Ahsoka Tano

Remember that time Artemis accurately predicted Ahsoka's eventual fate - as a joke! - at the end of the review of Snips' very first figure? Ahsoka Tano, a Togruta female, was the Padawan learner to Anakin Skywalker and a hero of the Clone Wars. Alongside Anakin, she grew from headstrong student into a mature leader. Yeah she did, and mainly because she didn't only learn from Anakin. What's he going to teach her, how to hate sand? Yes, she was assigned to Anakin, but she learned from Obi-Wan, from Padme, from Captain Rex... she paid attention to everyone around her and saw what they knew that she didn't, and valued their input even if they were "below" her. It's like the thing about how if you go out to dinner with someone and they treat the waitstaff like garbage, you know to just write it off right then; a lot of the Jedi have that whole haughty, aristocratic air about them (and not just Count Dooku), so while they'd be the ones never making eye contact with "the help," Ahsoka would be chatting with the janitors and maintenance crew. This isn't our first Black Series Ahsoka, but it is the first based on The Clone Wars. The other was Rebels, and while it was nice, she was a guest star there; The Clone Wars is her show. And that means this toy's face actually looks like our friend, rather than stranger we met later: it's small and round, and it appears Hasbro has used the Photo Real printing on it despite the fact she's a cartoon and thus there is no such thing as a photo-real likeness for her. This figure (and, in actuality, this entire series of Walmart-exclusive figures) is based on Season 7 of the clone Wars, the one that premiered on Disney+ and counted as the show's second post-cancellation resurrection: five seasons on Cartoon Network, one on Netflix, and then this little last hurrah. Dave Filoni revealed there were three four-episode arcs planned for Ahsoka before the show got cancelled, and Season 7 got to use two of them (the one we didn't get? Ahsoka has to help the Jedi save Yoda from a Sith Shrine located beneath the Jedi Temple way down on the ground level of Coruscant). The first arc had her in a mechanic's jumpsuit, because she was trying to hide, but the second arc saw her allying with the Mandalorians, and that required something more martial. This outfit is reminiscent of the things she wore before and the things she would wear after: a combat suit that's mostly a dress worn over tights. The colors on this one are a departure, all blues and greys, because she got it from Bo Katan's Nite Owls. In the story, it has beskar armor plates worked into it, and the hexagonal shape on the chest and on the skirt references Mandalorian armor. The legs of this figure are the same as the Rebels edition, but the paintscheme really hides the re-use. The lightsabers are new, because they're not the same style she'd carry years later - these are the ones she's had since the beginning. Well, the big one is, she didn't pick up the fighting style that relied on a second, smaller saber until like halfway through the war. Still, they are the ones she relinquished when she left the Jedi Order; Anakin just gave them a tune-up, which is why the blades are blue rather than green and off-green. The blades can be removed from both, and the hilts can plug into the sides of her skirt. The figure's right hand has a side-to-side hinge in the wrist, while the left has an up-and-down hinge, creating some diversity in how she can pose with them. Ahsoka moves at the ankles, knees, thighs, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, chest, and neck. The right knee and ankle on my figure are a little loose, but not to the detriment of her ability to stand. The head is on one of those barbell joints, with no hinge, but the montrails falling over her shoulders would have made such a thing pretty useless anyway. Since the skirt is done as separate PVC flaps, it doesn't impede the legs in the slightest. It would still be nice to get a "proper" Black Series Ahsoka one day, in her earlier costume (s), but this is a cool look for her. As usual, our only complaint is that, being an exclusive, she sold out before most fans even saw her. Needing to rely on luck is not a fun part of collecting. -- 04/04/21

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