R2-D2 [1995, POTF2]

...with Light-Pipe Eye Port and Retractable Leg!

Finally, an R2-D2 with a...Light-Eye Port! Okay, while the light-eye port thing is interesting, and re-used right away for the Jawa 2-pack, what we've really been waiting for is this punchline to a dirty joke - the third leg! Not only that, we get a retractable one. Up until now, if you wanted an R2 with a third leg your only choice was the Droid Factory that included one you could put together.

This is probably the most realistic and improved figure in the POTF2 line, because you can't make R2 overly muscular, and you can't give him an oversized gun. Kenner just had to suck it up.

Like many of the original figures in this line, R2's bio card only covers the events in Episode IV, giving the excuse to re-package him when the prequels came out.

Five reasons to get this figure:

1. The long-awaited, but never promised, third leg!

2. Light pipe! Oh, man, we are so going to do a bowl!

3. Retractable...oh, yeah.

4. So, with the light pipe, does this mean if I shine a laser in the top, will he look like he has heat vision?

5. The most accurate of the first wave - can't beat that right?

Backstory:

R2-D2's role in the Star Wars universe is a long one, and only he knows all because he never had his mind wiped. From his service on Naboo to his companionship to Luke Skywalker's ancestors, his is the most long-lived of the characters. His full Wookieepedia entry is here.