Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) - SOTE - Basic

Height: 2.3 Meters
Status: Rebel Co-Pilot, Starship Mechanic
Classification: Wookiee
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance
Weapon of Choice: Vibro Axe, Blaster Rifle

The fall of the base on Hoth signaled dangerous times for the Rebellion. In an attempt to gain information about recent assassination attempts on Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa and Chewbacca followed a lead to the Imperial Base in Coruscant. There they hoped to confront Prince Xizor, Underlord of the Black Sun, who was rumored to have information regarding these attempts. Imperial City was not a safe place for wanted Rebel Alliance figures such as Chewbacca and Leia, so to avoid arrest the two disguised themselves as intergalactically known bounty hunters. Chewbacca dyed large patches of black in his hair and adopted the weaponry of Snoova, a well-known Wookiee bounty hunter. To further authenticate the disguise, he reluctantly shaved the fur on his head to a short crew cut.

While on Coruscant, Chewbacca discovered that the charismatic Xizor was responsible for the attempts on Skywalker's life. After a narrow escape from the labyrinth of Black Sun's hideout, Chewie was able to contact Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian and inform them that Leia was being held prisoner on Coruscant by Xizor. The band knew then that they had only one option: go to Coruscant and rescue Leia.

What could be cooler than a full scale multimedia event that takes place in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. The excitement was so intense for Shadows Of The Empire that many Star Wars fans at the time began fantasizing about a live-action mini movie or multiple-episode television special that would bring these events to life. Of course, that never transpired. But there were enough formats of various Expanded Universe materials produced to help tell the Shadows Of The Empire story in full. And to date, it has become one of the strongest multimedia events in the history of the Star Wars saga. Smartly relying heavily on disguises, the creators of Shadows Of The Empire took what was already known (Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian in disguise) and extrapolated on it significantly with new takes on Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca (both of course in disguise as well). And of course, Han Solo was out of commission for the duration of this story, so the focus had to be placed in other directions.

As a result of the need to develop Shadows Of The Empire specific action figures, Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) became a top candidate almost immediately and became one of only five basic figures based on Shadows Of The Empire. And Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) became an immediate hit. Per Shadows Of The Empire, Chewbacca, to lay low with the Empire, changes his appearance to disguise himself as Snoova, a popular Wookiee bounty hunter and even abruptly gave himself a crew cut to help mask his identity. In addition to dyeing parts of his fur and using new weapons, Chewbacca cleverly utilized this disguise to rescue Princess Leia from the clutches of Prince Xizor, another complex facet of the story and key player in trying to sabotage Luke Skywalker for Darth Vader’s gain. Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) has many similarities with the original modern Chewbacca figure. But because of his hairstyle and musculature, Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) ends up looking like he has the stronger stature and intimidating presence.

Although Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) comes with an official six points of articulation, his neck joint is essentially frozen solid. It’s almost unfair to refer to it as a point of articulation. Chewbacca (In Bounty Hunter Disguise) looks fantastic holding his accessories, and the cape finished off his outfit in an extraordinary way. There is even a hole for a plug to attach his vibro-axe to when he isn’t holding it. Also included is a heavy blaster rifle which either hand can hold quite well. It’s a chunky weapon which completes this version of Chewbacca perfectly. Although not the most popular of the Shadows Of The Empire figures released by Kenner, the figure did sell well in some markets and peg-warmed in other markets. Still, Kenner never will be able to produce the required amount of characters from this multimedia event to give the action figures they did release a little more dimension and purpose. Despite this, there was a great deal of excitement for Shadows Of The Empire through various outlets. But action figures are always the biggest part of collecting.