Figure of the Day: Day 168: Luke Skywalker (Final Jedi Duel)

LUKE SKYWALKER Final Jedi Duel
Power of the Force Cinema Scenes Collection
Item No.: Asst. 68650 No. 69783
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, Display Base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: 1998
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Under the evil gaze of Emperor Palpatine, the lightsabers of two Jedi Knights - a father and son - clash furiously in a final duel between the light side and dark side of the Force. Slowly, the young Skywalker is lured closer to the rage of the dark side, and Palpatine sits confident of the Rebellion's defeat and the acquisition of a new emissary to fulfill his evil legacy! But the young Jedi's resistance appears to be growing... (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: The toy shelves of Adam Pawlus.

Commentary: Early, on, Cinema Scene sets were pretty dull-- you got retooled versions of figures you had. This one was no exception, although a Death Star version of Luke Skywalker was welcome, even if fans could take issue with its authenticity, its awkward pose, and its hair style. The figure wasn't bad when released, and this set excited a lot of fans in that you were ale to recreate a moment of the movie with action figures for the very first time. Luke has the normal six joints, but his oddly positioned legs make him pretty useless outside a dueling display. He can't exactly fit in a vehicle, so he fails as a toy but more or less works as a collectible. Sure the years haven't been kind to the sculpt, but have you looked back at the $100+ Applause statues from the same era? Those look even worse. Luke's mostly black, with glossy boots, both gloves are painted, and that's about all that's really notable here. The sum of the parts is better than each component, so if you buy a Final Jedi Duel set, be sure to buy the set-- not just Luke.

Collector's Notes: This exact mold was never reissued, but similar Lukes from Return of the Jedi with the same unusual looking head were released with the Rancor, Complete Galaxy Tatooine, Tatooine Skiff, and other fine sets.

Day 168: October 21, 2006