Whorm Loathsom - TCW [R] - Basic (CW15)

Separatist General Whorm Loathsom meets with Obi-Wan Kenobi to accept the Jedi General's surrender on Christophsis. Loathsom grows angry when the discussion drags on and, with his immense strength, throws a heavy table aside. He demands an end to the proceedings – which he gets, but it's not the conclusion he is expecting.

Whorm Loathsom (whose first appearance is in The Clone Wars movie) is the first Kerkoiden species fans have ever seen in the entire Star Wars universe. (Whorm was also seen in a The Clone Wars TV episode entitled The Hidden Enemy where he was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi.) It is widely believed that he was an early concept for the Neimoidian race, but apparently that took a whole other direction. Interestingly, he is also a Separatist and fits the bill very well as there are many bizarrely shaped alien species that belong to this party. And his character is very cowardly and manipulative which also are good descriptive terms of the Separatists as well. In short, he fits in right at home serving as a Separatist. (Separatists are always such pitiful troublemakers, always fleeing when the heat gets too hot.) And his physical traits have been captured very well into Hasbro's action figure. Whorm is a very weighty figure that is solid in mass and bulky in frame. It's hard to believe that we get excited about these things, but it is so nice to get an action figure with this type of stability. There are no worries of him losing shape or breaking and this ease of mind may seem silly, but it is important to us.

Although we are not big fans of many of the quirky and obscure prequel CGI aliens, this particular one is not that bad. He has a very nice sculpt and a beautifully detailed costume. His shoulder armor is removable and has a plug that attaches with a seal-like quality to its back. Nothing looks like it doesn't belong there and we are happy with the level of detail Hasbro incorporated into this figure. The extra costume pieces were certainly a bonus gift from Hasbro because there was really no reason to make these parts separate pieces. So we count ourselves lucky here. Whorm has Aayla Secura-like blue skin and characteristics similar to both the Cat Miin and Neimoidian species. Loathsom has an odd eleven points of articulation. Of particular note, he has a double neck joint which includes a ball-joint at the base of his collar and another ball-joint for the head. It allows for a very wide range of motion, but we are not so sure about how necessary this was. Whorm has limited leg movement and it would have clearly benefitted him more to have knee or ankle joints. Unfortunately, both were neglected in favor of this double head joint. He has a satisfactory center of gravity, but too much futzing with him or too strong of a breeze blowing by may just make him topple over. He comes with two weapons and they both fit into his hands quite well. And since the weapons are really the only thing to give this figure his 'action', they are really quite necessary. One is a solid gun, while the other fires a projectile.

In The Clone Wars (film), Whorm led the Armored Assault Tanks in the Battle Of Christophsis. This may sound very familiar to those of you who are Ultimate Battle Packs fans. While he wasn't included in that pack, he is available now and he is a great figure to add to that boxed set. Due to his short and stocky stature, it is quite obvious that he is better off commanding from behind a desk than leading into battle. But as most Separatists are cowards, we wouldn't expect to find him serving anywhere else in battle but from a commanding board (or behind a legion of battle droids). We honestly don't expect Whorm Loathsom to be the strongest seller, but stranger things have happened. And since the entire The Clone Wars line has been a major success, he may just be a figure that rises up in popularity and exceed all of our expectations. And since he has been defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, we are very curious about his future as a candidate in the basic action figure line. He may end up not shipping for too much longer, but we do not intend to start a rumor here. If you're looking for a pretty cool novelty figure for your The Clone Wars collection, then this is absolutely your figure. Otherwise, you may need to convince yourself of its purchase. It is good, but maybe not the wisest choice for a mainline action figure. It would have served that TARGET exclusive [Ultimate] Battle Packs set much better. Give him at least a cursory review. He may just strike your fancy. And it will be interesting to see how he fairs at retail. Even still, we don’t expect him to be a mainstay in the line as The Clone Wars moves forward.