Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

A legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker, served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars, and guided Luke Skywalker as a mentor.

Talk about “bittersweet.” Just when we thought Hasbro wouldn’t touch Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series with a ten-foot pole when it came to creating action figures based on that fantastic series, they go ahead and release Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Black Series [Phase III] 6 “ line as a Walgreens exclusive, proving something we thought was previously impossible. We’re thrilled to see Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi added to the 6” line, but the figure is riddled with issues and problems, and it saddens us that they didn’t put a little more effort into this figure than they did. Before you feel mislead, we should tell you right up front that Hasbro did a remarkable job on the figure’s portrait. It may be one of the best likenesses of a Star Wars character to date. You may seem some cheeks with too much blush or eyes that appear too darkened, but Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi has a head sculpt and facial deco that rivals some of Hasbro's efforts of all time. So, the figure doesn’t lack in that area in the slightest. Hasbro used a significant portion of the parts from 2014’s TBS [P1] Clone Trooper (#14) figure, so the figure comes with a great base sculpt. Unfortunately, it’s become tired in a few areas and is beginning to look a little bit aged.

More importantly, Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with a nice amount of new tooling too. He comes with a new torso to allow for the required buttons to tie back the inner portions of the soft-goods skirt. The belt is new too. Hasbro tooled a hole into the left side of it to place his lightsaber hilt when not in use. It’s a precarious fit and doesn’t stay in place as strongly as we’d hoped, but it was generous of Hasbro to include this feature here, and it’s unique to this character. There is a little knob on the lightsaber hit, which plugs into the hole. But be prepared to experience some difficulty. That said, Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with a lightsaber hilt and lightsaber blade and NOTHING ELSE. This is where we feel the action falls very short and misses the mark. Where is the removable Clone Trooper helmet (or at the very least an interchangeable head sculpt – they already have these made). Where is the lance he used to defeat the IG Assassin Droids in Volume 1 of the Clone Wars? Where is the hologram of Captain Rex that you should be able to plug into his wrist commlink? We feel robbed! Hasbro should have pulled out all the stops for this Walgreens exclusive figure and given us the definitive version of this character right from the start.

We wanted to mention right from the start that we feel the included head sculpt of Obi-Wan is superb. There is no doubt about that. It will make a great “Episode III” update for any future versions they make for the character. BUT! And this is a big but! Obi-Wan Kenobi had longer hair while donning the Clone Trooper armor. His hairstyle was almost identical to the style he wore in Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. The shorter style seen on the portrait of this figure is specific from Revenge Of The Sith. In all fairness, Hasbro isn’t the only license that screwed up this important detail. Gentle Giant LTD (and others) made the same mistake too on the collectibles they produced years ago as well. While not an aesthetics issue, we’re slightly disappointed with how Hasbro named this version of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Technically, this figure should have been called General Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Obi-Wan Kenobi (Clone Trooper Armor). Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi is a “new” name for this figure. That’s what he is, but Hasbro never named the character in this fashion previously. We’re HUGE fans of Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series, so we’re proud of Hasbro they produced this figure, but we still would have liked to see a little more provided and corrected here before its release.

You can see more thoughts on The Black Series [Phase III] 6" Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi with Thomas’ FIRST LOOK impressions and overview presented to JTA readers the beginning of September HERE.