1. Has Hasbro/Lucasfilm ever considered it a problem that the Clone Wars portrayal of Anakin Skywalker and the Clones might make it difficult for kids to embrace the movie trilogies? If a kid grows up cheering on heroic Anakin and the noble Clones, how do you synthesize that with them eventually betraying all Jedi, killing children, etc.?

It seems one form of entertainment is ultimately going to cannibalize the other as kids get older. They either reject the films because it's so far removed from the Anakin and Clones they know, or the films ruin their feelings toward many of the show's characters. Maybe it's part of a long-term plan to phase out the films' importance?
--Shane

Ultimately, no, I don't think this is a significant issue. With three huge box office draws which are in numerous homes on DVD, many kids are already well aware of what's going to happen. While it certainly is awkward to set a story in a window where we already know what follows, what can you do? I don't believe humanizing Anakin and the clones is going to hurt the kids watching the series so much as it may raise confusion in continuity if they really examine it closely, which, odds are, they won't.

This question could go in all sorts of directions, for example, the proposed four-year run of this series takes place between during a blip in Episode 21 of the original 2003-2005 animated series. Remember, Anakin and Padme get pregnant in that episode near the beginning, and then it flashes forward to about eight or nine months later. So this entire CG series takes place in that eight or nine month period, unless we'll be treated to an amusing retcon about how humans in a galaxy far, far away take longer to gestate and eventually birth another living being. But that's another issue.

Based on what we've seen in Star Wars so far, no, I'm not the slightest bit concern that this one aspect is going to be particularly disturbing when we've seen Padme pretend to be interested in a man other than her husband, a series of Jedi forcefully invade a criminal's mind, plans for kidnapping and en-Sith-enizing babies, and so on. There's a lot of real adult scenarios in this franchise, as some fans try to ignore, and ultimately remember that George Lucas' story paints Darth Vader, ultimately, as a good guy at the end. If Star Wars is a story of redemption, than the only fans this series is going to screw with is the older ones like (I assume) you and me, who grew up seeing Darth Vader as this amazing evil dude who is now being turned into a rather likable heroic adventurer. A good person may do bad things, but ultimately, he's a good guy in the end.

...this is the Anakin I always wanted to see in the prequels, so clearly, I'm pretty biased here.

2. Which of the Under-the-Helmet Walmart exclusive [Clone Wars Clone Trooper] figures are at all unique? The Yoda is a repaint, but I am not seeing differences with the others.
--Brian

So far Wal-Mart has had (at least) four exclusive animated-style The Clone Wars 2-packs. Yoda and Jek, Rys and Thire, Cody and Echo, plus Rex and Fives have been released so far. All the figures are what I continue to define as "just different enough to make you mad." Thire's arms-- and rank-- are different from his normal release, check the hands in particular. (It's minor and arguably not significant.) Yoda, as you said, is uniquely colored, while Rys and Jek are debuted here-- therefore, we don't know how different carded releases may be down the road. Echo's handprint is different, Rex's hand is covered in bright blue eel blood, Cody has battle-damage which is subtle-- look at the orange markings for faded areas, and Fives is just plain new. So to someone like me, these sets are all worth getting for the reason that they are different enough.

3. I'm a little confused concerning the Episode I Mail-in deal. I know Hasbro specified which assortments were eligible, but I have heard conflicting reports from fellow collectors as to what they sent in and which ones did/didn't work. Can you clarify which lines can be used? I have plenty of blue/white cards opened for B-A-D's but I don't know if they will work, is it only Clone Wars (red insert) or all of them, and how old? And I saw a sticker on the wave 8 preview pics for another mail-in, whats the deal with that one?
--Mazter Jedi

The Qui-Gon Jinn with Eopie offer says that it will accept figures from last August's reboot onward. This means that the build-a-droid figures (any), Saga Legends figures (since they started including the weapons locker), or any of the basic non-exclusive The Clone Wars animated figures will qualify. Blue or red, they're all good.

While the exact parameters of how to get Nahdar Vebb, the Mon Calamari Jedi, have yet to be announced you can assume that the offer will probably require some of the current animated line's UPCs. Since it is still in the same assortment, odds are any of them will do just fine, so hold on to some extras for this offer. The color of the cardback won't matter, although you never know if Hasbro will require a dated sales receipt for these offers, as they and other companies used to do in the late 1990s.

