Well, with Power of the Force officially done, and my small handful of actually new Star Wars stuff to review actually burned through, I guess it’s time to move on.Not from Star Wars, of course.I’m a toy site.That would be crazy.No, move onto the thing that followed (or actually kind of ran a bit in tandem with, I guess) Power of the Force: the Episode I tie-ins!I’ve reviewed all of two figures from the at the time tie-ins, both of them Obi-Wan, so today I’m jumping over to the other rather important Jedi from the film, Qui-Got Jinn!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the three deluxe figures from Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I tie-in line, released alongside similarly deluxe versions of Obi-Wan and Darth Maul.Like the other two, he consisted of a rather standard core figure, with an action feature activated by a kind of wonky lightsaber hilt-looking thing.The figure stands just over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.The deluxe figures lacked the wrist and elbow swivels of the standard figures (Obi-Wan kept one of the elbow swivels, but Qui-Gon wasn’t as lucky), and the shoulder movement was restricted by the action feature.While Obi-Wan’s sculpt wasn’t really all that different from the standard, Qui-Gon’s is actually quite different.He’s a lot more pre-posed, in sort of a mid-battle set-up, with his hair swept back and his teeth bared.While it’s a bit more limiting, it’s also a more dynamic, and I feel slightly more exciting sculpt.It’s not as crazy as some of the Saga figures got, though, and he’s more stable on his feet.Qui-Gon’s color work is pretty good.Nothing crazy for the era, with the body work mostly focusing on base color stuff.The head’s a bit more involved, with the hair getting some grey streaks in it.Qui-Gon was packed with his standard lightsaber, as well as the larger “control” saber, which clipped around the figure’s waist and could activate the action feature.As with Obi-Wan, I lost that one at some point, because I was some sort of silly child.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I got a fair bit of Episode I related stuff for my birthday the year the movie came out, and I recall this Qui-Gon was amongst the bunch.He was specifically my first Qui-Gon figure, and I recall being pretty excited to get him.I got the standard not to long after (I think he may have just been a slightly delayed birthday present, truth be told), but I always liked this one a little bit more.He’s not exactly a figure with a lot going on, but over 25 years out, I do still quite like him, and he’s probably still my favorite Qui-on figure.
So, it’s apparently been over a year since I reviewed a standard, not seasonal Black Series figure.Which is…like, I guess I did sort of move on from the line, huh?Well, there it is.After a seven year gap, there’s another Star Wars movie in theaters, with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the conclusion to the show, that’s now on the big screen.How is it?Well, it’s a conclusion to the show on the big screen, that’s for sure.Okay, that sounds like I’m being sort of pithy, but I actually did quite like it.It’s got some cool set pieces, some cool creatures, and, most importantly, it’s also got Sigourney Weaver, who is also cool.And certainly cool enough to get an action figure, so let’s check that out!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Colonel Ward is he fourth figure in the Mandalorian and Grogu tie-in line-up of Star Wars: The Black Series, shipping as one of the product launch figures for the movie.Ward is based on her pilot’s gear look from the end of the movie, which has a bit less screen time than her fatigues look from most of the run, but is also a bit more exciting as a figure, so it’s a solid choice.The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.Thus far, the X-Wing pilots have been pretty consistently using the original Pilot Luke mold from 2013, which is perfectly fine looking, but had a slightly less intuitive articulation than more recent figures, making a little clunky by modern standards.Ward introduces a new body, which looks rather similar functionally, while working a bit more smoothly.It remains effectively gender neutral, so I suppose it could be used for an updated Luke as well, should they choose to go that way.She gets what is bound to remain a unique head sculpt.It’s a pretty decent match for an older Weaver, with a lot of her signature intensity visible in the facial expression.The hair isn’t quite as voluminous as Weaver’s in the movie, in order to make it work a bit better with the helmet, but it’s ultimately a good middle ground.Ward’s color work is heavily reliant on molded colors, with minimal paint, mostly on the face.While the application that’s there is good, there’s definitely some notable missing spots.The hair is rather flat, and it’s disappointing that the belt is just an unpainted flat grey.Like, none of it’s bad from a technical stand point, but it does feel a little underwhelming.Ward is packed with a removable helmet, which is our third take on the classic Rebel pilot helmet.This one omits the chin strap, in favor of just the microphone.It also adds a removable visor to the mix, to make it look like it’s been retracted, which we don’t usually see here.While the paint on the main figure is just sort of meh, the helmet gets a lot of really neat detailing, which adds a lot of pop to the figure.