Figure of the Day: Day 1,007: Keoulkeech (Ewok in Stormtrooper Disguise)

KEOULKEECH in Stormtrooper Disguise
The Legacy Collection Wal-Mart Exclusive Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 12974 No. 87884
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Belt, spear, helmet, additional Ewoks, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: March 2009
Appearances: Star Wars Marvel comic books

Bio: Keoulkeech was an Ewok shaman and the older brother of Leektar. (Stolen from Wookieepedia, although he didn't seem like much of a shaman in the comics.)

Image: Kashyyyk Galactic Heroes backdrop. Finally found a good use for the darned thing.

Commentary: One of the things I've wanted for years but you couldn't care about in the slightest were figures from the post-ROTJ era of Marvel's Star Wars comic. I'm not picky- Luke, Leia, Ewoks, Kiro, whatever. So far it seems only Wal-Mart will take these characters, and this Keoulkeech is one heck of a nice little figure. He's clearly visible on page 6 of issue #94, "Small Wars." Our little friend here is a retool of Graak from 2007, except now he has a new head with smaller ears, a new Stormtrooper belt, and a matching helmet. Oh, and the spear.

His articulation remains unchanged from that of Graak-- ball shoulders and ankles, a ball neck, and cut wrists, hips, and waist. For an Ewok, this is a lot of movement-- they're tricky to hide joints in, so Hasbro did an admirable job here. The figure's most important feature comes from Hasbro's deciding to include both an Ewok hood (a recolor of Romba's) and the Stormtrooper helmet in here so in theory, if you had two of him, they could be two different Ewoks. (Yeah, they all basically look alike to me.)

Because of what this is, I think it's fantastic. As a kid I actually armed my Ewoks with Stormtrooper guns all the time, as that's what happened in comics like this one and in the TV movies, so it's really wonderful to actually see a manifestation of this concept that wasn't a custom figure. If you like Ewoks, this set is a gift from the heavens-- get it. If you don't like Ewoks, well, you won't care now will you? Oh, and I've been told I should tell you he kinda looks like Fozzie Bear.

Collector's Notes: This set is newly available. It also includes Machook and Kettch, none of which were mentioned by name in the comic book. Tippet at Wicket were called out in the book, and neither were included. One unfortunate thing about this set is that there were numerous other characters in the comic that would have made good figures, including a newly recolored set of Han, Leia, or Luke, Ackbar's "aide" Hirog, or Dani. Maybe there's hope for the future, but for now I'm just stoked Hasbro cranked out more Ewoks in this set than they had in ages.

Day 1,007: April 23, 2009