Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosis) - SW [S - P3] - Basic (’03 #12)

Barriss Offee is the Padawan learner of Luminara Unduli, and similarly shares her Master's latticed facial tattoos. The youthful Jedi apprentice often prefers wielding a lightsaber to participating in diplomatic negotiations. During the Battle of Geonosis, Barriss must defend herself and her fellow outnumbered Jedi from the Separatists' impending droid armies. Her strong healing abilities make her an invaluable asset when the battle erupts into a full-scale ground assault and the beginning of the Clone Wars.

When it comes to figures in the Star Wars “Saga” line, you’re going to have to accept many of them as miniatures versions of figures from the Star Wars Unleashed line, because that is what they really feel like. Hasbro has taken a whole new approach with the basic figure line during this tenure of the toy line. They’ve forgone many points of articulation and instead have applied their energies to creating extremely dynamic sculpts that are accurate and authentic interpretations of the characters we saw onscreen, with most from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Action figures without a ton of articulation aren’t considered “action figures” by some collectors, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and instead appreciate the quality of the sculpts. We know that’s a very hard case to make, and it’s maybe the reason that the Star Wars “Saga” isn’t fully engaging the adult collector market fully. But we have to tell you that while many of the action figures in this line are from very specific freeze-framed moments in film, they are some of the nicest looking action figures we have seen in a long time. A very background Jedi Padawan that is hard to locate in Episode II has been re-released for the third phase of the Star Wars "Saga" line to give it more baking time at retail. The renamed Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosis) still is beautiful, but it may not be what all collectors are expecting.

OK, so you know that she is Luminara’s student in the Force. But Hasbro seemingly spent more time developing the Barriss Offee action figure more than her mentor. This is fine by us. It actually worked out to our benefit in all honesty. Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosis) may not have the facial expression you had hoped for, or any usable articulation to give her the lower body the mobility you desire, but the character has been beautifully interpreted as an action figure beyond expectations. She only comes with seven total points of articulation, but her molded clothing (including a beautifully sculpted and decorated removable cloak) give this action figure more personality that you could even achieve with a super-articulated action figure. Plus, she has been decorated unbelievably well. Granted, she looks a little bit silly when not fully accessorized. We will give you that. But there are more importan things to consider here. Moving along, she can hold her lightsaber (complete with metal hilt and removable green blade) in both hands (either with a sculpted grip, or with a magnet) and she can stand perched atop her stunning environmental display stand conquering all Separatists who cross her path. You can even see her victims in the dirt she stands atop. Hasbro has also included a blast effect which really isn’t needed, but adds a little more texture to this action figure setup. With a little bit of patience, Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosis) can stand unassisted, but you’ll find that she looks better and stands better with the assistance of the display stand.

The paint job this action figure received is gorgeous. She has a light green foundation for skin color, but then she has beautiful tattooed diamond patterns underneath both boldly blue eyes. (Luminara Unduli has a similar pattern on her chin). Her outfit is cast in a very dark purple color. It even looks black in some lower lights. But the details etched into the sculpt showcase some of Hasbro’s finest sculpting moments. Then lets not forget about the wash that brings out its texture. Is Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosis) for every last collector? Most likely not everyone will be persuaded by what this action figure brings to the Star Wars toy line. But we have to give credit where credit is due and it goes without saying that this sculpt is gorgeous. Yes, the head sculpt is borderline annoying and the lack of articulation is frustrating. But the static parts of the sculpt are excellent. Barriss Offee and Luminara Unduli have important roles in the Tartakovsky Clone Wars micro-series. And interestingly we believe that both of their action figures in the Star Wars “Saga” line have been inspired by the episodes in the Clone Wars. We didn’t see Barriss Offee fight as drastically as her expression shows in Episode II. But she did show this emotion in the Clone Wars. Either way, Barriss Offee (Battle Of Geonosus) is a truly beautiful action figure. You may not be able to qualify her as a true action figure because she is more statuesque than anything else. But maybe you need some smaller scaled statues in your Star Wars collection.