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I’m obviously always happy to see Sigourney Weaver show up in, pretty much anything, so I was excited to see her added to the Mandalorian and Grogu cast.I didn’t really think too much about the toy side of things, and I ended up missing this figure a few times.We went to see the movie while we were visiting South Carolina as part of a memorial for Jess, and on the way back, we passed the Walmart that I stopped at very many times while living down there with Jess a decade ago, where I got a good number of my Black Series figures from the time, usually on Jess’s urging.I felt the need to check and see if they might have this figure, and sure enough they did, which was honestly pretty cool.She’s not a perfect figure, but she’s fun, and I think she’s got a neat novelty to her.Is it crazy that I’m kind of hoping they decide to do Michael Biehn’s character from The Mandalorian now so that I can have the two Aliens people as Star Wars people?Is that too much of a reach?
“Rex served the Republic on the front lines during the Clone Wars, taking orders from Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.”
It would seem that after finishing up Power of the Force, my comfort zone for Star Wars reviews is just Captain Rexes.I didn’t plan it like that, but it sure did end up that way, huh?My personal favorite parts of the Disney era figure tie-ins were the more basic toyline elements, which were unfortunately dropped after Solo.Hasbro’s toyed with some other takes on the more all-ages approach to the toys, and the latest is Epic Force, the Star Wars equivalent to the Epic Heroes branding they did for Marvel.The line started as more of a 5POA thing, but has slightly evolved.It’s been a rather eclectic selection of characters, and today I’m looking at one of the line’s takes on Captain Rex.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Clone Captain Rex is a 2025 release for Hasbro’s Star Wars: Epic World of Action line, the re-branding of “Epic Force.”Rex is specifically part of the “Power the Force” (note the lack of “of” there, because it’s important) branding of the line.The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.While the earlier Epic offerings for Star Wars went back to the 5POA roots, “Power the Force” upgraded most of the figures to the same articulation scheme as the Epic Heroes, and Rex reflects that.It’s a solid set-up, and while he might benefit from wrist joints, he otherwise covers the bases.Scaling wise, the line maintains its 4-inch scaling, different from the classic 3 3/4-inch set-up for Star Wars, so he’s a little on the large side, but with the gradual shifting of the main line over time, he’s not actually that out of place.Design-wise, the figure is based on his realistic Phase I armor, as seen in Ahsoka, which makes a degree of sense, it being his most recent appearance and all.The sculpt is a solid one, with a decent level of detailing, matching up pretty well with the on-screen look.It’s clean, well defined, and has a nice solid feel to it.It also looks sufficiently different from prior figures, giving him a good reason to exist.I do wish he had trigger fingers on the hands, though. His paint work is decent, but notably basic and clean for a Rex figure.I guess, it being a Phase I Rex, he should be a little cleaner, but it does seem a bit more scaled back than even that would explain.Still, it’s far from bad, and the most important details are all still present.Rex is packed with a pair of blaster pistols, as he’s prone to do.In an effort to get into the “Power the Force” gimmick, which largely translates to clear plastic, they’re molded in translucent blue.Also, one of the two of them has a permanently attached blast effect, which is cool and theory, but becomes a problem when it comes to the sculpted holsters on the figure.Though both are functional, only one can be used, since the blast effect won’t fit, so, he can’t use it.It’s an odd choice, for sure.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I don’t do a bunch of big box retail shopping these days, so I miss out on a lot of more basic toy releases.I knew this guy existed, but never put the effort into finding one.But, it’s a Rex, so if it lands in front of me, I’m gonna want it.A few weeks ago, I was killing some time walking my daughter around the mall while my wife and son saw a movie, and she wanted to walk through the (apparently no longer a temporary pop-up) Toys “R” Us, and this guy happened to be one of the two Epic figures they had.Yay, new Rex for me!He’s neat.Nothing special or ground breaking, but neat.I think if they’d included an extra not blasting blaster, he’d be pretty much all you’d need, but even so, he’s a fun little basic figure.
