Bespin Security Guard [black] (ESB 1980-2)

Finally, a brother can get some respect . Sure, there was another Bespin Security Guard, but this is, for lack of any other clarifier, is the black guy. He comes with the same pistol that most of the characters on Bespin came with, and he came on an ESB and ROTJ card. The big difference between this figure’s packaging and the other Guard’s (other than the cast picture) is that this guy has a blue background for his name and figure. The white guy has an orange background. Odd, but there it is.

His left hand is molded in an odd position – apparently from the picture it is for putting his hand on the floating Han in Carbonite. That, or petting a large Bespin Cloud Poodle.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Equality – how many black people are there in Star Wars?

2. An army builder – you’ve got to get more than one, and in this case you can get black and white ones (unlike those racist all-white Stormtroopers).

3. The man who put the hand on Han.

4. The stylish navy blue with gold trim. A classic.

5. You need another Bespin dude for your poker club diorama.

Backstory:

Not much of a backstory, since there really wasn’t much of one created. I’ll refer you to my post on the previous guard.

21st in alphabetical order

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (SW 1978-9)

Ah, the mentor of the original trilogy, the wise man, the old fossil, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi. While he was only alive during the first movie, he somehow retained acting parts in all three movies. Where else but the Star Wars universe?

Ben came with a built-in blue lightsaber that popped out of his right arm. His hair and beard came in both white and gray variations, and he came on SW, ESB, ROTJ, and POTF cards. There were two ROTJ cards, one with the original background picture, and one with a closer picture with his hood up. This was the same picture on the POTF card. Also, technically, there was another ESB card that has an "ASST #" under the number in the upper left-hand corner. I am not that choosy - others are. Ben also came in a vinyl cape, and other than his hair changing color, he underwent no physical changes for the entire line.

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:

1. The mentor - other than Yoda of course.

2. Kicked ass in the prequels. Give him props for defeating a cyborg armed with 4 lightsabers.

3. Re-enact the unspoken lines in the original movie between him and Vader:

"So, you remember those flips and cool tricks we did in our last lightsaber battle?"

"Yeah."

"Let's not do any of that."

"Agreed."

4. Luke needs someone riding shotgun in the Landspeeder.

5. There were only three figures from the first movie who came with lightsabers. Only two of them actually fought with them. He's one.

Backstory:

Obi-Wan was born about 57 years before the first movie, and had a brother named Owen (some early histories said that Owen Lars was his brother, which we now know to be untrue). He was taken for Jedi training very young, and eventually came under the tutelage of Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn. Before being taken up as an apprentice, he almost did not become a Jedi at all do to him being seen as reckless.

He and Qui-Gon had many adventures around the galaxy, even meeting the likes of a young Chewbacca. Eventually, one of their adventures led them to Tatooine where they met Anakin, and the rest is history. Between Episode III and IV, Obi-Wan hid in seclusion on tatooine, keeping a watch over Anakin's offspring, Luke. During his "exile" he did journey off-world once or twice to take care of some Jedi matters, despite the fact he was being hunted by the Empire and bounty hunters alike. During his time he learned how to become one with the Force when he was struck down, which is exactly what he did when Vader struck him down in the first movie.

Full story? His Wookieepedia article

20th in alphabetical order

Barada (POTF 1985)

Barada was released near the end of the vintage run, during the Power of the Force line. Thus, he garnered a coin while many iconic figures did not - so sad. Barada came with a force pike lance and a permanent scowl. I can't say much about this figure, other than he's good for getting cut in half by Luke while escaping Jabba's sand barge.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. You need him, Klaatu, and Nikto together for the perfect trifecta (more on that below).

2. No one can use a hydrospanner on the sand-crusted lug nuts like him.

3. Once you make that scale-model of Jabba's sand barge, you're going to need people getting sliced on the deck by Luke.

4. You need him for your stop-motion children's show, "Fun at Jabba's!"

5. Probably the closest-looking figure to a pirate in the entire vintage collection. Even more than original Han.

Backstory:

Barada was put into servitude by his parents because of his sass-mouth. Yea, you read that right. Right before his time was up, he was bought by Jabba along with the garage he worked in. He then became Jabba's chief mechanic for his sand barge, and friends with Ephant Mon (they never made a figure of him). He was made a guard during Luke's trip to the Sarlacc pit, and was promptly cut in half by Luke.

He, along with two other figures, were named after the phrase "klaatu barada nikto" from the 1950's movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still." The phrase was used again, most notably in Army of Darkness.

Want more? Full article at Wookieepedia

19th in alphabetical order

B-Wing Pilot (ROTJ 1983-4)

The B-Wing pilot is one of those figures that, as a kid, you probably didn’t bother with unless you actually got a B-Wing, and, to be honest, how many of us did? Sure, your parents bought you that mini-rig that never appeared in the film, but they didn’t shell out for the big kahunas, like the B-Wing, or the much rarer A-Wing. To top it all off, where were the B-Wing pilots? They had one of the coolest new ships, and you don’t seem them.

The B-Wing Pilot comes in a stylish red suit, and comes with the same blaster packaged with a few other figures, including the AT-ST Driver. The Pilot came on an ROTJ and a POTF card. The POTF card is, naturally, rarer (as are all POTF carded figures).

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Owning one gave you that slim hope that you could use it as leverage to get your own B-Wing Fighter. Slim, but still there.

2. Nothing says Ewok after-battle party like a few B-Wing Pilots.

3. Nothing says pre-battle war room conference like a few B-Wing Pilots.

4. If you were one of those few that actually got your own B-Wing Fighter, this figure was a no-brainer.

5. A-Wing Pilot vs. B-Wing Pilot smackdown! Let’s get it on!

Backstory:

Because of the difficulty of flying a B-Wing (more on the B-Wing Fighter in tomorrow’s post) the pilot’s had to be highly trained. By the Battle of Endor few had actually qualified to fly the B-Wing, so more Y-Wings were put in use at the Battle. The B-Wings did manage to blow up a Star Destroyer by themselves however, but this was not shown on film. Due to the ship’s unusual design, it was deemed too hard to make a B-Wing sequence, so you barely see them in ROTJ. You basically see a glancing shot here and here, and the pilots before and after the battle.

Full story? Wookieepedia article

18th in alphabetical order