SP-4 & JN-66 (Research Droids) - SW [S - P2] - Basic (’03 #05)

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 analysis droids SP-4 and JN-66 assist Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi when he seeks their help in identifying a small toxic dart. The origin of the mysterious weapon may provide the only clue in discovering who is behind the assassination attempt on Senator Amidala. Deep within the great Jedi Temple, in an encased analysis room, the SP-4 droid examines the dart and searches for a possible link in its streaming bank of data. Typically reliable for such research, the analysis droid's assessment is less informative than the Jedi had hoped.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones didn’t fully resonate (or at least resonate well) with many Star Wars fans. Much of that had to do with the icy cold chemistry between Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, but on top of continued complicated political plot lines that began in Episode I, Attack Of The Clones also spent too much time leading up to The Clone Wars. It would have been incredible to see a lot more action from the Battle of Geonosis than we did. After all, we only experienced the preliminary battle. That being said, there were still some intriguing moments in the film, like the unprovoked attempts made on Senator Amidala’s life. These types of moments in the film actually served more like distractions to the greater issue at hand and that was the dark side of the Force gaining an unnoticed stronghold on the galaxy. These background moments in the film accented the storyline in many unforgettable ways. For example, after Zam Wesell failed twice trying to kill Amidala, she was permanently stopped dead cold when she was about to rat-out Jango Fett. After being defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, one of Jango's Kamino saber-dart ended her life. But this event left a very bewildered Obi-Wan Kenobi wondering just how complex the mystery was and precisely where the dart originated. After a failed attempt at the Jedi Temple Archives Obi-Wan Kenobi reached out to an old friend Dexter Jettser to find out if he could illuminate more truth surrounding this killing tool. The droids we are introduced to in the Jedi Temple Archives however are SP-4 and JN-66. And they are pretty neat characters.

Both of them to one degree or another are reminiscent of No. 5 (Number 5 is alive!) from Short Circuit and both have been wonderfully made in the basic figure line. What's more, Hasbro graciously packed both of them into the same basic figure card back which is always much-appreciated by collectors. To easily tell them apart, SP-4 is the one with legs. It may surprise you that he comes with an impressive eight points of articulation. The best part though is that this research droid has two points of articulation in the head portion alone. A hinge-jointed neck works in tandem with a ball-socket head sculpt. The amount of movement you can get from this system of joints is beyond impressive. It shouldn’t be taken lightly just how much clever thought and heart went into this design. SP-4 also comes with two points of articulation in the arms. Swivel shoulders are joined with hinge-jointed elbows. While you can’t get endless planes with 360 degree movement, you can get one full range of motion from this convention and it’s honestly enough for you to deem it somewhere within the “acceptable” range. More movement would have been sublime. SP-4 also comes with two swivel hips and we think this is the only true bone of contention we have with the sculpt. Some hinge-jointed knees would have been fantastic to include here, but that clearly wasn’t in the plans. The sculpt of SP-4 is divine nonetheless. Mechanical, utilitarian and downright awesome are the perfect words to describe this character. SP-4 looks great too. Hasbro has cast this droid is a gun metal gray and it has bronze-colored accents in various sections of its metallic suit. The “face” has a great deal of character and looking into its eyes is like looking into the peering end of a pair of binoculars. SP-4 comes without any accessories.

JN-66 may be a tad more adorable than SP-4. It doesn’t come with traditional legs, so it needs help. More on that in a moment. JN-66 has little rockets for lower body movement. Coming with the same amount of articulation as SP-4, JN-66’s little rockets even have swivel articulation which is gravy because they. Because this research droid is unable to move around as freely as SP-4, JN-66 has been given an “invisible” display stand to recreate the hovering effect from the film. What’s especially nice is that this extra height puts the droid on a more even playing field with SP-4. JN-66 has more of a droid feel than a humanoid feel (like SP-4 does). That obviously has a lot to do with his irregular shape. But it’s nonetheless an excellent sculpt and we think Hasbro did a fantastic jobs on both of these characters. JN-66 has a great paint job as well. It is colored almost identically the same as SP-4 and aside from a few obvious differences, you might even think that they could be related to each other. Unless Hasbro had plans to design a micro diorama of their workspace, there isn’t much you could include with them. But we’re just thankful that they look as good as they do. Time will indeed be kind to these droids as Hasbro has gotten them up to standards right from the start. SP-4 & JN-66 (Research Droids) are a most necessary addition to your Star Wars collection. They are the official mascots of the Research Droids Reviews here at Jedi Temple Archives, so they’re absolutely required purchases in our eyes. Enjoy these uniquely approached and beautifully made action figures. Hasbro really did a fine job with the both of them.