Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,048: Luke Skywalker (Imperial Light Cruiser, The Black Series)

LUKE SKYWALKER (Imperial Light Cruiser)
The Black Series 2023 Closed Box Line Look The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F5534
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #30 - Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Includes: Lightsaber, cloak
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: April 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Bio: When The Mandalorian embarks on a mission to save Grogu from Moff Gideon, he receives unexpected help in the form of Luke Skywalker . (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It's good. Luke Skywalker (Imperial Light Cruiser) does double duty - much of this figure will be reused any day now for a 40th Anniversary Return of the Jedi figure, but with no vest, and a belt. I assume this figure would have also been packed with a different vest and an alternate right hand with the Rancor that didn't make it out from HasLab a couple of years ago. It's a pretty good figure, and one of the few times I've opened a 6-inch figure lately and said "OK, this is pretty great." But it's not terribly accurate.

The figure is a mishmash of Lukes. The vest is a lot closer to what Luke wore in Jabba's Palace during Return of the Jedi< where it's a bit more open and has fewer layers in the opening. In The Mandalorian, there's a lot more fabric layers visible on his chest under the vest. The belt is unmistakably The Mandalorian, while his boots, pants, and sleeves are mostly on the intersection of "who cares" and "close enough." It's not perfect, but when you have a guy who wears different kinds of nearly identical black clothing I am torn between not blaming them for taking shortcuts, and being irate it isn't better for $25. When you get to a certain price point, I don't think you are at liberty to skimp - and The Black Series is one of those places. For the price, it's merely good - and certainly good enough for most fans. I don't mean to say it's a bad figure, in a vacuum this is a dream come true.

Luke's elbow articulation is so good, he can actually put his arms up so his hands can be posed to look like he's removing his hood. He has no problems holding his lightsaber, and the hilt is tooled to hang on his belt without ugly pegs or holes. They did a real nice job, even if the sleeve material doesn't look quote right. And, I have to say the darkness of the show's sets also make me think it's sensible they cut the corners. His cloak is excellent - big, black, and not transparent. It hangs well, and the strategically-placed stitches to keep the hood in place are some of the best we've ever seen. I don't doubt Hasbro will do even better some day, but it's better than most of what we've ever seen. Good on them for constant improvement in this area, especially after some swing-and-a-miss cloaks in The Vintage Collection over the years.

Luke's face, like on the show, is weird. From some angles it looks just like Mark Hamill, if lit right. I think he's entirely too pale, and the nose seems slightly wrong to me - but I also assume I've seen these movies and shows far too many times as a child and the following four decades to be able to look at most of the main human cast and not see something that feels off. The hair also looks a little weird, but given it's 2023 I think it's safe to say this may really be as good as Hasbro and other Lucasfilm licensees are ever going to get. (Hence why I like Retro Kenner - don't even try to get it right, and nobody can say you're doing it wrong.)

 

I'd recommend getting this Luke if you are OK with it not being perfect. It's evocative of the real deal, and it was probably one of the most exciting pieces of fan service I've ever enjoyed. They got my number, I loved it - so I like this figure bunches. All I think I ever wanted to see again was Luke going around doing something cool, so I happy to have seen it and also happy to have a pretty good figure.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,048: July 20, 2023