EV-9D9 - POTF2 [R/G] - Basic

HEIGHT: 1.6 Meters
STATUS: Palace Droid Taskmaster
CLASSIFICATION: Merendata EV Supervisor Droid
AFFILIATION: Loyal to Jabba the Hutt
WEAPON OF CHOICE: Mechanical Torture

Whenever Kenner/Hasbro updated figures into the modern The Power Of The Force line from the vintage Kenner The Power Of The Force line (which made its debut in 1985), collectors' interest was especially piqued. Kenner/Hasbro started with one of the most popular figures of all time. In 1995, they made Luke Skywalker (In Stormtrooper Disguise) a priority, and this action figure was one of the most popular in 1996. By the time the "green" phase of The Power Of The Force "2" line arrived, collectors were already pining for more figures from 1985 to be updated. Thankfully, Kenner/Hasbro obliged us all and put EV-9D9 into the mix. They arranged a wave of five figures all based on Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, and all were warmly received by Star Wars collectors everywhere. Perhaps the one figure that stood out from the rest in this wave was EV-9D9, the taskmaster/torture droid with female programming from Jabba's dungeon. She assigned duties to various droids and punished others that were less than cooperative. It was EV-9D9 who assigned C-3PO as Jabba the Hutt's new protocol droid and R2-D2 for bar duty on Jabba's sail barge.

If you don't compare the modern EV-9D9 to the 1985 POTF EV-9D9 vintage Kenner figure carefully enough, you might be inclined to believe that Kenner/Hasbro utilized most of the original sculpt to make the modern version. In actuality, however, 1997's POTF2 [R/G] EV-9D9 is an all-new figure. There is no doubt in our mind that when the 1997 figure was being tooled that the sculptor had the 1985 figure less than twelve inches away as a guide. They are so similar that it's hard to see most of the differences that exist between the two unique sculpts. EV-9D9 comes with a light five points of articulation. Kenner/Hasbro did not add in the extra sixth point of articulation (the waist joint) for this release. In all honesty, this extra point of articulation isn't needed anyhow. After all, EV-9D9 stands behind a datapad directed others what to do with new prisoners and servants. The shoulders, hips, and head are all articulated and provide EV-9D9 with all of the articulation she needs. The coloring and paint job of this action figure is excellent. Kenner/Hasbro has done a great job here at conveying the dark and brooding "personality" of this protocol droid.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment with EV-9D9 is that Kenner/Hasbro abandoned the articulated lower jaw articulation that was such a cool feature on 1985's POTF EV-9D9 action figure. Of course, the aesthetics of the character would be compromised with a lever on the back of her head, so we understand their reasoning for not including that here. The datapad accessory is very nicely sculpted. It has been cast in a worn black color and has an incredible amount of detail etched into its form to recreate buttons and screens and everything else needed for droid management. It's a minor disappointment, but Hasbro decided not to paint any colorful details on this accessory. It's not a huge deal, but we wish there were just a little more deco applied to it. Still, we didn't receive the scene-specific datapad accessory with the classic Kenner figure. Collectors love getting environmental backdrops with their action figures. The datapd is failry large accessory here. We hope they keep up the trend of releasing more background characters into the lineup. Until they do, we have plenty of action figures from Jabba's Palace to enjoy now.