Dagobah With Yoda - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Complete Galaxy

The boggy, swamp planet Dagobah is the principal planet in the star system of the same name. Although explored, Dagobah remains sparsely populated because of its inhospitable climate and generally unpleasant surroundings. Constantly shrouded in mist and strangled by dense vegetation, the planet is the home to numerous animal life, including dangerous flying predators. The Jedi Master Yoda also makes his home and hideout there and is the only resident of notoriety. When the evil Emperor Palpatine ordered the Jedi Knights erased from the galaxy, Yoda went into deep hiding there, using its natural defenses and the power of the Force to discourage visitors. It was not until near the end of his days, at the arrival of Luke Skywalker, that the 800 year old Yoda would have a purposeful visitor.

Dagobah is totally without spaceports nor any other modern technological convenience. It has been considered a haunted planet due to its history with the dark side of the Force and an evil group of Dark Jedi that terrorized it and the neighboring Sluis sector during the Clone Wars.

Kenner’s/Hasbro’s Complete Galaxy line pairs action figures with their world, literally, making it one of the most peculiar sub-lines of all time. Neglecting some of the infamous worlds like Bespin and Hoth, Kenner/Hasbro opted to go with themes of worlds heavily based on Return Of The Jedi. There are exceptions of course. Kenner/Hasbro paired action figures with a globe (and stand) of the planet where many of the scenes with them took place, and some tend to work better than others. Not all of the executions worked, and not all of them are screen-accurate, but one thing the Complete Galaxy line brought collectors were revised approaches to some of the saga’s most beloved characters. The “world” is a plastic sphere (globe) that splits in half at its “equator” and opens up to introduce collectors to a whole new world of collecting. Inside of the globe, you’ll find some scene-specific details in three-dimensions to help create a diorama of sorts, while the outside of the “world” shows its terrain and places of supposed interest. Some of the Complete Galaxy sets are more aggressive than other as far as what Kenner/Hasbro tried to squeeze inside of them, but from a gimmicky standpoint, most of the sets in the Complete Galaxy line possess some charm.

The Dagobah With Yoda might be the weakest if the lot. It isn’t terrible, but getting another Yoda is not something that collectors want to see right now, especially since nothing drastic has changed with the figure’s approach. While the knee-jerk reaction is to source this concept to The Empire Strikes Back, it also fits into the “Return Of The Jedi” theme since we visit Dagobah once again in Episode VI. Still, it’s impossible to say if this is based on Episode V or Episode VI, but another correct answer is that it represents BOTH films. Inside of the split globe, you’ll find a micro-diorama in the spirit of Micro Machines of Yoda’s hut and immediate surroundings. Because of his small stature, the background fits the figure’s proportions nicely, but it still has some significant scale issues notwithstanding. In the top portion of the globe is a permanently attached bogwing. It’s gigantic when compared to Yoda, and we don’t know how the scale is. Our gut would assume that there are some issues with the creature’s size. As a display, Dagobah With Yoda looks very nice and appeals to the eye. It’s colorful which is interesting since Dagobah is such a drab place to visit. And it perfectly encapsulates what we know of the diminutive Jedi Master and what he does on his home world.

The included Yoda figure is frustrating. At first glance, you’d think it’s a straight repack of 1996’s POT2 [R] Yoda figure, but it’s all new. Kenner/Hasbro expended energy tooling an all-new figure and marking it with a new 1998 date stamp, and we don’t know why. The pose, the expression on the figure’s face in addition to the paint operations and accessories all point to the character’s original action figure release in the modern line. So again, we don’t know why they’d go through the trouble of redoing this action figure once again. Yoda comes with four points of articulation including a swivel head, two swivel shoulders, and a hinge-jointed torso. They paired him with his signature gimer stick (cane) to complete his look. But we have difficulty telling this figure apart from the original release unless we look at the date stamp on the figure or compare them side by side. Regardless, the included figure interacts nicely with this Complete Galaxy set. But we think Kenner/Hasbro could have gone the extra distance to make Yoda a little bit more memorable here. They have to realize that the only reason why collectors are buying this line is that of the newness of the figures inside. Dagobah With Yoda might be one of the weaker Complete Galaxy sets, and that’s about all we can say about it.