Star Wars is everywhere! The Force Awakens will be released in theaters later this year (the unofficial countdown), but a ton of toys for the new movie were released on September 4th. Stores like Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, GameStop, and Barnes & Noble opened up at midnight to give Star Wars fans what they have been waiting for for a decade, new characters! We all love Chewie, Han, Luke, and Leia, but it’s always great to add new characters to a series you love! Well, not always. I’m looking at you, Jar Jar. Good news is, most of these guys look like they will be memorable. It’s impossible to predict if fans will fall in love with the new guys like they did with Han and Luke, but most seem to love Finn and Kylo Ren.
Now, before I start reviewing these guys, keep in mind I know almost nothing about the expanded Star Wars Universe. I never read the books or comics. I’ve seen the movies and that’s it, so excuse my ignorance. Anyway, is Kylo Ren supposed to look like Vader? Because he looks like Vader. Not that I’m complaining, because if he is half as awesome as Vader was these movies will be phenomenal. I think his mask makes him look inhuman and soulless, which are always good qualities in bad guys. I love how his lightsaber looks like some sort of medieval broadsword. Now I see his lightsaber is red, which typically makes him a sith. Only problem with that is he doesn’t have Darth in front of his name. Isn’t that a title that Sith Lords typically have? Maybe he hasn’t graduated from Dark Lord school yet? Kylo does have two figures, one is hooded, and then there is the Target exclusive unhooded. All of these new figures are phenomenal, but if I was nitpicking I would say some of the exclusives seem like there could have been a little more work put in instead of just head changes. Again, that’s really just nitpicking, because, to me, I typically enjoy the exclusives that have slight variations.
Another popular figure that has a regular and exclusive version is Finn. I don’t have much to say about Finn other than when I look at his figure he reminds me of Han Solo. Now in one of the trailers it looks he’s holding Luke’s old blue lightsaber, so the Han comparisons can probably end there. The GameStop exclusive Finn has him in Stormtrooper armor. Again, if you watched the trailer I’m sure you saw that. The Luke and Han Stormtrooper variants were big hits, so I’m sure this will be no different. Well, except that you can find this guy at GameStop while Luke and Han are WAY harder to find since they were exclusives at Emerald City Comic Con in 2011. Here’s hoping for a Finn holding the blue lightsaber variant. Or maybe he’ll also wear Luke’s black Jedi outfit from Return of the Jedi at some point? That would be a great figure.
By far my favorite figure out of this bunch is Captain Phasma. I’ve always adored the head-to-toe Star Wars body armor like Stormtroopers or Boba Fett wore in the old movies. Phasma has a great metallic look to the body armor. It looks like this guy can punch a hole through the Death Star! These are the first things going through my head when looking at this guy, so imagine my surprise when I find out this is a girl! Not just any girl, but Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones! There’s absolutely no way there will not be an unmasked Captain Phasma at some point in the future because of two reasons. One, I think Disney will want to capitalize on a strong female character, even if it is an evil one. And I hope they do capitalize on this, because besides Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter I can’t think of a really effective female villain in a movie in recent memory. Now, I do hope Phasma isn’t that evil, because I really do want to like her more than I hate her. The second reason I think they will make an unmasked version is it will be pretty simple to make since Funko has already made a Brienne of Tarth figure.
This is just 3 out of more than a dozen new figures Funko just released, and I don’t see an end in the near future. Star Wars has always been about toys and lots of them, so these figures will be pouring out. Here’s to hoping we actually like these movies unlike the last three. The more we buy the more they make.
Note: After my read through of this column I noticed that when I’m referring to these characters I don’t seem to be referring to Funko Pop! figures but instead actual photos or images. That’s because these Pop! figures are outstanding but they will never be on par with some of the more detailed figures, and they aren’t meant to be. With these newer movies, in particular Avengers 2 and this one, Funko seems to have up'd their game. I’m not sure if it’s because they have a bigger budget than they used to, they are getting better at their craft, or some combination of both, but whatever it is, I hope they keep it up.
PPS: On a completely unrelated note, I just want to let everyone know that Grinning Ultron has been showing up at Wal-Mart recently. I’m a little bitter since I have the SDCC one, but this is the game we play. Now I feel like Ultron is laughing at me every time I look at him.
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