Even as a little kid, I was always fascinated with the Rebel pilots. The ships were cool, the dogfights were cool, and I loved all those helmet designs. It’s a tribute to the original trilogy that, when they could have given everyone generic white helmets with Rebel insignias painted on them, George and the boys opted to have each pilot wearing an individualized helmet with all sorts of logos and bragging rights painted all over them. But that’s not what made me love Wedge. In fact, his helmet’s one of the less eye-catching of the Rebel pilots’.
What made me love Wedge was that he gave a certain feeling of believability to the Star Wars saga. Sure, we all loved bigger-than-life heroes like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca. But, right from the start, it’s obvious that these guys represent legendary archetypes. Plus, it’s hard to believe that a farmboy, a scruffy-looking smuggler, his big dog, a bitchy princess, an old man, and a couple of robots could take down the entire Galactic Empire by themselves. They needed help.
And that’s where Wedge comes in. There are TONS of nameless, faceless Rebels in the original trilogy, which is good. But Wedge always struck me as a bit of an “everyman”. He’s not pursuing some prophetic destiny like Luke. He’s not trying to overcome his shady past and bang a hot princess like Han. He’s just a guy…a guy with a cool ship, an orange flight suit, and a job to do.
Plus, he’s the only minor character in the Star Wars saga to appear in and survive all three of the original Star Wars films (take THAT, Billy Dee Williams!). To be fair, Wedge didn’t really get the job done in Episode IV. He hits the Death Star like everyone else, but has to bail out after some damage to his X-Wing. Still, he makes it home in once piece. Episode V gives him a bit more time to shine, with Wedge and his gunner, Jansen, taking down an AT-AT during the battle of Hoth. Then, in Episode VI, Wedge is one of the pilots who gets into the Death Star II and helps blow it up. He even gets to party with Ewoks later on.
It may not seem like much. And, really, it isn’t. But even as a kid, I couldn’t help but notice that this same guy kept popping up over and over. No one really gives him much more than a pat on the back. He never gets to participate in any grandiose award ceremony. He’s just a working Joe in an X-Wing. What’s great about that is that it helps us imagine that Wedge is just one of hundreds of Rebel pilots who regularly risk their lives to rid the galaxy of the Empire. When we see Rebels scurrying around a base, we don’t just look at them as extras in funny hats. We see people…people like Wedge Antilles.
As I’ve said, there’s been tons of Wedge merchandise since the late 90’s. He’s gotten a few action figures (some better than others). He’s featured prominently in the Rogue Squadron books and comics (which ain’t bad reads). Plus, he’s become something of a household name (in geeky households, that is).
I’m not going to review any of the Wedge-related reading materials, as I haven’t really kept up with them over the years. I’m sure there’s someone out there with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Rogue Squadron books and comics who can do that for you. But I’ll highlight some of his action figure releases:
First off, I’ll cover Wedge’s basic 3 ¾” releases. To assist me is a picture from Rebelscum.com (awesome website, by the way):
The first ever 3 ¾” Wedge figure to be released was the one that came with the less-than-awesome Millennium Falcon carrying case. He was really nothing more than a repainted X-Wing pilot Luke (Snowspeeder pilot, actually) with a new head. The earliest release had all sorts of weird paint choices. Dark gray boots, silver cord running from his chest box, white stripes on his arms, and an inaccurate helmet? What gives? Well, Hasbro quickly “corrected” at least two of the paint flaws, giving him a more accurate helmet and ditching the white stripes on his arms. Yeah, we’d finally gotten us a Wedge figure. But it was about as half-assed as could be.
Hasbro managed to get their act together for the second Wedge figure a while later. He came in one of those Cinema Scenes 3-packs (I loved those things) with 2 other Rebel pilots. This time around, Wedge was looking a lot better. The coloration of his clothes made a LOT more sense, and he even had a removable helmet. His body was just another re-use, (this time from Biggs), but who cares? Other than a few guys who requie specific parts, (Jek Porkins’ fat ass stands out), Rebel pilot bodies are all pretty much interchangeable.
