Jedi Knight Army - CW - Deluxe

Begun the Clone Wars has!" – Jedi Master Yoda
On the remote planet of Geonosis, the growing conflict between the Republic and its foes explodes into all-out war. The Republic's Jedi Knights lead a massive Clone Army into battle on hundreds of planets. The Separatists, led by the powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, fight back with their own formidable droid armies. As this terrible conflict rips across the galaxy, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi are swept into the turmoil of war and the rising shadow of the dark side.

A noble order of protectors unified by their belief and observance of the Force, the Jedi hearken back to a more civilized, classical time in galactic history. Their order is ancient, spanning over a thousand generations. As the Galactic Republic grew over the centuries, the Jedi came to serve it as guardians of peace and justice. Headquartered on Coruscant, the Jedi trained, studied, and planned from the impressive Jedi Temple, a towering edifice rising high above the surrounding structures on the city-planet. As the Clone Wars descend darkly upon myriad worlds, the Jedi battle to return security and order to the troubled galaxy.

When Hasbro placed the Star Wars “Saga” line on temporary hiatus to focus on the Clone Wars line, collectors immediately were concerned. How could Hasbro focus their efforts for a multimedia event with little to no promotion and ignore all of the Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy action figures most collectors want to see. Well, once we saw the collection of characters we were going to be receiving, our desire for action figures based on the film was temporarily satiated with a rich line of action figures, Deluxe action figures and vehicles that introduced the new chapters of the Star Wars saga that took place in between Episode II and the yet to be released Episode III films. Hasbro thought very much outside of the box when it came to the Deluxe format. Instead of a basic action figure with really big accessories, they changed up the format to include three unique characters. Sure, the action figures in the Deluxe line have reduced articulation, but their sculpts are fantastic and the articulation that they do have makes these figures worthwhile purchases. The Jedi Knight Army three-pack in particular is a perfect example of this. Sure, all three figures are statues bellow the waist, but we challenge anyone to criticize just how gorgeous they are for such simple action figures. Let’s look at them a little more closely.

All three figures are officially unnamed in the Clone Wars line. We’re going to identify them as follows: [Unidentified Human Jedi], [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] and [Unidentified Twi’lek Jedi]. Of course, this lack of informaiton hasn’t’ stopped Star Wars fans from trying to specifically identify these characters. As a result, we’re going to examine who these characters may very well be. The [Unidentified Human Jedi] is actually a nice pre-posed sculpt. He comes with minimal articulation, but the sculpt is dynamic. The paint operations are even better. Many surmise that this action figure may be Lumas Etima, a male Human Jedi Padawan who served the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic during the Separatist Crisis at the end of the Republic Classic era. Wookieepedia goes on to write “A Force-sensitive human, Lumas Etima was trained in the ways of the Force by the Jedi Order. Selected as a Padawan by Jedi Master Ekim Ryelli, Etima constructed a blue-bladed lightsaber and continued to train with his master. Stationed at the Coruscant Jedi Temple around the time of the vote on the Military Creation Act in the Galactic Senate, Padawan Etima was one of 200 Jedi to respond to Master Mace Windu's call to arms and joined the strike team dispatched to Geonosis to rescue fellow Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala from execution by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.”

We’re especially impressed with the [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] figure. His colors are vibrant and his pose is also dynamic. Despite the action-oriented pose, [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] can stand unassisted with no issues whatsoever. He has a pretty neat mohawk that looks very different from what Greedo had. And his colorful Jedi uniform couldn’t look better on him. We’re thoroughly impressed with how well Hasbro manufactured this figure. Less seems to be know about the [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] than the other figures in this set. Wookieepedia expresses that “this [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] fought alongside both Lumas Etima and a Twi'lek Jedi at the Petranaki arena during the Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY.” It certainly appears that this Jedi Knight must have fought during the Battle of Geonosis, but to date he remains completely off-screen. (Editor’s Note: Although introduced in this 2003 Clone Wars Deluxe set, [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] was later given a full body illustration by Jason Edmiston for the 2010 Legacy Collection Rodian Jedi/Battle Droid Geonosis Arena Showdown (2010 Edition) (2 of 6)) two-pack. In the bio included on the back of the packaging implied that this Rodian survived the Battle of Geonosis.) Either way, [Unidentified Rodian Jedi] should be a favorite among collectors because it is such a nice looking action figure.

The final figure in this set, the [Unidentified Twi’lek Jedi], is another favorite of ours. You really have to hand it to Hasbro. Once again, these are very simply-articulated action figures, but the [Unidentified Twi’lek Jedi] looks absolutely fantastic. What’s more, the paint operations are even better than the sculpt. The pose is action-oriented, but the [Unidentified Twi’lek Jedi] can stand unassisted and looks even better wielding a lightsaber. By the way, [Unidentified Human Jedi] comes with a blue lightsaber and the other two each come with a unique green lightsaber. All three lightsabers are different from each other which shows the extra effort Hasbro put into a set of three budget figures. [Unidentified Twi’lek Jedi] may be another known Star Wars character. It has been suggested that this figure is Norcuna, who was a male Rutian Twi'lek Jedi Master that served the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic as a General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Sourced from The Battle of Jabiim, Part 2 in the Star Wars: Republic series of comics, it is believed that this is the closest source for this character. Norcuna is described as a Force-sensitive Twi'lek that eventually attained the rank of Jedi Master and fought in the Clone Wars. Sound close enough for us! The Jedi Knight Army Deluxe multipack is worth every penny. You should definitely consider it.