not come with the DS2 hologram. So while there is some competition, the POTJ figure survives in my display.

4. Chewbacca (Mechanic):

not reviewed at this time

I have no idea why, but for some reason I have 5 of these. I think I grabbed a bunch because I liked that he was super tall, and I liked the accessories. The figure is basically garbage by today's standards, and with the pending reveal of a new 2025 Chewbacca, it will receded further into the depths of action figure history. But he manages to look really good holding the goggles over his eyes while using the torch, so for the specific scene it works. Now, for more accuracy, the rudimentary torch should more like the one that came with VC03 Han Solo, the goggles should be black, and Chewy should have better articulation so he can kneel down on the Falcon hull to make the repairs. On second thought, this figure is trash...

5. Ellorrs Madak:

Full gallery and review

Ellorrs Madak was Fan's Choice figure No. 1. Chris goes into some detail about the farcical nature of the voting for that figure. I'm glad we have it, no doubt, but it's in a mini vacuum without the other Duros that he argues with. In fact, Ellorrs Madak has been retconned to be an alias for the properly named Ohwun De Maal, and he's on screen with Banniss Keeg, who was retconned to be an alias for Chachi Du Maal, Ohwun's wife. They starred in a sitcom together called Ohwun Loves Chachi, and it was a flop. Anyway, the figure lives on the Cantina, and unless Hasbro shocks us with Ohwun and Chachi's figures on the Return to Tatooine Poster, it's likely that we're stuck with him (missing his wife) for a while.

6. Ketwol:

Full gallery and review

Ketwol is a spectacular figure. Why? HE HAS REMOVABLE PANTS! Seriously, this is a real thing. Also, if you flip his head around, he becomes Melas, another character in the Cantina. The problem with it is that both Ketwol and Melas replaced Arleil Schous and Lak Sivrak from the original cut. Nobody is happy about that. The figure is nicely detailed and painted (with a wash!), and has the weird stilts underneath the removable pants. It's a neat figure, even if the fact that it exists is reviled by most fans. Nevertheless, I have Ketwol AND Melas in my Cantina. Wanna fight about it? Oh, this reminds me, when is Arleil going to be announced?

7. Bo Shek:

Full gallery and review

Amazing that he exists, and should have led to repaints of other "Spacers" in the Cantina, but that never happened. As remarkable as it may be that Bo was ever released, time has not been kind to him. It's pretty terrible by any of today's standards, and survives by default, not because of its excellence as a figure. If Hasbro were willing to leverage the tooling of a new Bo Shek to give us a bunch of other cool figures, then I'd be all for a new one.

*39 POA on FX-7!

We shall reconvene at a later date to discuss more POTJ survivors.

---

comments powered by Disqus