Rep Been - TSC - Basic (SAGA 049)

You wouldn’t know this from the packaging, but Rep Been is technically a misnomer. It actually means Representative Been, a clarification that can only be found on the figure’s personalized action figure stand. (If you check Wookieepedia, it further clarifies that he is simply called Been.) Been was a member of the Gungan High Council and served under Boss Nass in the hidden underwater sacred city of Otoh Gunga. Been actually has a very enthralling back-story that sadly would never be learned if it wasn’t for the rich stories we can find in the Expanded Universe. It’s such a shame that the Star Wars films show us so many cool aliens yet rarely go into all of this detail because the stories are for the most part awesome and you can see why they have the importance they do in the Star Wars timeline. Really quickly, Been was a keeper of the Gungan’s Ancient Records and knew the locations to the secret Gungan hiding places. He shared many perspectives eye to eye with Boss Nass including joining Queen Amidala in the fight to protect Naboo from Separatist invasion.

Hasbro decorated a very simple all-new action figure mold very well to make Been. The figure’s articulation will likely be unable to wow you in any way. Between a very inhibited swivel neck joint and swivel shoulders, biceps and wrists, Been offers nothing else extra in the form of movement. He is a salt or pepper shaker, a statuesque piece of plastic and really does nothing more. Despite this, the character looks sharp and his expression is unassuming. Besides, he's a character that doesnt participate in any real action. Do you really need 14 points of articulation? Still, while this may sound harsh, but as a character that sits down most of the time in The Phantom Menace, we would have much rather seen Hasbro utilize one of the older Gungan sculpts they already have and throw a soft-goods robe over it. It would have made a significant difference and the figure would have had more flexibility for the collector. That being said, Been does have a remarkable paint job and it’s done so well we really have to give credit where credit is most certainly due. The paint job on his head in particular is most excellent and the design running down his center is beautiful and confirms his role as a member of Gungan royalty (or some other importance).

Been comes with a fairly ornate staff that can be held flawlessly in his right hand. His left hand is open so he cannot hold anything in that one, but it's great to have a simply sculpted other hand. [Rep] Been can also be taken apart into nine individual pieces. If this is something that interests you, you can certainly have some fun here. Because all of his points of articulation are swivel joints, this makes it very easy to separate them from the figure. As much as Been looks good, we still hope that Hasbro will move away from this style (or type) of action figure. Collectors want articulated legs and knees (at least) and we would encourage Hasbro to throw in soft-goods whenever possible because they really do look so much better than plastic molded parts. We believe somewhere deep down inside Hasbro has an affinity for the Gungans. But before they make more, we hope they increase the quality of them and maybe change their methods a bit to make them feel more like action figures. Rep Been does look good, but you’ll soon realize that he won’t offer you what you may want him to unlike so many of your other action figures do.