Obi-Wan Kenobi (Wandering Jedi)

Now the hunt truly begins. Obi-Wan Kenobi is set years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Kenobi faced the corruption of his friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader. I don't know what's worse: the Marvel team not putting any text on the packaging and just releasing it in the marketing copy, or the Star Wars team putting text on the packaging, but just making it about the property, not the character, and therefore printing the same thing for every toy based on a certain movie or TV show. Sure, you know who Obi-Wan Kenobi is and what his motivations are, but what happens when we get to Darth Pumpkin Head or Shroom Boy? Not every character has 40 years of fame behind them, guys. Obi-Wan-Ben-Benji-Larry-Jonathan-Stanley-Cary-Steve-Rick-Lawrence-Bradley-Chadley-Guapo-Hangjo-Jango-Larry Kenobi is still played by Ewan McGregor, who barely looked any older in 2022 than he did in 2002, and yet in less than a decade is meant to have turned into Alec Guinness. Wear sunscreen, kids! The Photo Real printing on this toy is even better than the last one, meaning it's more than just his clothes that make this one worth getting. He's grown hs hair back out to Jesus-length, which is exactly what you'd want if you're going to be living in the desert for any length of time. Obi-Wan Kenobi, master of disguise, is still just traipsing around in clothes that make him look like a Jedi: a brown robe, light cream shirt, dark brown pants, and brown boots. He at least looks a little more casual, with the shirt being loose and baggy, rather than having crisply pressed folds; if he had white New Balance sneakers instead of short boots, he'd look like a dad ready to do some yard work on the weekend. He, Logan, and Kratos can get together and talk about grilling and the latest submarine novels they've read. It's good they included a robe for him, so you don't have to steal Mace Windu's any more, but the hood doesn't want to sit properly on his head or lay down againt his back. One or the other, cloak! They did a nice job stitching some permanent folds onto the lapels, so we know they can work with softgoods well, the hood just turned out weird. Obie stands 5⅞" tall, which is right on target - Ewan is 5'10", and so was Alec. Way to be consistent, Lucasfilm! The figure has swivel/hinges in the ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, and shoulders; swivel thighs; balljointed hips and waist; and barbell joints at the top and bottom of the neck. If you tip his torso too far, you'll be able to see into the interior of the waist joint, since his shirt is for some reason done as a soft PVC shell over the ABS body beneath. Guess they're planning to reuse this torso? The length of the shirt sleeves can make tilting the hands a little tough, too. He's armed with two weapons: his lightsaber, which has a removable blade so the hilt can be plugged into his belt, and a blaster that can holster on his right hip. I thought guns were clumsy and inelegant, Ben. The gun is a cool new mold, a nice looking little thing that's not really any larger than a real handgun would be. The holster has a working flap that you can close ove rthe gun when he's not aiming it. There's a Target exclusive repaint of this figure that's even more casual and undercover (he's got a blue shirt instead of Jedi tan), but this one has one specific advantage the other does not: it also includes L0-LA59, the little droid from the series. Mandalorian has Baby Yoda, Obi-Wan has Baby R2-D2. Lola (as she's known) is reminiscent of the little alien robots from '80s cult favorite Batteries Not Included, with a broad, convex surface, one large eye in the center, and a pair of spindly little legs underneath. Her wings are slightly poseable (though not enough to get them perfectly flat), and she has a removable buzzsaw that can plug into the front of the body. The legs are removable, and there's a small flight stand to make her look like she's hovering. How cute! Obi-Wan was a good series with good performances, it just had the misfortune of being compared to the universally beloved Mandalorian and the genre-shifting Andor. The show wasn't quite what fans were expecting, but it absolutely delivered what we wanted. We're probably not going to get a Season 2, so we're lucky the toy we already got is so good. -- 01/14/23

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