Calaidescope World

Jedi Killer

I used to say "When I grow up, I'm going to be a Jedi Knight." Blame it on my Dad who brought home an original Betamax (yes, Betamax!) copy of Star Wars back when I was a kid, plus toy lightsabers, character masks, and action figures. Bianca and I watched that tape practically everyday. And when Alia was born, she was exposed to it, too. Yes, we are a Star Wars family. The Force is strong with us.

The original Star Wars (re-titled to Star Wars: A New Hope in the late 70s prior to the release of The Empire Strikes Back) was "black and white", good versus evil. It was that simple. Seeing The Empire Strikes Back was when I realised the world was gray. And the seduction to the Dark Side began. Mwahahahaha! As my friend Melisse once said, why does evil always look so good?

Do you remember when A Phantom Menace came out? Don't tell me you didn't think Darth Maul was cool. And if your a die hard fan, c'mon, the coolest character next to Han Solo is bounty hunter Boba Fett! But I've always been a Jedi, a member of the Rebellion, never a Sith.

Now fast forward to 2005. I saw Cartoon Network's Star Wars: Clone Wars by Gendy Tartakovsky (creator of Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack). Forget Luke Skywalker. Forget Darth Maul. I want to be Asajj Ventress! Yeah, I know she looks like Jack the Pumpkin King from Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas, but she's got that anime coolness about her. Gotta love Tartokovsky for that!

Over at http://www.toonami.co.uk/shows/star_wars_clone_wars/asajj_ventress, Asajj Ventress is described as "A fierce female warrior who has trained in the ways of the Sith, Asajj Ventress is a ruthless and cunning Dark Jedi. Count Dooku discovers her on the planet Rattatak, where she is participating in brutal gladiatorial games. Eager to prove herself to Dooku, Ventress accepts his challenge to assassinate Anakin Skywalker. Like Dooku, Ventress prefers the curved-handle lightsaber, but she utilizes a deadly double-saber attack style."

You can also read more about her on http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/asajjventress/. The cool thing I read here (for you lightsaber fanatics), is that "Asajj has perfected a lightsaber combat form that uses paired blades to strike and parry. She carried twin weapons given to her by Count Dooku, and each bears a similar archaic curved handle design favored by the former Jedi Master. Ventress' lightsaber handles are especially modified so that they can connect into a joined, S-shaped handle, becoming a double-bladed lightsaber. " A-ha!

Back in December, I went nuts looking for an Asajj Ventress action figure in Singapore. The one on the upper left is from the Star Wars Unleashed collection. She would look so cool in my work station! And in my room! But Asajj Ventress is so hard to find! She's probably the most popular "collector's item" next to Boba Fett. One day...I will find her. I will find both of them. I envy those who still have their Boba Fett action figures from the 70s and 80s, laser gun and all. ARGH!!!

Still...I'm no Jedi Killer. I don't want to disappoint the Younglings.

So Nina V., if you're reading this, kindly note that this is who I want to be for Halloween =) I just don't know if my employer will allow me to go bald.

posted by Calai @ 1:05 PM