RAHM KOTA General30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87487
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #0813
Includes: Lightsaber, stand, removable-ish armor
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: March 2008
Appearances: The Force Unleashed comic, novel, game, and so forth
Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.
Bio: Rahm Kota's lack of faith in the clone troopers during the Clone Wars allowed this Jedi general to escape Order 66. After many years in exile, he launches a dangerous plan that leads to an unexpected encounter with Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
Commentary: Spoilers today? Yes-- I figure more of you won't play the game (or read the comic) than will at this point, so I figure it's all up for grabs. Rahm Kota is the first target of Vader's secret sidekick in The Force Unleashed, and unlike most Jedi, isn't boring. Typically, they're very high-minded fancy-talking do-gooders who can form a proper sentence and a mellow attitude that invites mocking. Kota was played up to be more of a gritty survivor type, and he goes through a lot of crap-- he almost dies, he gets blinded, he has a drinking problem, and oh yes-- apparently he was one of the founders of the Rebellion with Garm Bel Iblis, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma. I guess the history books forgot to mention that before. While "Samurai Jedi" sounds somewhat boring, the writers behind the game/novel/comic managed to make the character meaty enough that he could be more than just another Jedi survivor-- which made for a good gaming experience that actually made me very glad I had the action figure for six months before I even touched the game.
The figure-- and several figures from the game-- raised a lot of questions. Since Kota was due in 2007, how long before that was the figure developed? And was it done based on the concept art, or the actual actor whose face appears in the game? The figure itself seems to have all the elements of the character's costume, but doesn't look much like the actor. Then again, Han and Luke don't either. Thankfully, Hasbro made it good for the most part-- the chest armor is removable, but the shoulder armor is not. The figure is basically super articulated and features slightly clunky cloth pieces under his arms. Again, this matches the game, but it doesn't really look as cool as it should. The figure also has a holster on his back for his lightsaber, but it doesn't really fit too well. The lightsaber doesn't have a removable blade either, so even if it did, it would look weird. This General looks pretty great, as his costume is loaded with detail, his face has scars, and oh yeah, he's got armor. That's something most Jedi skipped out on. Since he's a well-designed figure with more than adequate articulation, he should be right at home in any diorama you decide to make-- although we could use more of his own militia as action figures before we go ahead and do that.
Fans of the character should get the figure, but if you don't know who it is or know why you should care, well, you can save $7 by not buying it I guess. It's great to see Hasbro make figures from a game like this, and here's hoping we'll see more. Heck, there's another version of Rahm Kota left to make, if nothing else.
Collector's Notes: Originally planned for a 2007 release, the figure was delayed to the game's release. As a 2007 figure, he probably would have included a coin. To date, no samples or prototypes of a hypothetical coin have surfaced. The figure was released and discontinued before any The Force Unleashed story-based products hit stores, so fans had to decide if they wanted this figure based purely on how cool it did (or didn't) look and rumors/speculation.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 872: October 16, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment