Barriss Offee (Luminara Unduli’s Padawan) - SW [S - P2] - Basic (’03 #12)

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.

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. 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 gets her own action figure now. Barriss Offee (Luminara Unduli’s Padawan) is beautiful, but it may not be what you’re expecting.

OK, so you know that she is Luminara’s student. But Hasbro seemingly spent more time developing the Barriss Offee action figure more than her mentor. This actually worked out to our benefit. Barriss Offee (Luminara Unduli’s Padawan) may not have the facial expression you had hoped for, or any usable articulation to give her the lower body mobility you desire, but the character has been beautifully interpreted as an action figure beyond expectations. She only comes with five 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. Granted, she looks silly when not fully accessorized. We will give you that. 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. 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 (Luminara Unduli’s Padawan) 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. Is Barriss Offee 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 (Luminara Unduli’s Padawan) 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.