Yesterday, May 28, 2026, I published my very last Power of the Force review.It was a big moment for me, and in honor of it, I’d like to take a moment today to discuss my journey to this point, both on the site, and somewhat behind the scenes.
On March 26, 2014, I published my first review of a figure from Kenner’s ‘90s Power of the Force line (referred to as “Power of the Force II” or “PotF2” by fans, to differentiate from the shorter-lived line of the same name from the ‘80s).The subject was Luke Skywalker in Dagobah Fatigues, appropriately enough my very first Star Wars action figure, bought brand new off the shelf in 1996.My site was less then six months old at the time, and was really just a way of filling time between college classes.I recall this review specifically was written on an iPad I was *supposed* to be using for notes in my Accounting 101 class, which was particularly boring that night.At the time, I viewed the whole exercise as more about a quick nostalgic look at a toy from my youth, filling space before I got to some cool new thing that excited me.I only wrote one more PotF review in that first year, a two-for-one of Jawas, also from my old collection.
The presence of the line here on the site was fairly spotty for the next couple of years, until a need for content to keep up with the daily schedule I was so dead-set on keeping led me to make the line a bi-monthly feature in the spring of 2017.Even then, I viewed it as a way to clear out my backlog of old figures to review, not really as the beginning of anything significant beyond that.
When I started working at a toy store in the fall of 2018, it gave me an unprecedented level of access to vintage action figures in general, but especially Power of the Force.I started with a more general “hey it would be cool to get more characters I don’t own” approach, still not fully plunging into completism just yet.Early in my time at this job, I had the opportunity to buy *most* of the figures I was missing from the Expanded Universe set, my favorite sub-set of the line.I was left a single figure shy of the run, and I actually resorted to hunting the last one down, marking the first time I’d done more than just wait for a Power of the Force figure to land in front of me pretty much since the line was new.Suddenly the dam broke; I’d completed the sub-set and now I felt encouraged to go further.
From that point forward, it became a mission.I had checklists, and notes on how far I was willing to go with variants.My boss and co-workers gave me first crack at any ‘90s Star Wars collections that came in, and would even give me a heads up on specific pieces.At first, I didn’t care too much about completing my originals, but the parts became easy enough to find, adding more to the fun of it all.I could build elaborate schedules of themes for reviews, balancing and tying in with all sorts of outside elements.Admittedly, I got overwhelmed by the scale of it a few times, leading to periods of time where I’d have stacks of unopened figures for months, sometimes years (there’s a whole other post rattling around in my brain about the fine line between “collecting” and “hoarding” that may yet surface).As I pulled more and more of the common figures I needed from collections coming into work, I found myself slowing down significantly.When I departed my toy store job last summer, I was in need of only 15 pieces to complete my run.
In the last 10 months, I’ve slowly worked my way to completing the run, while also cracking open the stuff I’d already bought, and cleaning up and re-completing old figures for some addendums.It’s been an interesting experience working my way up to this point, especially as things near the end.There was a bit of a middle-of-the-journey slump, where I got stuck reviewing the less exciting figures, with some I’m sure less exciting reviews.But, especially as I’ve come closer to the end, I’ve found myself reveling in some of the quirks, and even finding some gems that I honestly didn’t expect to like as much as I did.The end has brought me the same spark of excitement that I had in the fall of 2018, when I first tapped back into the line as a proper collection.In the middle, I don’t know that I was really expecting that.There have been a few times where I came very close to giving up on the goal, but I’ve managed to pull through it, and at the end of it, I can say I’m honestly glad I did.
