Dud Bolt & Mars Guo - TSC - Basic (SAGA 051)

We’re likely to annoy and possibly anger some of our readers with our outlook on The Saga Collection’s Dud Bolt & Mars Guo podracer two-pack. We’re warning you in advance because we have yet to understand the obsession with podracing and podracing pilots. The podrace sequence in The Phantom Menace in our opinion was one of the most grueling parts of the Star Wars saga we ever watched. (Hated it!) It wasn’t dreadful like The Star Wars Holiday Special of course, but the nonstop laps around the desert and the almost infinite duration of the race was a sleeping pill at best. And we never thought that the podracing aliens and other characters during these scenes looked that great either. They kind of looked like caricatures of the cool Star Wars aliens we grew up with and didn't appear to us really all that believable. Despite our own insignificant opinion on them, they still seem to strike a chord with collectors (as well as other characters surrounding the podrace sequence). For example, it nearly blows us away to this day that collectors want Kirster and Wald! Really?! Wald looked literally terrible and fake in the film with a big Rodian head on a chubby kid’s body. We may be in the minority, but with the long list of other aliens Hasbro should be focusing on, we think that the podracing aliens should fly themselves to the backburner.

(For heaven’s sake, what about all of the army builders we need updated from Naboo? We digress!) The better figure of this two-pack is Dud Bolt. He’s a little bit taller and definitely meatier than Mars Guo and fits better into the basic figure line thanks to his larger size. Dud Bolt is very colorful and looks to be a little bit more accurate to the film as well when compared to his packaged mate. Dud Bolt comes with a blaster rifle and removable headgear with a bridle with what look to have a gag ball in the center of it? (The Phantom Menace is a kids’ film you know, Hasbro!) Complete with a ball-socket head, Dud Bolt also comes with swivel limbs which don’t really help him in any way for posing him in action stances. While he seems to come with an adult accessory, there is no denying that Lucas had the kids in mind when developing the various podracers because they really look like 3D cartoons. This motley crew of varied size and stature are innately bizarre, so we understand the carnal pull they have on young kids and bigger collectors. We love weird things, especially in Star Wars, but the podracers are really in a league of their own and not some of our favorite characters! Dud Bolt also has a more palatable background than Mars Guo just doesn't cut it in the same way.

In comparison, Mars Guo is the weaker podracer by all accounts and what's worse is his story doesn’t make him any more appealing. Mars Guo was a Phuii whose main hobbies included heavy drinking and pretty women. Really?! He’s a chicken with goggles! He looks like a colorful version of Dr. Finklestein from The Nightmare Before Christmas. How can he be the recipient of hoards of various pretty women? Is there something we don’t know? Anyway, despite his ridiculous Expanded Universe history, Mars Guo comes to us with a limited seven points of articulation. Despite having a ball-socket head, his shoulders, biceps and hips are all swivel joints. So if and when Hasbro decides to make his podracer (ugh!), fans should have no trouble sitting him down inside of it. He comes with removable goggles and a pretty cool blaster which hits nicely in his hands. The likeness is fair, but the coloring is off when compared to his onscreen character. This is probably going to be as good as it gets for Mars Guo, so this may be your one and only chance to get him. If you love podracers, this set is definitely for you. But if you think you can live without them, you definitely will be able to live without them. And least that's our one-sided point of view.