Bio: The B'omarr Order, which consisted of the B'omarr Monks, was a mysterious religious order that moved to the planet Tatooine. When a monk became enlightened, his brain was removed through a special procedure, and was placed in a nutrient-filled jar. The brains were held in very high regard by the lower, embodied monks, who saw to their every need, though the brains rarely did anything other than think and wonder. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Reduce, reuse, recycle. For its first retail store release, the B'Omarr Monk took an existing Internet/mail-in offer figure, repainted it, and packaged it with additional aliens for a mere $10. The bad news is that Hasbro didn't change the sculpt from the 1997 Kenner release, but that's OK-- the sculpt was great the first time. The figure is basically a big spider body with an articulated claw behind the brain jar and six movable legs. Each leg is on a ball joint, and can be easily removed for transportation or storage. The giant balloon like bag on the back can be twirled around but really, it isn't necessary for it to do. The sculpt was already pretty great, but Hasbro went a step further to paint it up to look scuffed and worn with added silver paint. Nice touch!

So what color should the fluid be? I'm not entirely sure. The reference photos I see generally show a pink brain in what seems to be a clear or darker grey water. As such, blue isn't right, and pink really isn't right either unless the water is reflecting the color of the disembodied brain. Either way, it's cool. It's easy to poo-poo this figure, but it's really awesome if you stand back and take it for what it is-- a giant, creepy spider robot with a freaking brain in a jar. This thing has pulp sci-fi written all over it, and that makes it incredibly awesome. If you don't have one, and you have a Jabba's Palace diorama going, you should get one or two. Without the Jabba's Palace setup, though, it's an awkward figure and really doesn't serve much purpose beyond looking cool and creepy in the background. I like it, but you have to remember that if it were up to me Hasbro would probably do nothing but Jabba's Palace toys for a few waves in a row.

Collector's Notes: This is the second B'Omarr Monk. It uses the same mold as the first one, which was released as a mail-in offer in 1997. That figure is most easily distinguished from this one in that the 2004 release has a red "fluid" painted on the bowl and the 1997 one has a blue "fluid" instead. Think windex for the older release. The set seemed to be in somewhat short supply in 2004, and today it goes for $10-$20 in the package. At $10, we highly suggest you buy one, but at $20 the entire set isn't all that exciting. ( MORE IMAGES )

Day 632: January 28, 2008