Obi-Wan Kenobi - TCW [R] - Basic (CW12)

Protected from the vacuum of space by a space suit, Obi-Wan uses a rocket backpack to board a Separatist ship. His exhausting quest to locate Count Dooku has lead him to this giant cruiser. But before he completes his mission, the Jedi Master is in for plenty of trouble – battles with the enemy, crash landings and space pirates!

Almost a year to the day from the introduction of The Clone Wars line (July 26, 2008), the new Season 2 line look or “red” phase of The Clone Wars figures started making its way to retail locations across the country. The product came very briskly and introduced collectors to a whole new slew of Star Wars characters and familiar ones newly styled and in new outfits. In fact, the first three waves shipped at around the same time and we found bits and pieces of each wave all over the place. The new Obi-Wan Kenobi [Space Suit] was one of these figures found and became an immediate favorite. While his subtitle of "Space Suit" is unofficial (Hasbro - you are frustrating us by calling all your Obi-Wan Kenobi figures "Obi-Wan Kenobi"), it is a very unique look for one of our favorite all-time Jedi Masters. If you're a fan of the TV series, you will most likely want to add him to your collection, despite his extraordinarily brief appearance in this outfit in the episode Dooku Captured. This super-articulated figure is reminiscent of an animated version of a character one might see from watching Alien (1979) as his costume looks like a cartoon version of one of the Nostromo crew. It really does. An interesting color palette was used including a cream-colored jumpsuit highlighted with maroon and gray detailing. They contrast well against each other, but it is a very bizarre combination of color. His belt has a great deal of silver ornamentation and there is even a clip to store his unlit lightsaber. This is something we absolutely adore.

Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with a firing jetpack, two distinct projectiles, lightsaber, lightsaber hilt, and removable space helmet. Most of these accessories are colored in maroon and match perfectly to the maroon used for his outfit. The loose pieces snap into place perfectly well and Hasbro has clearly engineered one fine product here. We have seen multiple samples of him in the wild and we would like to caution collectors that there are varying degrees of clarity with his helmet. Some look very cloudy while others are crystal clear. Obviously, you will want to find one with the least amount of opacity possible because it makes a huge difference as far as the figure’s authenticity is concerned. This is the first Star Wars action figure where a completely clear-domed helmet was used and we have to say that it really makes the figure special. And it is so cool that Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker have also been made as action figures in this same “space suit” convention. All the pieces that come with the figure work interactively very well together and the finest details of the paint operations accent the figure in a very positive way. There are also fine designs on his jetpack which are reminiscent of patterns you may see in the Jedi Temple (we assume) - which is fitting since he is a powerful Jedi. Additionally, white lines have been added to the pattern which helps to give the jetpack depth and shape. Hasbro truly went all out to make this figure as sharp as possible.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's head sculpt is another standout piece of art here. It seems Hasbro has little difficulty in capturing this character's likeness in action figure form, whether it is an Episode I, II, III, IV or The Clone Wars version of him. Without fail, Hasbro continually impresses with their Obi-Wan Kenobi action figures. And no matter what outfit he is in, they also have no difficulty replicating it and ensuring that he looks the part of the character he portrayed in the Star Wars universe. Officially part of wave 2 of the red phase of The Clone Wars, this figure has been found even before most of the figures in wave 1 and we hope that this isn’t a sign of crazy distributions issues to come. Honestly, we have yet to understand Hasbro's logic with the way case assortments are making their way to retail in general. It is typically feast or famine and many figures take much longer to reach the shelves than others. We are sure he will make frequent returns to the shelves and he is a figure that we highly recommend for your collections. But regardless of his availability, this is one of the better figures in wave 2, and it should be your mission to find him and purchase him. Be prepared for a very exciting Season 2 of The Clone Wars. If the show is as exciting as some of the action figures coming to retail, we are in for a real treat! But it also seems that Hasbro has a lot of catching up to do by getting many figures like this one from Season 1 out to the public first. It’s OK, keep brining them to us, Hasbro!