Star Wars Black Jedi Luke Skywalker: Back In Black

My favorite Luke look gets the Black Series treatment in the latest wave of 6″ figures from Hasbro.

One of the things I find really interesting about the classic Star Wars movies is how some characters don’t really have one universal iconic look.  Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia (spoilers?) both sported a number of outfits etched into our pop culture collective, and your mileage will vary as to which one is your favorite.

For me, Luke’s coolest look was his all-black Jedi outfit from Return of the Jedi, and that simple suit has now become part of the great 6″ Black Series by Hasbro.  Thankfully for a big fan of this look for our hero, the figure is pretty cool!  Rather than feature the tunic he wore during his rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, this Luke goes straight for the jumpsuit he wore during his climactic battle with Darth Vader and the Emperor, and while Luke is very slim and kind of small, he’s quite screen accurate.

The figure features an all new sculpt, even the portrait, which features the most accurate Mark Hammill likeness we’ve seen thus far in this collection, sculpt-wise (more on that in a minute).  I like that the sculpt features the actor’s notorious scar in a realistic yet not exploitative way, and his new hairstyle is perfectly realized.  The rest of the figure is equally well sculpted, with the slim fit of the outfit allowing a full range of motion from Luke’s many points of articulation.  As an added flair, the chest flap of the shirt is removable, and can be replaced with the version with a corner hanging down, as seen during the Lightsaber duel between Luke and his father, Darth Vader (spoilers, again?).

Luke’s belt is a separate overlay, which lets it drape naturally based on the figure’s position, and his lightsaber hilt can hang from a hook on the side of the belt.  I love this little detail with the Black Series figures, and it works incredibly well here.  Overall, this Luke is sleek and stylized and simple in his color pattern and design… exactly as he should be.

I wish this Luke had been an absolute win, but there’s a few issues that do hold him back.  First is the face paint, which throws off the actor likeness.  The sculpt underneath is wonderful, but Luke’s eyes are painted slightly too big, making him look just a notch too cartoony.  It doesn’t ruin the overall effect of the figure, but it keeps him away from the truly great territory occupied by the likes of Boba Fett, Chewbacca and Han Solo.

Also, I know Luke isn’t the tallest dude in the galaxy, but his figure seems just slightly too short, which is accentuated by his slim proportions.  As a result, Luke is dwarfed by figures like Chewie and Vader… maybe a little too much?  The new Jedi also looks small next to humans like Han or Boba Fett, suggesting he’s more of a kid than the fully realized Jedi he should be at this point.  It’s been a while since I’ve watched Return of the Jedi, so for all I know Luke really was way smaller than I recall and this is all legit, but in my head he’s just a tad too tiny for the rest of the collection.

But what we do get is a well sculpted figure of a very cool look for our main hero.  The positives of this figure most certainly outweight any issues, and as a fan of Luke’s Jedi phase, I couldn’t be happier to have him as part of the collection.  He’s lots of fun to pose and– even if he’s a little small– he looks great with both his allies and his enemies.  A great design deserves a great toy, and Jedi Luke Skywalker definitely fits that bill.