Figure of the Day: Day 247: Clone Commander

CLONE COMMANDER Mace Windu's Attack Battalion
The Saga Collection Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. 87110
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster pistol, blaster rifle, helmet, "purse"
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2006
Appearances: The Clone Wars (in theory)

Bio: This commander leads a team of clone troopers into battle to protect the Jedi Temple. He uses a series of hand signals to direct and position his battalion as they battle the invading droid army. (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Inside the backdrop from the box for Mace Windu's Attack Battalion.

Commentary: At first, this looks like a brand new figure. It isn't. This Clone Commander is the Revenge of the Sith Evolutions Star Corps Clone mold, modified with a new helmet, and additional new accessories. It even has the same, thinner rifle. The newly tooled shoulder prevents some of the motion which the original figure had, but it's still pretty spiffy. The head under the helmet has oddly painted eyebrows, and is slightly paler than you might like. As such, you can thank your lucky stars that you have a helmet which you can leave on his head. There's not much to say about this Clone that hasn't been said about most others-- it's very posable, includes more guns than you need, and doesn't come from a specific story in the existing Expanded Universe. It's just a cool purple Clone with a funky helmet, and fans of such things will enjoy it. It makes an exciting toy for this reason, as there are very few Star Wars action figures that don't already have an entire backstory fleshed out for them before you make the purchase. With this one, it's almost entirely up to you.

Collector's Notes: The Episode II and Episode III hammock is largely called Clone Wars, so it makes sense that any Clone Trooper with the Revenge of the Sith helmet design and any relation to a character killed in that film would be, by default, Clone Wars. As far as I can tell, no fiction has shown a visual representation (or even a mention) of Mace having his on squad-- but hey, here it is. The box says "As Seen on Cartoon Network" but does not sport a Clone Wars logo like on other recent items from the series. Which is funny, because it would make more sense to say that this is a toy from the Clone Wars because it could be, yet I do not recall seeing it on Cartoon Network at all. Also, this set includes three of the Clone Trooper, one Clone Commander, and Mace Windu in the boxed set.

Also, the figure has one small blaster pistol-- not two, like it says on the box. It is stored in the man-purse. Also, this item sold out in most stores fairly quickly, an unusual case in 2006 as nearly every Target exclusive hit the clearance racks in decent numbers for nearly all Hasbro Star Wars exclusive products. This mold will return again in Wave 1 of the 2007 "30th Anniversary Collection," but painted in orange and named the Utapau Airborne Trooper.

Day 247: January 8, 2007