Is Power of the Force the greatest Star Wars line?Well, I don’t know exactly how you quantify that, but regardless, the answer is “probably not.”It’s got one heck of a learning curve on it, and some of the craziest “you had to be there” choices you can imagine.There’s a definite glut of just kind of middling product, where you can just absolutely see them trying to see what sticks, but at the core of it all, it’s just so frequently unapologetic that it’s supposed to be a toyline for actually playing with, meaning even a “boring” or “middling” entry is still a good offering in terms of just being a good, core action figure.As some crazy valuable investment or high end collector’s line, it absolutely fails.But, that’s also not at all what it was meant to be, whether the collectors of the time got that or not.And as someone who was actually a kid when it started and got to experience it the way lots of fans experienced the original vintage line?Boy, do I just love it.What a fantastic 30 years of collecting this has been.
“When paired with the puppet known as SCARFACE, mild-mannered ARNOLD WESKER becomes THE VENTRILOQUIST—one of Batman’s greatest criminal foes.Wesker channels his dark side through his crime lord style dummy.When the two are together, Scarface’s evil influence over his partner in crime is absolute.”
Since Batman: The Animated Series needed to fill out a syndication order’s worth of episodes, and its producers didn’t want to get too repetitive with the same few rogues, they had to delve into some of the lesser known villains.In addition to revamping older villains (most famously Mr. Freeze), they also brought in a smaller number of newer foes.One of the most recent choices at the time was The Ventriloquist, chosen because the producers felt he fit well with the pseudo period piece vibe of BTAS.It aided the character’s recognition, and helped him become a rather memorable second tier rogue, appearing in multiple shows since BTAS wrapped up.While not the most prevalent sort of character in terms of toys, he was one of the small handful of new characters introduced during Hasbro’s run with the license.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
The Ventriloquist with Scarface was released as part of the “Puppets of Crime” boxed set, released under Hasbro’s generic Batman line in 2002.Arnold was noteworthy for being the only new figure in the set, which was otherwise re-packs.The figure is just under 5 inches tall and has 4 points of articulation.His articulation is really, really restricted, to the point that he’s effectively just kind of a statue.There’s no movement in the legs, instead just a waist swivel, and while he’s got shoulder swivels, the posing of the arms means they get very little play.You can sort of move his head back and forth, so that’s cool.Also, without any leg movement, it can be a little tricky to find that sweet spot for keeping him standing.His sculpt is based on his BTAS design, which is his more conventionally approachable look.Generally speaking, it’s a good take on the look.The head in particular is pretty on the mark, capturing Arnold’s reserved expression well.The body sculpt’s got the crazy pre-posing going on which is odd.I mean, the arms are sensible enough, since they’re meant for holding the Scarface puppet.The legs, though, are weird in their wide stance and inward-pointing feet.Maybe it’s supposed to be a balance thing, but it doesn’t quite work out.In the show, he just stood with his legs together.That, with maybe a display stand, would have gone a long way.Also an odd is the coloring, which for some reason gives him a tan suit.Why tan?It’s not like it’s a particularly exciting color to shift to.Maybe the tan plastic was cheaper.The Ventriloquist was packed with Scarface, the most sensible possible accessory for him.It’s a pretty good piece, nicely scaled to the main figure, and matching the show model.Even the coloring’s not as wonky on him.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I somehow managed to miss all of the Ventriloquist and Scarface episodes of Batman when they aired, so I didn’t have much of an attachment to the character.After the fact, I did find particular enjoyment in his lone TNBA appearance.This figure (and the rest of the set he came from) actually was a Christmas gift to my brother in 2002, not me.But, as a three-year-old, he had minimal interest in a guy in a suit, so this guy found his way into my collection.He’s not the most play-worthy figure, but he’s still pretty cool, and surprisingly on the mark for a figure of this era for Hasbro.
