Hammerhead Ithorian Momaw Nadon in Star Wars Very iconic, but I think he’s the Star Wars character I care about the most because of the toys. The original Hammerhead doll was a favorite of mine and I have great memories of finding the POTF2 doll on a hook when I got older. I can’t remember if I’m from POTF2 characters or from The Mos Eisley Bistro Story book, but I do remember being surprised that he wasn’t wearing a blue jumpsuit like the retro character, because I don’t think his costume really caught my attention. Anyway, I’m loving this line of alien characters, so let’s take a look at Black Series Momaw Nadon!
The packaging is similar to recent releases, but they’ve removed the slanted portion of the box and gone with a more traditional right angle. To be honest, it’s not very big and I feel like he could be a regular card character. To me, this does call into question the “Deluxe” designation for this character, but Hasbro does tend to be fast and loose with so-called Deluxe.
The figure comes with three cups and a standard Imperial Blaster. I believe the cups are from Bib Fortuna, and the toy gun also makes sense since the character originally had one in the retro version. He could hold it firmly in his right hand. You can insert a second finger into the trigger guard, but this will tilt the gun slightly.
He would be better off holding the grip on the outside of the trigger guard.
The cup is best for the right hand and a bit off for the left hand. I do think they are a suitable accessory for bar patrons, albeit a bit dull. That said, his only canonical appearance is a brief drink at a bar. I think I would like the table and chair he sits on, which would make it luxurious and encourage me to complete my Cantina diorama. Another thing I don’t mind is his obnoxious big gun from POTF2, but if you have the old one, it actually goes well with the figure.
The sculpt on this guy is really good as they capture his squinting eyes and leathery skin texture from the movie very well. I think a lot of his costume and lower anatomy were invented over the years, and the character fit perfectly into the established look of the movie as well as the Aesop’s anatomy established over the years in supplemental material and other classic Aesops. It reuses a lot of the recent Dok Ondar figures to great effect and was most likely parts planned to be shared between the two versions. I do hope to see an eventual re-release in retro colors, although I hope if they do they add some new bare upper arms and legs for a true jumpsuit look.
The articulation is pretty standard for a Black Series figure, but since he reused parts from older figures, he retains the thigh swivel that was removed from recent releases. Momoa has:
- Rotate/articulate shoulders, elbows, hips, wrists, elbows and ankles
- Ball and socket waist, head and neck
- rotate thigh
- butterfly hinge pecs
The skirt has slits on both sides, but the right side is longer than the left due to the sculpted detailing of the rope at the waist, so the right leg moves forward better than the left. He doesn’t sit well, and for a character who only appears on screen, I’d like more attention to be given to making sure he sits better.
The paint is a bit better than the usual black range, as the nice sculpted textures on the skins stand out through the wash. My impression of the Hammerhead in the movie is that he had some lighter color underneath his head, or maybe it was the underlighting of the table in the scene, so it’s probably not an omission. There are some clean details on the belt, cord and pouch on the belt.
Overall, this is a solid piece of work, and this type of alien character would make for an interesting character even if he didn’t do much in the movie. Do I wish I could have paid the normal price for him? The deluxe version feels like a bit of price gouging to me. The Ithorians have become an important species in the Star Wars universe, so it’s great to finally get an original model in the Black Series. In general, I find the alien characters to be more interesting to me, and would be happy to see them make more Cantina aliens.
