When Did It Come Out?
2003, right around the release of Return of the King. This was before 6 inch figures shot up in price, so he retailed for around $6.99, which seems like a godsend now. I seem to recall there were a few waves of figures coming out at the same time, and not all of them were that exciting. For every Pelennor Feilds Aragorn and Eowyn in Armor you had a repackaged Bilbo or something. It took a long time for the REALLY cool figures to come out like Witch King, armored hobbits, or that glow-in-the-dark ghost kind guy. Which is odd because you'd think with the last movie they'd give everything a big push. I think that all of the early wave figures were fairly common, maybe this one being a little more rare because of popularity, but I seem to recall the whole line was quickly clearanced out to prepare for a revamped line with smaller packaging and figures from the whole trilogy.
When Did I Buy It?
Same time, probably at Target, that's where I remember these guys first coming out. This was one of the earlier figures I was sure to get because it screamed "This is Aragorn from the NEW movie!". Actually, thinking about it, I'm pretty sure he was a Christmas present. Which by my estimation would make him a slightly later release than the first figures for this movie. Whatever it was, I was happy to get him, because he was a cool new look for Aragorn, and fueled my new movie excitement. Sidenote: like many of my toys, this figure went through a fire, and though he came cleaner than most, he might still be a little more gritty looking than a fresh store-bought version of him. Which, turns out, works well for sword and sorcery type characters.
Why Should YOU Buy it?
He's Aragorn, fancy-style. Everybody likes Aragorn, and though this look is far from his most iconic, its your best bet for a Return of the King specific look. Plus, after three movies he's got all the bells and whistles that Toy Biz started to develop for their figures such as double-jointed elbows for maximum sword-grabbing, hidden dagger sheath, and enhanced sculpting. Come to think of it, at the time, this was the best Aragorn they had produced. He lends himself great to posing, and is good if you want a more ornate, kingly look for Aragorn, which for me fits well with the more grandiose tone of the final movie. There is a different actual king version of him, but this one is fancy while still remaining battle-oriented. His open-mouthed head sculpt adds to this effect, though some might find that off-putting. Finally, if you want to reenact ol' Strider stabbing a cave troll in the calf with a dagger, this is your only option.
What If It's Source-Material Was a Mystery?
He's got the great character design and cool medieval look that all of the Lord of the Rings characters have, with his heavy chainmail peeking out, a big two-handed sword, and even a dagger sheath hidden in the small of his back. The blue and red color scheme and silver tree coat-of-arms on his chest give him the appearance of some sort of royalty or at least a well to do knight. There's even a little ring sculpted on his finger. If I was a kid and picked this toy up, he would immediately become the most valorous knight I owned, regardless of who else was under the banner of the king. And then I would put him to work leading the patrols through the fields of my backyard.
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