Figure of the Day: Day 338: Plo Koon

PLO KOON Jedi Master
Revenge of the Sith Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 85174 No. 85289
Number: III-16
Includes: Lightsaber (removable blade), display base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.24-$6.99
Availability: April 2005
Appearances: The Prequels

Bio: Jedi Master Plo Koon is a meber of the Jedi Council and comes from a long line of Jedi. Serving as a General in the Clone Wars, he leads a battalion of clone troopers against Separatist forces. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' Toy Shelves.

Commentary: Hey, Hasbro got it right! (More or less.) After three other figures, this version of Plo Koon is the best yet-- while it's by no means perfect, it's very, very good. It has wrist articulation, elbow articulation, knee articulation, pretty much everything you could possibly want-- except that the joints are somewhat non-standard when compared to his contemporaries from the Jedi council, like Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak-Ti. The figure is, as stated, the best Plo Koon you can buy, but he doesn't have a way to attach his lightsaber to his belt, doesn't have super-crazy-awesome articulation, and doesn't have any extra... extras. Sure, it has ball-jointed shoulders, but the "skirt" keeps the legs from being perfect to pilot his Jedi Starfighter. His knee joints are squarish, clunky, and not too aesthetically pleasing. It's unfortunate that this figure is just a few hairs shy of being perfect-- it's not bad, it's just that Hasbro left the door wide open to do another, even better release in the future. Don't let my comments keep you from buying this figure, if you can find it. It's worth owning. But the elbow joints could be better, the sculpt could be stronger, and yes, there could be more accessories.

Collector's Notes: To date, this is the definitive Plo Koon. There was one with his Jedi robes for Power of the Jedi, a version for the Geonosis Battle from Attack of the Clones in the first Saga line in 2002, and a retooled version of the 2002 figure-- in 2004-- for the Jedi Council sets. Unless you count the Expanded Universe, there's really not all that much left to do for this cyborg-looking alien Jedi, outside of a popular concept sketch featuring the Jedi Master with more battle-gear and a double-bladed Lightsaber gauntlet. Personally, that's as high on my want list as most new characters-- it's just a really cool, really fun looking concept.

Day 338: April 9, 2007