4. Any word on when the newer, smaller protective cases, such as those used for the exclusive figures at SDCC this year, will be available for retail purchase?
--Jeff

As soon as you start making some. So far Hasbro has made zero plans to offer these, I have to assume they aren't a high-demand item or a big moneymaker because if they were, it'd probably be out by now. There's no rule against manufacturing something like this on your own-- as long as you don't step on trademarks or logos or some such-- so you may wish to consider starting a small business if you're really in a rush to see these. Collecting is a niche hobby, but buying this sort of product for a collection is a fraction of a fraction-- and as such, there may be an opportunity for a small business here.

5. It appears to me that you can vote as many times as you want on the current Toyfare SW action figure fan choice poll. Please tell me this isn't true. Is this true? If so, this poll is a wasted effort. If the poll allows multiple voting, then I predict that we will get the most boring figure from this list, which is probably Admiral Pellaeon, another old white dude in an imperial uniform. I don't know why but the best hackers like boring figures.
--David

Since Hasbro started doing these polls, fans always cry foul that there might be ballot box-stuffing. Remember how some figures had a last-minute upset when fans used to see real-time results? This is why we can't see the results any more. Clearly, it's causing Hasbro a headache they don't need.

As such, it's impossible for us to tell-- all we know is what they tell us, and I don't expect that they would come out and say if something was going wrong. But when you get right down to it, fans who want to tip the balance can find ways to do it. Go to the library, and vote on multiple computers. Email all your friends and ask them to do it. Whatever. When tallying lists of data, there are plenty of places to make mistakes or errors in planning and this is sadly just a fact of life. Remember when Hasbro listed the first 300 action figures on the back of the Boba Fett 300th Action Figure, and a lot of those numbers didn't make any sense? This is kind of like that. Not perfect, but probably close enough. I mean, I don't think the intent of this contest is to let me vote from home, from work, and from other machines I may own, but I can certainly do so and odds are this system isn't going to know if it's me voting multiple times, if it's a co-worker, or if it's a roommate, if I had one. Ultimately the margin of error is likely very small, and if there's some weird surge in votes for a specific character I'm sure they'll take that into account. Or make both. I wouldn't worry too much about hackers than what will happen when normal fans split the vote between 30 arguably OK but not terribly exciting choices. (No offense, I like a lot of these too, but let's face it-- we'd have toys of them by now if they were really awesome ideas.) With 5 (or more, depending on your perspective) being resculpts, well, someone's gonna complain no matter who or what wins.

As to what will win, it's hard to say. With 30 choices-- which I have to say is probably about 20-25 too many-- it's going to split the vote quite a bit. Sure, it's diverse, but somehow it doesn't feel right to put Jocasta Nu, Jaxxon, and a resculpt of Grand Moff Tarkin all in the same kind of voting category. I'd prefer to see "vote for a resculpt" and "vote for a new character" in separate contests, but eh, who knows. I can't imagine Hasbro suspected 1/6 of the entries to be things that we already own, which I personally feel speaks volumes about us as a community and where this line is headed between now and the time it gets retired for good.

While you say Pellaeon is dull, he made it far enough along to be voted by your fellow fans, and has been part of the Star Wars galaxy since 1991. I'd see Bastila Shan as something I don't particularly care for, because I'm not presently a big fan of the game. It wouldn't stun me that someone might see Jaxxon as a dud for one reason or another. When you dig this deep into the catalog, consensus isn't just difficult but impossible. As a community we love to argue over things, and always have since the very first time Hasbro let us vote. Even if Hasbro made every figure on this list I guarantee you someone's going to be mad that some other figures weren't on it in the first place, so ultimately, I'm not going to worry about stuffing the ballot box. You can always email the company that powers the poll but I honestly don't think it's worth the trouble.

FIN

Another week, another... something. I did scare up a few new items, like the Galactic Heroes Slave I which is a pretty sweet toy. The Carbonite slides into a slot on the bottom of the ship, and Boba Fett pegs into his seat which, of course, rotates. I also got the pretty dull Gelagrub Battle Pack and the surprisingly great Battle of Endor Battle Pack, which has three figures that are all worth owning. (The Glider, well, I already had one.) Happy hunting!

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Click here to read the previous installment of Galactic Hunter Q&A!

Follow me on Twitter! Or don't!