For a guy with a ubiquitous kung-fu beard and a cone shaped head that never changed AT ALL in the prequels, Ki-Adi Mundi proves to be a pretty versatile character with these two radically different (almost contradictory) looks.
Republic comic Mundi is from a storyline where he travelled to Tatooine to find a Jedi that was posing as a Tusken Raider. The storyline is kind of irrelevant to me IMO, this Tusken here and his son (who had a figure in another comic pack few years ago) just make nice new additional “Sand People” figures as far as I’m concerned.
This version of Ki-Adi here is is dressed in simple tunic and a greatly detailed sun hat, he is perfectly suite to many harsh or uncomfortable environments [beyond the desert] on many other planets. I like this design a lot more than the costume Silas Carson wore in the prequels just because it’s really unique. Personally I’m happy Hasbro immortalized this in plastic, this is my default version of Mundi, as none of the accurate movie figures did it for me.
Concept art Mundi is just plain bad ass looking. I LOVE concept design figures anyway because the creativity behind is usually somewhat more interesting anything in the movie. The art for Mundi that was all BUT dead after 3 years of constant fighting in the Clone Wars was 19 times better than the totally unchanged ROTS from AOTC and TPM Mundi on the screen (lame, lame, LAME).
But concept or not, this take on Master Ki-Adi is just amazing, and it deserves to have a spotlight. Seriously, he is all buccaneer, hardened warrior, old war horse, I’ve-done-shit-you-don’t-want-to-imagine AWESOME. I’m ecstatic a toy was made of this art.
[fanboy commentary: In fact this figure is so cool I’m considering changing his story to say he was nearly dead in his plain brown cloack from Order 66 (as seen in the movie) but he retreated into a Force stasis healing state and laid low till long afterBacara’s troops had moved on before he escaped Mygeeto to the way Outer Rim or even Corporate Sector to hide and wound up adopting these digs, looking like an unassuming merchant. NO ONE dares ask if the patch is just for show or if his eye really is missing/scarred.]