“SELINA KYLE is a daring and strong-minded woman with a passion for cats.As Catwoman, her headstrong ways often tempt her into reckless criminal behavior, but her morals have brought her into close cooperation with BATMAN more than once.Knowing that her cat-like grace makes her the ideal burglar, Catwoman can’t turn down The Penguin’s challenge to purloin the prized Crest of Gotham City.Catwoman’s weapons, a powerful whip and claw gauntlets, also serve as escape tools—but can they help her escape the Penguin’s insidious trap?”
When she first appeared as “The Cat” in Batman #1, Selina Kyle was unquestionably a villain, and would remain so for a good many decades after that, though she always maintained a flirtatious relationship with Batman, in the comics and other media.By the ‘90s, the comics had started presenting Catwoman as more of an anti-hero, so in Batman: The Animated Series, Selina never serves as a proper antagonist to the heroes, more often then not an ally, at worst an unwitting pawn in a larger villain’s game.It’s become kind of the defining take on the character, and honestly, good for her.Selina’s no stranger to the toy game, but ultimately only got one proper figure during the Animated run, which I’m looking at today.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Catwoman was, like last week’s Robin, released in the 2001 “Revenge of the Penguin” boxed set, under Hasbro’s wider Batman banner.She’s effectively just a re-release of Kenner’s original Animated tie-in figure from 1992, and she would see an additional (and truly identical) release from Hasbro in 2003’s “Girls of Gotham City” boxed set.The figure stands 4 1/4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation…or close to it.She’s got a spring-loaded feature in her right shoulder, which brings it back down when you raise it, meant for use in conjunction with her included whip.While visually unobtrusive, it means the shoulder doesn’t actually hold any poses, which is a bit of a bummer.Beyond that, she’s got v-hips, which are never my favorite, and result in the figure being rather hard to pose.The sculpt is the one originated by Kenner in 1992, and it’s…fine.It’s not bad, but it’s a little more pre-posed than other figures from the same line, a little hard to get standing, and also she’s got a very stubby neck.Stubby is honestly just a pretty good descriptor for her in general, and it’s not quite in keeping with her more slender frame from the show.That said, all of the figures in the early run were a little stubby, so she’s not in the worst of company.Catwoman’s paint work is a decent match for how she looked on the show, and unlike the Robin from the same set, she doesn’t get saddled with any really out there shades or color replacements.The only notable thing here is that she’s a bit wall-eyed, which can look rather silly.Her eyes are a darker shade of green than the original figure, one of two notable changes on this release.Like her original release, Catwoman includes her whip, a pair off claw gauntlets, and a small figurine of her cat Isis.Isis is black for this release, in contrast to the grey of the original.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
The original animated Catwoman was totally gone from shelves when I started collecting, so my default version of her for many years was the Legends of Batman version, until I got this set for Christmas in 2001.Robin was my main focus, but I remember being quite pleased to get a proper Catwoman figure as well.She’s far from perfect, but she’s also far from bad, and I think there’s more to like than to dislike, whichever version of her you might get.
“The son of gifted circus acrobats, DICK GRAYSON was left an orphan when a two-bit extortionist sabotaged his parents’ high-wire act.Bruce Wayne, who lost his own family to a senseless crime, felt an instant connection to the boy and took him in.Eventually, Wayne revealed his secret identity to the talented young man and made him his crime-fighting apprentice.Now, as Robin, Grayson is a skilled and quick-minded fighter in his own right, and Batman’s most trusted comrade in justice.”
