Hi! Power Pal PrfktTear here. While I am the resident Transformers Guru, I’m also nuts about a certain little spud. With Transformers news in a lull since BotCon ’08, and over a month to go until the first Transformers: Animated toys hit shelves, I have a distant cousin, Mr. Potato head. Okay, he’s got nothing to do with Transformers, well, except that he’s made by Hasbro! Good enough!? Lets move on…

I’ve been a fan of Mr. Potato Head since forever. He’s been an essential toy for generations of children, over the years he’s had many faces, and many incarnations. I left Mr. Potato Head in my childhood, until around ten years ago while watching the tv show The Pretender, Jarod, a man who had been held in captivity all of his life was suddenly discovering all the things he missed in his childhood that we take for granted, like silly putty, ice cream, and of course, Mr. Potato Head. Suddenly this seemed to spark a renewed interest in the Spud, and I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for him since.

In 2005 Hasbro began a new trend by crossing Mr. Potato Head with another one of their hottest properties, Star Wars. Thus bore Darth Tater, Spud Trooper and Artoo Potatoo. It didn’t just stop there, we’ve also gotten Spider Spud and Optimash Prime, and Disney World exclusive Star Wars Potato Heads. All this leads up to the star of today’s show, Mr. Potato Head in “Taters of the Lost Ark.”

With each subsequent incarnation of these hybrid potato heads, all of the fanboys groan and moan, but for some mysterious reason they keep getting bought and Hasbro keeps making new ones. Of course, look in any geek’s office or dorm room and you’re gauranteed to see at least one, if not the whole lot. With Taters of the Lost Ark Mr. Potato Head, or as I like to call him, “Idaho Jones” Hasbro has done another great job.

Idaho comes with the basic brown hollow potato body, with a compartment to store extra pieces. He also comes with the standard Mr. Potato Head eyes, ears, nose, and smiley teeth. Unique to this set are his shoes, which are painted brown to match his outfit. Yes, these are the same Mr. Potato Head shoes as you’ll find with the original, but Hasbro has done the same with most all of the other hybrids, except for Optimash Prime.

Idaho gets a brand new mouth, perfectly capturing Harrison Ford’s half smirk as Indy. No repaints here folks. Now to the fun stuff. In one hand, Idaho carries the Golden Potato Idol. Although its attached to the arm, its pretty big, and nicely detailed. Idaho also gets the signature Indiana Jones whip, coiled up to fit nicely in his other hand. Both of Idaho’s arms are unique, as one is of course holding the Idol, and the other is scuplted to specifically hold the whip. The final pieces are what really sell this toy. First is Jones’ signature fedora, nicely detailed, this solid plastic hat fits easily on the top of Mr. Potato Heads. Also, if you press down, it plays a few seconds of the Indiana Jones theme. If you press and hold down the hat, it will play the entire theme. Finally, so Idaho doesn’t get cold, he’s wearing Indy’s familiar brown jacket. Hasbro again did a nice job with this, with great detail in that it even has little pockets sewn in.

Overall, Idaho Jones and the Taters of the Lost Ark is a great addition to the crossover Potato Head Family. Though he might not have as much hardware as Darth Tater or Optimash Prime, the attention to detail in his jacket, the fedora and the Potato idol more than make up for it. Although he runs a few dollars more than previous Potato Head crossovers, he’s definitely worth it. You’ll find yourself pushing down his hat again and again just to hear Indy’s theme song!