Obi-Wan Kenobi - SW [TPM 3D] - The Clone Wars (CW12)

Obi-Wan Kenobi uses climbing gear to infiltrate a Separatist stronghold. Even the strong, agile Jedi Master sometimes needs help to overcome heavily fortified structures. Using the gear, he ascends the sheer, towering wall that surrounds the Separatist facility, and quickly takes out the battle droids that he encounters inside.

The 2012 The Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi figure is ironic. We often don’t use words like that to describe action figures, but we can’t honestly think of a better word that applies here. An updated Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure may not be on the top of everyone's wish list, but usually when Hasbro makes an update to an unexpected character, the results are typically impressive. But that's not exactly what happened here. This very figure has been developed to updated 2011’s TCW Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW40) figure, yet comes with about 50% less articulation which ultimately makes it inferior. Yet, the likeness and the sculpting are second to none and tragically the new version looks significantly better than that 2011 figure. And bitter to the point of turning to the dark side have we become. A new Star Wars action figure shouldn’t make our hearts sink, yet they do now. 2012 has become a turning point for the Star Wars basic figure line and it’s a very sad turn indeed. Hasbro executives have become “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” about the articulation they’re including in their newly sculpted action figures. They never mentioned even briefly that articulation junkies would experience drastic depravation with their action figures starting in 2012. And the only place they seem to care about articulation anymore is in The Vintage Collection (and we suppose any future collector-focused collection going forward). But Hasbro can feign ignorance on articulation no more. It’s time to come clean because we want to know why the figures are being sacrificed in the manner that they are. Hasbro has reached an all-new level of disappointing collectors. Pray they don’t alter the basic figure lines any further!

At face value, Obi-Wan Kenobi could have been one of the greatest figures The Clone Wars line has ever seen. This means that had Hasbro incorporated at least a minimum of 12 points of articulation, this would have been the consummate Obi-Wan Kenobi in the entire The Clone Wars line. It grieves us to inform you that Hasbro has decided to downgrade him to 10 points of articulation. Do you know what it’s like trying to have an action figure wield a lightsaber that doesn’t have articulated wrists? This is madness! With a stunning likeness and a highly detailed Jedi outfit, this could have easily been the consummate/definitive Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure based on his season 3 look and appearance in The Clone Wars television show. The early 2011 TCW Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW40) figure wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but it had plenty of articulation to make collectors happy. Sadly it doesn’t have a great head sculpt. And no, we didn’t try to swap the heads because we were frankly just too depressed to muster up enough emotional strength to see if it worked. Yes, that is very melodramatic of us, but we can’t emphasize enough to you how wrong it is that Hasbro has decided to take this approach for The Clone Wars figures. After you get past a deceivingly well-articulated upper body (save for his wrists), Obi-Wan fairs a little bit better below the belt. He comes with the obligatory swivel hip joints and ball-jointed knees, but come on, don't all Jedi need ball-jointed ankles? It really isn't something to get excited about anyway since the robes inhibit their movement anyway.

Obi-Wan Kenobi really didn't need an update this quickly, at least we thought so. But this new version of him proves that we actually did. It is worlds better looking that the 2011 figure as far as likeness. Yet it is instead “worlds” inferior thanks to the reduction in his articulation. Obi-Wan Kenobi is its own yin-yang. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with his signature lightsaber, although you quickly run out of ways in how to pose it in his hands. The ball-jointed elbows provide a wide range of movement, but no articulation in the wrists simply stops many of the options you'd normally have. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with what Hasbro is calling "climbing action" which simply means he comes with a back-pack that is intended to have him leap tall buildings and mountains.... we suppose. The backpack is the same exact one that came with 2011's TCW Even Piell (CW58) figure but has been repainted in spots to make it unique to Obi-Wan Kenobi. To our readers we want to say we feel your paint. The Clone Wars line has taken a sharp and egregious left turn and Hasbro hasn't padded this blow with any warning. The Clone Wars line reached its pinnacle by the end of 2011 and then the tables were turned all thanks to Hasbro's bad decisions to reduce articulation in these supposedly great action figures. The road ahead doesn't look comforting at all. And if Hasbro is going to go this route, perhaps it's worth cancelling the animated figures altogether and instead get realistically styled ones in the collector-focused lines to ensure maximum articulation. We don't know that is barely a fix, nor do we know what the answer is, but we do know that it can't keep going in this direction.