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve reviewed a proper figure of Dick Grayson as Robin.Nightwing sure, but for Robin, we’re going back to 2021.Heck of a jump.For specifically the animated version, we’re talking about 2016.Whole decade.Anyway, 15 years before *that*, the DC license was still held by Hasbro, who were really just largely running on the remnants of what Kenner had done before, more or less just focussing on the Batman side of things until handing off the license to Mattel.On the animated side, they did a lot of boxed sets, revisiting old molds and themes.While predominantly focussed on the New Adventures era, there were a few The Animated Series figure mixed in as well, including today’s Robin figure.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Robin was released in the 2001 “Revenge of the Penguin” boxed set, under Hasbro’s wider Batman banner.At this point, the bulk of the line was Mission Masters, but the boxed sets didn’t sport that title, rather just sticking with a rather generic “Batman.”“Revenge of the Penguin” was a totally BTAS themed set, which was rare, sporting Robin, a Penguin I previously reviewed, Catwoman, and a wonky Batman variant.The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.He’s a total mold re-use of the Kenner animated Robin from 1992 (which had previously been used by Hasbro a year prior in their Spectrum of the Bat line), itself a neck-down re-use of the Batman Returns Robin figure from 1991.At the time of this release, most of the mold was a decade old, which, honestly?It’s not bad.In part, it fits in fine due to how much Hasbro stagnated with the license, of course.When you’re aiming to do as few new molds as possible, you aim to make them work match the ones you’ve already got.It’s…well, it’s fine for its original intended use, as a realistic take on what would become the comics Tim Drake costume. It’s less ideal for an animated Dick Grayson, whose outfit was streamlined a bit, and who never sported anything close to the musculature detailed on this figure.The head was at least an okay take on Dick’s original animation model, if perhaps a bit flattened and soft on detailing.It did fit well with the other figures from the Kenner line, though.He keeps the original’s two-tone cloth cape, which remains a pretty impressive piece for the scale.A little unnatural in how it hangs, but generally very cool.His paint marks the main change-up here.In a general sense, it’s not drastically different, but the colors lean more toward the Mission Masters palette, where the flesh tones were very pale, the greens were more neon, and the “warm” colors were colder.The actual application’s generally fine (though the black paint was really prone to wear), and he even gets an additional paint app on the neck, under the cape.There’s a sculpted spot there that’s clearly meant to be a different shade than the rest of the torso, and the original just left it red.This one…makes it green?Still not a match for the cape, but points for effort.Robin was packed with a missile launcher and missile.It was originally packed with the Legends of Batman Crusader Batman, and it was one of Hasbro’s favorite accessories of this era, no matter how illogical or ill-suited it was to the figure it was packed with.At least it’s in colors that match?
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Since I missed the main runs of the Animated figures, the boxed sets were really my personal jumping on point for the style, and served as my earliest versions of a lot of the characters.They were almost always birthday or Christmas gift fodder from family members, and this particular set was the latter, given to me by my Nanna.Robin was my main interest.I’d been making do with the Total Justice Robin as a stand-in for this look for far too long at this point, and was happy to get a better approximation.He’s got some quirks of this era, but given how lazy and odd most of the late-run Hasbro DC product was, he’s honestly not bad.He may be little more than a re-issue, but he was at least a decent choice for one, and one I definitely was glad to have then, and am still glad to have now.
“Doctor Polaris’s electromagnetic powers were recently boosted by the mysterious entity known as Neron.These powers, which are now part of Polaris’s body instead of being generated by weapons, provide the evildoer with forcefield protection as well as staggering strength.”
