Plo Koon is a Jedi Master whose homeworld is Dorin, where the atmosphere is mostly helium and another gas unique to the planet. He wears protective goggles and a face-concealing antiox mask whenever he is in oxygen-rich environments.
Plo Koon has had his fair share of time in the spotlight as a Star Wars basic figure. Debuting in the Power Of The Jedi line in 2000, it still holds up pretty well today. In fact, that sculpt was most recently used for 2005's ROTS Plo Koon (III 66) figure, the "Holographic Transmission" version. The 2002 Star Wars Plo Koon had a great and exciting action pose but fell extremely short in the area of acceptable articulation (by today’s standards). The 2005 ROTS Plo Koon (III 16) figure was a significant upgrade and has basically held the title for the definitive Plo Koon action figure until now. (It was also subsequently used for the 2008 TAC Plo Koon/R4-F5 (1 of 6) Droid Factory set as well as multiple Saga Legends releases.) The Legacy Collection Plo Koon has good and bad news and we will start with the bad news first. We don't like the removable mask. Sorry for those of you out there that may have wanted this and waited a long time for it. We feel that it doesn’t deliver as Hasbro may have intended it to and it is more of a nuisance than a cool accessory. For starters, it doesn't stay on very well and when you do get it to stick in place, it looks bulky and awkward (only to fall or get bumped out again which causes much frustration). Maybe the hole where it attaches on our sample wasn’t cut right, but we think this may be the trend unfortunately. Perhaps if it plugged in more tightly and closer to the head we may be inclined to be a bit more forgiving of it, but we don't think it turned out like we (or Hasbro) had hoped. Don't misinterpret our complaint here because Plo Koon is a beautifully sculpted action figure and so is the removable breathing mask/goggles, but its utilization is lacking (a lot). The good news is that the new Plo Koon figure is super-articulated and all the parts that you wanted to see enhanced have indeed seen incredible updates. We were dying to know just how much of the new Plo Koon may have been originated from the 2005 ROTS Plo Koon (III 16) figure. And while we are unable to call the 2009 Plo Koon an all-new figure, we are happy to report that only the upper body/chest and hands have been reused from the ROTS III 16/DroidFactory/Saga Legends figure. This is wonderful news, because we popped off the head and hands (of the new Plo Koon) and replaced them with the ROTS Plo Koon (III 16) parts and we have to say it alleviates the issue of the mask/goggles popping off while at the same time making the figure look better in many aspects. We think this figure could have been perfected by coming with a second portrait that didn’t have the removable mask. Despite this little issue, the new Plo Koon is exceptional and he is right on time for an update.
Status: Plo Koon is a kit-bashed figure that utilizes the torso and hands from 2005's ROTS Plo Koon (III 16) with all-new arms, all-new legs, and a brand new head sculpt with removable antiox mask. Of particular note, Hasbro maintained the same-sized neck peg as the 2005 ROTS Plo Koon (III 16) figure, so the heads and hands are interchangeable if you prefer to have a figure without a removable antiox mask.