Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) - POTJ - Basic

Many settlers on Tatooine regard old Ben Kenobi as a crazy wizard. In fact, he is General Obi-Wan Kenobi, a veteran of the Clone Wars, and one of the last surviving Jedi Knights. For years, he lived as a hermit in the remote Jundland Wastes, secretly monitoring the safety and progress of Luke Skywalker, whose father had been Kenobi's apprentice. However, fate soon required that Kenobi himself train the boy in the ways of the Force.

The Power Of The Jedi line in many ways served as a transitional line for the line, but they wisely took advantage of it by devoting the character selections to those that collectors have wanted to see updated or for the first time in the basic figure line. As part of the Power Of The Jedi’s logo, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a staple in the line, so he made frequent appearances in it. Most were excellent choices and well designed action figures. Perhaps however collectors were most eager to see how Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) would shape. (For the record, he's a Jedi Master at this point.) As a core Original Trilogy character, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) brought a better sculpt to the table by introducing collectors to a screen accurate outfit, albeit without his legendary cloak, weapon (the lightsaber) and a gift to Luke Skywalker (his father’s lighsaber hilt). Together, they make a good Kenobi action figure, but some may still feel slighted by the severe lack of articulation the action figure possesses. Utilizing the base sculpt of the 1995 POTF2 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figure’s head, this all-new figure takes a bold leap forward to reduce the steroid like proportions of the original 1995 modern release as well as ensure screen accuracy as close to the mark as possible. Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) isn’t perfect by any means, but he will instantly become the staple “go to” figure as the enhancements are extremely notable.

Based on scene in A New Hope when Obi-Wan Kenobi gives Luke Skywalker his father’s lightsaber, you may find it odd to discover what Hasbro did here. This is of course nitpicking, but the lit Obi-Wan lightsaber should be “off” and the Luke Skywalker “unlit” lightsaber should be “on” because that’s how those props were utilized in these scenes. Hasbro has the accessories technically reversed. Interestingly, although we appreciate the inclusion of both accessories, Hasbro may have been better suited by releasing both a lit and unlit version of both lightsabers for extra play value and what-have-you. Anyway, accessories have very little bearing on how we judge action figures, so let’s move on and talk about that. Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) does have a great sculpt. We are actually a little perplexed judging whether or not this is an all-new head sculpt. The proportions looks different, but then there is a whole lot similar as well. We’re going to err on the side that Hasbro has made an all-new sculpt here. The costume looks good, but the articulation is very hard to swallow. They’ve added swivel elbows to give the figure a little movement for swinging his lightsaber, but aside from that, this action figure functions a lot more like a salt or pepper shaker. The figure is bittersweet. It looks good, but it s very scene specific and the absence of his outer robes makes it feel like something is missing…. which it is obviously.

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) also has a strange lean, but in a weird way you can only see the harshness of this lean when viewing him from the back. In other words, he looks alright from the front. Isn’t that odd? When turned around, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) leans dramatically to the right. It’s the strangest thing. Although he has swivel hips, the robes make it impossible to situate his legs in a way that may counteract the bizarre balance. As a result, this is definitely geared towards collectors and not kids. Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) can really just stand around in your collection. But as a character who didn’t pilot vehicle (in the Original Trilogy), you may not care that he isn’t able to sit down. We are seeing a stepwise progression with how Obi-Wan Kenobi as an action figure is getting updated. The Power Of The Force “2” version has become obsolete and there are significant strides of improvement with this figure. We’ll see how Obi-Wan Kenobi continues its metamorphosis every five years or so. In the meantime, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Jedi Knight) can hold you over as it’s a pretty nice update to what we’re used to seeing in the line. We’re not “gaga” over it, but it isn’t half bad either. We have one last point to make. Why would Hasbro drill a hole for the lightsaber hilt accessory (which also has plug to insert into the hole) when it’s not his lightsaber? Oh how Hasbro can confuse sometimes!