BULTAR SWAN Jedi Legacy
30th Anniversary Collection Evolutions Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87480 No. 87562
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99-$25.99
Availability: February 2008
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: Bultar Swan was a female Human Jedi Knight from Kuat who lived during the final years of the Galactic Republic. She was apprenticed to Jedi Council member Micah Giiett until his death at the hands of the Yinchorri. She wielded a green lightsaber. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo area.

Commentary: Hasbro's reaching. When you think about the "Jedi Legacy" (the name of the set this Bultar Swan appears in) you probably think of characters that, you know, had screen time or did things. And the set manages to mostly put out important characters from the saga (and beyond) in it-- Qui-Gon Jinn was a Jedi Master of some significance, so it stands to reason that his legacy might be of some significance. After all, he's the one that picked up the crazy kid from the desert planet who would go on to kill everybody, right? Luke Skywalker's legacy is obvious-- he had a whole trilogy of films devoted to his actions, plus novels and comics, and oh yeah-- there's a comic series called "Legacy" that follows around his descendants. So this one's a no-brainer. But Bultar Swan? Other than appearing in a couple of Expanded Universe materials, she really didn't do a whole heck of a lot. Another Obi-Wan would've made a little more sense thematically here, but screw theme-- the important thing is we finally got our super-articulated Bultar Swan on Hasbro's first attempt. (First attempt at movie-style, that is.)

While not perfect, she's pretty good. The two most recognizable things about her-- her haircut and her unique leather Jedi costume-- are represented here fairly well. The colors are right, and while I personally would've liked to have seen more done to represent the leather texture beyond just color, it works just fine. Ms. Swan's robes are textured nicely, all sorts of patterns, folds, creases, and other minute details bring her garments to life. Or to life in plastic, at least. Her lightsaber is green-- just like in the movie-- and pretty much everything a figure would have needed to have to be considered "super articulated" is here too. She doesn't have that newfangled lateral hip movement yet (so far only on a handful of figures), so she's a great figure for her time-- the time, of course, being now because she's brand new. The face could be a little more lively through the better application of paint (odds are something got lost in translation at the factory), and overall she's a great figure. She will fit in nicely with the best of the best post-2004 Jedi figures you already own, and hey, the kids like the Jedi. She's also part of a pretty wonderful set, so you should consider snapping this one up.

Collector's Notes: Of the four new Evolutions sets, this one seems to be sitting around the most. There's a Target I go to that has had the same unit sitting there for about a week now, Entertainment Earth has some in stock, heck, you're going to be able to find this one without much of a challenge. Unless you're British or Canadian, in which case good friggin' luck. The set also includes Luke Skywalker and Qui-Gon Jinn.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 671: March 7, 2008