Obi-Wan Kenobi - SW [Y/AOTC] - The Clone Wars (CW01)

Obi-Wan is shocked to discover that Darth Maul is alive. (European packaging)

Obi-Wan is shocked to discover that Darth Maul is alive. The Jedi fought and defeated Maul some years ago and was sure that the evil Sith apprentice was dead. But somehow Maul has survived, and now Obi-Wan must fight this deadly enemy once more. (North American packaging)

Third time is always the charm isn’t it? When the looks of the three main Republic heroes changed in Season 3 of The Clone Wars, Hasbro was quick to update the revised likenesses for the basic figure line up. In 2011, the “Shadow Of The Dark Side” phase brought us new takes on Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan were designed to appear much more like their Episode III counterparts, while Ahsoka was updated to be more mature and for lack of a better word, more adult and how she might have looked had she appeared in Revenge Of The Sith. Except for Ahsoka (CW44), the new takes on Anakin (and especially Obi-Wan Kenobi) didn’t resonate well with collectors. While the effort was appreciated to update the newly transitioned look of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the basic figure line, it seems as if Hasbro has some additional fine-tuning to do before collectors of The Clone Wars line would deem him as definitive. Clearly Hasbro wasn’t satisfied either so they quickly began working on a better version of Obi-Wan Kenobi based on his Heroes On Both Sides debut appearance. While strides were evidently made to improve the character, he was still a ways from being totally acceptable. We would have also loved to see Hasbro include a second lightsaber with the figure as well. It seems like a necessary extra.

Hasbro released the next Season 3 look of Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] The Clone Wars line as Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW12) figure. Completely abandoning the 2011 TCW [SOTDS] Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW40) figure altogether, Hasbro developed an all-new sculpt with a fantastic likeness and enhanced body sculpt. As improved as the action figure was, issues remained because Hasbro became a little bit stingy with the articulation. In a shocking move, Hasbro eliminated wrist articulation much to the complete chagrin of the collecting community. While a decent amount of articulation was added elsewhere on the figure, the limitations from no wrist articulation made posing the figure with a lightsaber very discouraging. This was such a setback because this iteration of Obi-Wan Kenobi would have been a nearly definitive update to this particular version of the character. It goes without saying that we’re unable to accept a figure that doesn’t have wrist articulation. This just isn't for collectors. And actually Hasbro would probably agree. What’s terrible is that they’ll tell you The Clone Wars line isn’t for you anyway. Sigh. There is no winning here, is there? What's more surprising however is that none of us were aware that Hasbro had a change of heart somewhere down the road and decided to update the 2012 version of Obi-Wan Kenobi for the better.

2013’s SW [Y/AOTC] Obi-Wan Kenobi figure is a dream come true. Despite some limited range of movement in his shoulders, Obi-Wan Kenobi has been upgraded successfully. We don’t understand why Hasbro tries detrimental things for only a season only to come back to their original approach. They should have remained consisent all along when it comes to figures in The Clone Wars line. Obi-Wan Kenobi now has been given an updated paint job and best of all updated forearms with newly added swivel wrists. His Jedi outfit is lighter, his boots are darker and his hair is more auburn than it was on the first two versions mentioned earlier. For us, one of the best enhancements that concerns us is that Hasbro finally spent some time to give the sculpt its best paint job yet. This makes Obi-Wan Kenobi look exactly like the character on the small screen. His eyes are less beady and his very expressive eyebrows are thicker. There are other improved details not to be missed either. The enhancements to the paint job in the face are especially accentuated when looking at the figure’s profile. There is no doubt to the likeness of Obi-Wan Kenobi now. What a shame that the “pieces” were already in place and that it just took a phenomenal paint job to bring it all out. What a shame it is that only select collectors will have the opportunity to add Obi-Wan Kenobi to their collections and by that we mean international collectors. For Americans it will only be the aftermarket that will bring you a chance to purchase this gorgeous updated action figure, unless Hasbro has a change of heart in this area too.