PONS LIMBIC or "Brainiac"The Legacy Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87535 No. 87839
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #BD35
Includes: 2-piece table, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: January 2009
Appearances: Star Wars
Bio: Cantina patron Pons Limbic can calculate hyperspace coordinates in his head without a computer, a common ability among his species. Like all Siniteen, Pons has a large, ridged head that resembles cerebral lobes, giving him a super-intelligent appearance and earning him the nickname "Brainiac" by his fellow Cantina denizens. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)
Image: Adam's Cantina diorama.
Commentary: It's really amazing to see what gets the most attention in this line-- this Pons Limbic, for example, is probably one of the more spectacular Cantina aliens in terms of what Hasbro did with it. The character is probably best known from a trading card, and yet Hasbro gave it the deluxe treatment with an awesome accessory. Even Momaw Nadon doesn't get this kind of love!
The figure's sculpt is, in short, basically everything you can hope for. 14 points of articulation, ball joints as expected, good deco, nice detail, and a holster too. The fact that the figure comes with both a spiffy table and a build-a-droid part was pretty remarkable when he hit, particularly when just five waves later Cantina aliens seemed to get smaller and have fewer accessories. Heck, Limbic's case mate was a 2-pack of Cantina aliens. We'll probably never see that again. Limbic can stand, sit, and basically do what you want. The sculpt of his outfit is particularly detailed for a character you never really got a solid look at, and is easily one of the best looking figures in that respect. His deco could probably be stronger, I guess, but it looks just fine to me. For scenery stuffing, figures don't get much better than this. Be sure to get one if you missed it.
Collector's Notes: Hasbro claimed that this was a weak seller and was even taken back in some markets. This is not what we saw in our runs, but we only see a few dozen stores in one region of the USA, so you might not want to overpay for this one if you seek him out. (You should seek him out.)
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,260: April 13, 2010
Pons Limbic's costume is from the 1940s serial Spy Smasher, adapted from the WHIZ comic book.
ReplyDeleteKane Richmond was the star of that movie. When Star Wars was filmed, they recycled this costume for Pons LImbic. Famed archivist Bob Burns has both the mask for Pons Limbic and the costume!
Great figure, but he definitely warmed pegs here in the Midwest - particularly Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteTo say he pegwarmed in ohio is kind of a misnomer. I maybe saw 2 (3 max) at stores...but probably because the stores didn't stock much. Was he a peg warmer? Sure. Was he to the level of Breha Organa? Not likely (though, come to think of it, all of those stores had like 10 or 12 of her at the time Pons hit...).
ReplyDeleteThey made the figure a bit more "heroic" then the actual movie character, who looks more dumpy, like a drunk you'd find in a bar.
ReplyDeleteThey peg warmed around here, which shows how fickle consumers are they can't appreciate a cool big-brained alien with lots of articulation.
Love the articulation on this figure, but I feel Hasbro did a poor job on some areas of the sculpt... his head doesn't seem as representative of the character as we see in reference material, and the shoulders don't look natural.
ReplyDeleteThis figure was a major pegwamer in my area too, BTW.