Yoda - SW [S - P1] - Deluxe

Ten years after the fight to save Naboo from invasion, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi, thousands of solar systems threaten to secede from the Galactic Republic. A courageous Jedi Knight, his impulsive and headstrong apprentice, and a queen-turned-senator are drawn into the heart of the conflict... and the beginning of war.

The oldest member of the Jedi Council, Yoda is a powerful Jedi with enormous powers. Engaged in battle against a formidable and deadly Super Battle Droid, Yoda reveals his superior skill in the Force as well as his dexterity and fighting prowess.

Remember the blooper reel in Toy Story 2 when Mrs. Potato head advised Mr. Potato head to pack his ANGRY EYES? Well, Mrs. Yoda must have advised something similarly for the beloved Jedi Master for 2002’s Star Wars “Saga” Yoda Deluxe figure. Yoda must have packed his ANGRY EYES indeed because, wow, what an angry looking Yoda this is. In all honesty however, it’s a good kind of angry. He did battle Count Dooku in the climax of the film while simultaneously protecting the Jedi he loved. So this action figure isn’t all that far from the reality in the film. Yoda may not be the greatest action figure Hasbro has ever produced, but the figure isn’t without merit either. Essentially statuesque, Yoda benefits from movement thanks to two magnets at the bottom of his feet. A lever (with a polar opposite attraction magnet) slides underneath the base of the toy and gives Yoda Force-like movement. It’s a silly gimmick that strangely works well. Yoda comes with swivel shoulders and a swivel head, but that’s all of the body movement you’re going to get out of this figure. He comes with a metal lightsaber hilt which “Force attracts” to the magnet embedded in his left hand. And then Hasbro of course included the green lightsaber blade with a tiny peg that plugs into the metal hilt.

Yoda is painted pretty nicely too. There are different shades of green used to give his head sculpt some divine texture and personality. He is a tiny action figure but Hasbro really went “all out” to make him look the best he could despite his shortcomings (no pun intended). This set is rumored to be based off of a deleted scene in Episode II where Yoda confronts a Super Battle Droid, so Hasbro also included a Super Battle Droid. Clearly based on the 2002 SW [S - P1] Super Battle Droid (’02 #06) figure, the included Super Battle Droid here really functions as Yoda’s accessory and comes with only four points of articulation. The figure however is decorated nicely and comes with a blast effect which attaches to its right hand. The figure has been added here only to function as a droid that falls because of Yoda’s Force powers. That’s literally its only purpose here. Hasbro did include some additional play features in the platform (like a column and crane arm that grasps things). You can actually out the Super Battle Droid in the mouth of the arm and have him carted around like a piece of equipment. It would have been interesting to see some sort of resemblance of this scene in the film. It feels like it could have been entertaining.

By pushing around the lever that moves Yoda, you can trigger another internal lever that makes part of the platform flip up, it’s a springboard of sorts. This “Yoda” lever will also topple of the crane which is just about as silly as the springboard, but you can’t fault for adding play value here. You do get a nice portion of the Geonosis hangar in this set. It can be combined with other environmental displays to help recreate various scenes from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones. Strict fans of action figures won’t be impressed with the pack-in figures here. They’re just meant to help flesh out this dioramic scene. These figures certainly aren’t Hasbro’s best efforts by any stretch of the imagination. But keep in mind that for an MSRP of $9.99, you’re truly getting some impressive amounts of plastic here. No one can complain about that. You should, at the very least, consider this set just to increase the amount of Star Wars backdrops you own for the 3.75” basic figure line. Heaven knows there aren’t that many. If we had to judge the Yoda Deluxe figure set against the others in the line, we’d have to say it’s one of the better ones. But ultimately you’ll have to be the judge of that.