Interspersed with their overabundance of Batman-centric lines in the ‘90s, Kenner did try a few not-Batman DC lines, to mixed results.There was a larger focus one, Total Justice, which only made it three series, each one a smaller run than the last.There was a fourth assortment, which got pretty far in the process before being scrapped.So far that there were molds to be used later, when Hasbro decided to revisit them as a run of two-packs for their direct market line.Each series of Total Justice had one token villain, which, had the line continued, would have been today’s focus, Doctor Polaris, who had just gotten a major overhaul during the “Unleashed” storyline.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Dr. Polaris (as it’s written on the name part of the box, even though it’s spelled out in his bio on the back) was one half of a two-pack from Hasbro’s DC Super Heroes line.The other half was a Kyle Rayner variant, which would have been in the assortment.It’s a pretty solid pairing, since Polaris is a GL villain, and had just been re-established with Kyle in the comics.The figure stands almost 6 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.He was quite sizable, which was kind of odd, since he wasn’t usually that large in the comics.The update to his powers had made things a little bit nebulous, though, and they liked to have a larger villain figure, so I guess it wasn’t the worst thing.The sculpt was all-new to this guy, based on Polaris’s updated design from the ‘90s.I’m a sucker for this look, as tied to that decade as it may be.It’s goofy, but when is Polaris *not* goofy?His sculpt is slightly pre-posed, but certainly on the more minor side for Total Justice.Mostly, it’s just sort of an idle stance, and I think it works.His cape is quite dynamic in its flow, and that’s also quite nice; gotta love those arching shoulders.Doctor Polaris’s color work is a good match for his comics look at the time.He’s got a lot of metallic finish, which gives him an armored appearance that works well for the character.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
This was the second of these two-packs I got (after the Superboy & King Shark set), picked up from Cosmic Comix back when it was still new.I think I bought the set more for the GL at the time, but he wound up being sort of “meh” for me, ultimately, while I found myself rather quickly attached to Polaris here.It was my first introduction to the character, and I’ve ultimately always thought of this look first and foremost because of it.I think it’s just a solid, fun figure.
“Bart Allen, the 30th century grandson of The Flash, Barry Allen, inherited his bloodline’s powers but no ability to control his super-speed. After reaching the age of 14 in only two years, he was brought to the 20th century. Having been raised in an artificial environment, Bart is just learning the ways of the real world as he attends Junior High School in Smalltown Alabama.”
While the Golden Age Flash didn’t have a sidekick in the traditional sense (though he did have a trio of comedic “sidekicks” for a little while, much like Plastic Man, Alan Scott, and Wonder Woman did during the same period), Barry Allen got one relatively quickly in the form of Wally West, aka Kid Flash.Wally remained in the role until Barry’s death in Crisis, at which point Wally got promoted to just “Flash.”It was almost a decade before Wally would get his own sidekick, a revamp of the Kid Flash idea, Bart Allen, aka Impulse.Bart wound up rather successful in his own right, eventually taking on both the Kid Flash and Flash monickers.But Impulse was always his coolest, and it got him the action figures first.Let’s take a look at one of those!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Impulse was released in the third series of Hasbro’s JLA line in 1999.Like Superboy, he was also available in the fourth boxed set, released through comic book stores and the like, along with Robin, the other piece of the “Young Justice” trio from the assortment.This was Bart’s first figure, albeit only by a slight bit, as DC Direct also released one very close behind.The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.As with the rest of the line, he’s heavy on the re-use.He gets a new head, but his torso is the frequently re-used retool of Superman’s, and he’s also got the arms from Black Lightning and the legs from the Flash.The head is sort of an attempt at approximating a few different artist’s looks for Bart into one, along with folding him into the general line aesthetic, and it’s not awful, but it does feel a little small.The Black Lightning arms are a little long for the body, but the gloves at least match pretty well with Impulse’s design.The legs have a good running sort of pose to them, but the boots are definitely *not* Bart’s from the comics.To be fair, they really weren’t Wally’s either, so it’s kind of whatever.In general, like Superboy, the figure is really bulky for Bart, who was always pretty skinny and appropriately teen (in fact even pre-teen) like in the comics at the time.This appears to be some sort of imaginary older Bart as Impulse sort of figure.His color work is decent enough, but the biggest issue is definitely that the orange of the outer portions of his lightning bolts is too close to the red, so the distinction is largely lost.Also, he’s got no pupils for some reason.Beyond that, the application is pretty clean, so there’s at least that.Impulse is packed with a display stand, this time in white.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
My first exposure to Impulse was an issue of his solo series, which got handed to me as a free give-away at an early Baltimore Comic-Con I attended, more than likely *in* 1999.I loved the issue, and it got me into the whole series (which I had a subscription to until its cancellation years later).I developed a particular attachment to the character, and ended up getting this figure, I feel almost confident at the same time as Superboy.He’s never been a perfect figure, but he’s always been one I very much appreciated.
