Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Luke Skywalker was a Tatooine farmboy who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known.

In 2014, Hasbro released The Black Series [Phase II] Luke Skywalker (#03) figure, and it was supposed to be our first 6” version of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. It was, indeed, but the final figure didn’t come close to appeasing the collectors of the line. The figure came with a fairly terrible head sculpt, poor paint operations, and a relatively screen-accurate costume and body frame (with just one or two issues).The biggest issue collectors faced with the first “Jedi Knight” version of Luke Skywalker is that he didn’t come with many accessories he utilized in Return Of The Jedi. The outfit focused on the final act of the film, while he was on Death Star II, facing Darth Vader as Yoda commanded him. He wasn’t wearing the tunic, he no longer wielded a skiff guard blaster, and his cloak was long gone. Still, collectors would like to have the options to don Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) as they see fit, and now the Walmart exclusive The Black Series [Phase III] Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) brings everything that was missing the first time, omits one or two OTHER things, and gives us a nearly definitive version of the character we’ve come to love and adore. We can say unequivocally that this figure is the definitive incarnation of Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight). It’s not FLAWLESS, but it has so much working for it you’re probably not going to care. So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of this beautiful action figure.

Well, we learned almost immediately that Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) is not a photogenic action figure. You’re probably going to rummage through our gallery and claim the head sculpt looks nothing like Mark Hamill. And you will be completely wrong about that. This is a figure that CAN ONLY be viewed and critiqued in hand, because you need to rely on your imperfect human eyes to see this figure NOT in high-resolution or blow up large than it is. The Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) has an outstanding likeness. It’s one of the greatest head sculpt of Luke Skywalker we’ve seen in The Black Series 6” line to date. You’ll have to trust us on this, but we assure you that you can take our claims to the bank. Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) utilizes most of 2014’s TBS [P2] Luke Skywalker (#03) figure, but Hasbro then dulled down the sheen, tooled an all-new (and gorgeous) portrait with a separate hairpiece, tooled a brand new and appropriately scaled and thin molded tunic, and then added a stunning soft-goods cloak that hugs the figure beautifully and falls as needed to drape the figure’s silhouette. Hasbro also included a skiff guard blaster, a lightsaber hilt and a lightsaber blade (green) to completely accessorize Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) as he appeared in the entire Battle Of Carkoon sequence of Episode VI, from arriving to Jabba’s palace, to rescuing his friends and blowing up the sail barge.

Despite the major enhancements made to Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight), the use of the old tooling reintroduces some of the key areas where the figure falls a little short or misses the mark. Now, we’re not ranting about these issues. The new parts and accessories make you forget about most of the original figure’s issues, but it’s important for us to illuminate that the “problems” are still present. For example, Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) still have lanky legs. The newly added tunic makes this distraction less noticeable. But unfortunately the much-too-long legs haven’t been shortened. While we’re happy to see Hasbro reduce the sheen of the plastics utilized for their figures now, the tooling on Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) has aged to the point where the articulation system is beginning to weaken. By this, we mean his joints aren’t nearly as tight as we’d hoped. He’s quite loose in this regard. And that’s a disappointment because we had some difficulty positioning him for the photo shoot. Again, these are all first-world problems and ultimately not huge issues, but we’re only itemizing that they’re still present or new issues have surfaced. Regardless, we wouldn’t change out recommendation of this figure in the slightest. This is a must-have release. It blows the old version out of the water to complete obsolescence. And the new Photo Real applications coupled with all of the newness brought to this sculpt makes it feel like an all-new figure.