As good as that Wedge was, the mail-away Original Trilogy Collection Wedge that came out a few years later was even better. There’s nothing to complain about here. A more detailed body, another removable helmet, and this Wedge even came on his own card (the first time that had ever happened). I think Hasbro could have quit with Wedge figures here and no one would have ever had any complaints. Even me, and I love complaining.
Then, there was a comic 2-pack version of Wedge wearing his dress uniform. I wasn’t really too jazzed about this figure. There’s nothing wrong with it, per se. I just don’t care for the uniform. In fact, I never even picked this one up.
Finally, we Wedge fans recently got the mother load. Packed with his (awesome) X-Wing fighter, a droid, and a couple of ladders, the Target exclusive Wedge was a pricey addition to my collection. But he’s worth it. He’s got a super-articulated body, (again, a reused body), a ball-jointed head, and a helmet with a chinstrap (previous Wedge helmets didn’t feature this detail). I’ve gotta say, though, I’m not really feeling the head sculpt. It makes him look more like a snooty butler than Wedge. This set’s a must-have for Wedge fans, though. It finally gave me an excuse to plunk down the money for that bad ass X-Wing that had previously been released a few times, which is easily the centerpiece of this set.
So, in the 3 ¾” realm, Wedge had finally come full circle. My favorite Rebel pilot had gone from being completely overlooked in the vintage Star Wars line (in favor of such fan-favorites as the Rancor Keeper and the black Bespin Security Guard) to coming in a fancy X-Wing boxed set with all the bells and whistles. There’s even supposed to be a 3 ¾” Wedge released in an upcoming assortment of carded figures. But that’s not all for Wedge figures. He’s been part of the Lego Star Wars line, as well as a few various micro figure incarnations (Action Fleet, etc.). As a bonus, I’m gonna give a little review of some other notable Wedge figures.
One of the better-known Wedge figures is the 12” one that came in a 2-pack with Biggs about 10 years ago. This could have been one of Wedge’s finest hours. Instead, it…wasn’t. He’s got his good points, that’s true. His outfit looks great (except for the poorly designed white flak vest and the odd-looking gloves. Plus, he’s got great articulation and a removable helmet. But that helmet’s one of the main problems. It’s just…well, bad. Hasbro decided to go the extra mile and have the 12” X-Wing pilot helmets feature moveable visors. It might have sounded great in theory, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I could almost overlook the silly slit that it necessitated going down the middle of his helmet. But the visor mechanism made his helmet sit way too high on his head. It made it look like Wedge had just gotten back from the beauty parlor and didn’t want to mess up his new hairdo. Plus, that likeness was just waaay off. This one can definitely be passed up (by the way, the Biggs figure from this set has all the same problems…you can pass on him too).
Moving down in scale, there’s the Galactic Heroes Wedge from a few years back. I don’t normally go in for these cutesy little versions of characters. But, what the hell…it was Wedge. I was actually impressed. He’s got a nicely designed removable helmet, and a lot of detail for his size. If you run across one, go ahead and pick it up. He’s pretty fun to have around.
During the late 1990’s, Applause got into the Star Wars game big-time. The Wedge mini PVC figure was a surprise addition to the line. It’s not really fair to go too much into likeness issues at this scale, but I really think his visage could have been captured a bit better than what we got here. Still, the rest of him is pretty satisfying. He’s dressed in his Snowspeeder pilot uniform, which we don’t get to see much on Wedge figures. Overall, he’s worth a few bucks to diehard Wedge fans.
But Applause Wedges weren’t all lackluster. They also did an AMAZING Wedge figure that stands about 10” tall. This is easily the best likeness of actor Denis Lawson, and Applause just nailed every aspect of this guy. The helmet comes off, and looks great on its own (a visor would have been nice, but I’m not going to nitpick over something like that). If you’re only ever going to get one Wedge Antilles collectible, make sure it’s this one.
So there you have it, a very non-exhaustive review of Wedge’s toy history, as well as my ramblings of why I like him so much. Don’t get me wrong. I love Han and Chewie as much as the next guy. Hell, I’m even a Klaatu fan if you catch me on the right day. But there’s always been something about Wedge. I’m glad to see that he’s finally getting the support he deserves in the Star Wars world.
So, until I get bored again and decide to write another post, I’ll sign off and leave you to wonder where the last few minutes of your life went!
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