“While tinkering with his model T-16 skyhopper and tending to his uncle’s new droids, Luke unwittingly short circuits R2-D2’s recording system, triggering the holographic appearance of a young Princess Leia. The image implores the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, but vanishes soon thereafter.”
Luke Skywalker has four notable looks over the course of the original Star Wars film, but by far the most definitive is his “farm boy” look, which, understandably, was the first to get a toy back in 1978.It was also the first to get an update for the relaunched line in 1995, albeit with a notable pectoral upgrade.It was never truly absent from Power of the Force, but I suppose there was a slight downtick in its frequency.Then, in the space of about a year and a half, there were *so* many of them.Farm boy Lukes as far as the eye could see!And they all had their own minute difference.Well, here’s the one that wrapped it all up.
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Luke Skywalker with T-16 Skyhopper was part of the 1999 run of Star Wars: Power of the Force, following the shift to Hasbro’s name being on the packaging.Like last week’s Leia, he was part of an assortment featuring the CommTech gimmick from the Episode I line, and was meant to run alongside that one.He was the seventh and final figure in the line based on Luke’s main A New Hope look, and fifth variation on the “new” mold version of it.Each of those Lukes was based on a specific snippet of the movie, and this one is specifically Luke right after the purchase of the droids, when he discovers the message from Leia while cleaning them up.Yay, another non-action scene!The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.While it’s the same count as the Flashback Photo Luke, it’s a different configuration.This one lacks the wrist movement, and only gets swivels on the elbows instead of hinges, but gets proper knee movement, which was very rare in this line.It’s good for getting him kneeling down, like he does in the scene this figure’s meant to be referencing.His sculpt is using the “updated” Luke head, with a body that’s all new parts, albeit ones that all look very similar to the other four Lukes from this period of time.The paint is on par with the other offerings, a little cleaner and a little more involved than some of the other variations on the look, rivaling the Flashback figure.Once again, I do like the accenting on the boots, and it otherwise does what it needs to.Luke is packed with the T-16 Skyhopper model mentioned in his name, as well as a small hand tool, and his CommTech stands.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Like I said in my Leia review, the CommTech figures aren’t as common as other figures in the line.And, with all the similar looking Lukes, this one has a tendency to fly under the radar.I saw this one once or twice in the early days of jumping into the line, and just never got around to getting him.Ultimately, he’s one of those figures I just happened to find mixed in with a larger lot of PotF figures that got traded into work.He’s…fine?Like, he does some new, but also feels very same-y.After the Flashback figure, which was kind of the best of these variations, he feels like he’s sort of treading water, which, I guess, in a way, he kind of was.
Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review! If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.
Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the three deluxe figures from Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I tie-in line, released alongside similarly deluxe versions of Obi-Wan and Darth Maul. Like the other two, he consisted of a rather standard core figure, with an action feature activated by a kind of wonky lightsaber hilt-looking thing. The figure stands just over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. The deluxe figures lacked the wrist and elbow swivels of the standard figures (Obi-Wan kept one of the elbow swivels, but Qui-Gon wasn’t as lucky), and the shoulder movement was restricted by the action feature. While Obi-Wan’s sculpt wasn’t really all that different from the standard, Qui-Gon’s is actually quite different. He’s a lot more pre-posed, in sort of a mid-battle set-up, with his hair swept back and his teeth bared. While it’s a bit more limiting, it’s also a more dynamic, and I feel slightly more exciting sculpt. It’s not as crazy as some of the Saga figures got, though, and he’s more stable on his feet. Qui-Gon’s color work is pretty good. Nothing crazy for the era, with the body work mostly focusing on base color stuff. The head’s a bit more involved, with the hair getting some grey streaks in it. Qui-Gon was packed with his standard lightsaber, as well as the larger “control” saber, which clipped around the figure’s waist and could activate the action feature. As with Obi-Wan, I lost that one at some point, because I was some sort of silly child.
The Figure In Question 