ANAKIN SKYWALKER Jedi Spirit30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87410
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #3045
Includes: Lightsaber, cloak, coin
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Fall 2007
Appearances: Return of the Jedi DVD Edition
Image: Adam Pawlus' toy room.
Bio: As the Rebels celebrate their victory over the Empire, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker appears to his son, Luke. But instead of the ravaged Darth vader he became, it is the youthful Anakin Skywalker who appears, restored at last to the hopeful young Jedi he once was. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
Commentary: One of the few things that truly bothered me about the Star Wars line-- specifically, when fans asked for it-- was the inclusion of a lightsaber with Jedi Spirit figures. In 1997, the first one came out with a clear blue Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fans complained about a need for a lightsaber despite the fact that no Jedi Spirit has been seen using a lightsaber in the movies, and eventually Hasbro caved and started putting them with figures like this Anakin Skywalker for absolutely no good reason whatsoever. Seriously, what's he going to do with it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The figure itself, unlike other Jedi Spirits, seems to be a completely new sculpt. Hasbro made the figure an astonishing 14 points of articulation and, after much fan complaining, finally decided to try soft goods on the "transparent" action figures. The good news is that it looks pretty good-- not fantastic, but certainly good enough. The figure has no problem sitting or being posed, and the head was sculpted to look not like Anakin Skywalker from Episode III, but seemingly more of a hybrid between his appearance in that film meshed with that of Sebastian Shaw from Return of the Jedi. The outer robes are surprisingly stiff, and actually can hold a shape better than most other thick brown robes included with other action figures. The only real downer about them here is that they're very easy to see through and this probably wasn't what Hasbro was hoping to capture with the final product. Either way, it looks pretty good, and is one of very few figures released that were based on redesigns seen on the DVD trilogy. I'd suggest getting it because it's decent for what it aspires to be, but odds are enough of you consider it blasphemy that anything I say won't change your mind. It's a good figure, and while it doesn't exactly break new ground it does a fine job of being a dead clear Anakin. The last dead Anakin done by Hasbro made no effort to be clear, and it includes Obi-Wan's lightsaber-- so this was a step in the right direction.
Collector's Notes: Before this figure was confirmed, Hasbro indicated it was planning on making the next Spirit Anakin figure with both the heads of Sebastian Shaw and Hayden Christensen, allowing fans to pick which version they wanted. As you can see in the final product, this didn't happen.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 879: October 27, 2008
And I think we all know WHY this didn't happen even though we've forked over the very dough that keeps him in his high castle! Yeah...you got me...I'm in the blasphemy camp even though I bought one all the same. And after I opened him I wasn't sure quite what to do with him. So, I have put him on the shelf with the cinema scene spirits and he's got his hand on the REAL Anakin's (OT, old guy Seb Shaw) shoulder for now. Well, at least it makes me chuckle.
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