Zuckuss



Zuckuss was a successful Gand bounty hunter who was active during the height of the New Order. Referred to as "The Uncanny One" by his fellow hunters, Zuckuss was renowned for his ability to discover hidden quarry. His tracking skills derived both from his training as a finds man and from his innate Force-sensitivity, which allowed him to sense individuals at range and decipher the motives of his prey. Due to his famed abilities, Zuckuss was highly sought after, and he found employment with the Bounty Hunters' Guild, the Hutt Cartel, TaggeCo, and even the Rebellion for a time.

During his long career, Zuckuss worked with many associates but was known primarily to partner with the droid 4-LOM. The two made a formidable bounty hunting team and were successful in retrieving the Yavin Vassilika, over such opponents as Bossk and Dengar. Though the partnership was forged under the insistence of Jabba the Hutt, Zuckuss and 4-LOM eventually bonded, with 4-LOM staying loyal to Zuckuss after the Gand was critically injured during the Galactic Civil War. In order to pay medical expenses, Zuckuss and 4-LOM took a job from the Rebel Alliance to pursue Governor Nardix, which eventually attracted the attention and incurred the wrath of the Empire. However, the pair's involvement in that affair was overlooked when they were hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon after the Battle of Hoth. Zuckuss and 4-LOM planned to infiltrate the Alliance under the guise of rescuers, bringing with them the surviving passengers of a downed Rebel transport to the rendezvous point, hoping to kidnap Han Solo then. However, the rival bounty hunter, Boba Fett managed to capture Solo prior on Cloud City.

Shortly afterward, Zuckuss decided to join the Alliance, partly in gratitude for the necessary treatment he had received on board the medical frigate. He and 4-LOM worked as covert operatives for a time, and they attempted to rescue the carbonite-encased Solo from Fett before the hunter could deliver him to Jabba on Tatooine. The pair had failed in their mission and the outcome resulted in the destruction of 4-LOM. Zuckuss had attempted to repair his comrade, but he needed to perform a complete memory wipe in order to do so, which changed the droid's personality. After their final hunt for the gambler Drawmas Sma'Da, Zuckuss and 4-LOM parted ways, with Zuckuss relocating to the Outer Rim Territories for a time. Somewhat of a Rebel sympathizer, Zuckuss eventually began to hunt primarily for New Republic targets near the end of his career.

Although incredibly successful, Zuckuss was not without his flaws. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and an advanced case of multiple personality disorder, which caused him to speak in two different dialects. He was eventually incarcerated in a penal facility on Coruscant, under the scrutiny of New Republic psychiatrists. Despite his mental health and later imprisonment, Zuckuss became popular on his homeworld of Gand, eventually inspiring an entire generation of Gand bounty hunters to seek success off-world.

Figure Specs
Bounty Hunter Zuckuss was released in the fall of 2009 in The Legacy Collection's basic assortment. Zuckuss can be seen very briefly in The Empire Strikes Backwhen Darth Vader hires Bounty Hunters to track down.

The figure is super articulated with 14 joints, including a ball-jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles. There are swivel joints in both wrists, the waist and both legs. Zuckuss stands very securely on its own without the need of a stand. The included blaster rifle fits very loosely into both of the figure's hands, the right better than the left. However, if you have Zuckuss hold the blaster rifle with two hands it's a good fit and won't give you much trouble. The breathing device uses 2 cables, which plug into the front of Zuckuss' face. Both cables run down his front, all the way to the back where the device is plugged into a hole in the figure's back. It attaches firmly and won't come off easily.

Zuckuss' paint application could have been better. Zuckuss looked pretty beat up and dirty in The Empire Strikes Back, and even though Hasbro added some weathering to the boots and front armor, they forgot to "dirty up" the entire back of the figure. Also, the paint application on the non-removable soft goods skirt looks awkward, as if someone just painted some streaks on it. The figure's mold however is great, with lots of details around the facial area, and some nice details on Zuckuss' front armor. All things considered, the paint application could have been better, but this version of Bounty Hunter Zuckuss is the best and most articulated version as of 2010. If you own any of the previously released Zuckuss' figures, chances are you won't regret upgrading to this new version.