Luke Skywalker - R - Saga Legends (SL22)

Once The Black Series 6” line came to fruition, it didn’t take long for collectors to figure out that Hasbro was working within the same framework to design new action figures for the market. Eagle-eyed collectors noticed almost immediately that the basic Saga Legends five points of articulation figures had sculpts that possessed similar traits to The Black Series 6” counterparts. (Quality and accuracy aren’t even part of the equation here, but it’s evident that the blueprints that were used to make one were also used to make the other. The converse is equally as true, or perhaps figures like Luke Skywalker (SL22) were planned well in advance before the figure actually came out. Let us explain. The Rebels Saga Legends Luke Skywalker (SL22) figure has a similar appearance to The Black Series 6” Luke Skywalker (#01) figure. Obviously he is smaller and has a whole lot less articulation, but hopefully you catch our drift. We are confident that Hasbro has focused their attention to killing as many birds as they can with one stone to avert disastrous budget-crunching expenses like new tooling. Maybe approaching figures the similar way (likeness and design) in multiple scales is a wise way to save money. We’re only surmising, but the coincidences are hard to ignore. That being said, Luke Skywalker (SL22) is destined to become a very controversial action figure. We thought all of the prototypes and pre-release images we saw of the figure were dreadful. It seemed as if this figure would be unredeemable. The final product however is a shock to the system. It still has major issues, but looks better than we anticipated it would. But Hasbro has a great deal of work to do before we’re fully on board with this low-budget line.

There are so many things wrong as there are right when it comes to Luke Skywalker. Hasbro once again produces another Luke Skywalker action figure with “dark auburn brown hair that Hasbro knows is wrong that they may or may not revise somewhere down the road”. We’re serious about this question. What is Hasbro’s defect? How hard is it to give Luke Skywalker dirty blonde hair? We’re perplexed by their inability to do this time and again. That isn’t the only issue with this figure. Luke Skywalker’s helmet is an utter and complete debacle. We’re actually embarrassed for them that they released the removable helmet in the manner that they did. We get it. We really do. This is a budget line. Fine. But at least paint the figures with some dignity and respect. Even the figures we DO like in this range suffer from this chronic issue. it’s getting old and frankly we’re tired of receiving figures that look terrible because of horrid paint operations when, regardless of the amount of articulation, they have pretty decent sculpts. The same is true for Luke Skywalker. We’re actually quite impressed with his sculpt. Actually, if you compare this figure side by side with the significantly updated 2006 and more recent iterations you’ll find that the 2015 Rebels Saga Legends version is worlds ahead with realism and accuracy. Specifically, the silly accentuated rounded ball-joints in the shoulders that the 2006 VTSC Luke Skywalker: X-wing Pilot figure had are no longer here. The figure looks infinitely better because of this. The head sculpt is actually very good too. It’s the color of his hair that enraging us. His helmet fits like a glove and also has a wonderful design. It just needs accurate paint. (What a shame!) Oh, and now the Rebels Saga Legends line is produced on multi-lingual card backs and the bio has been completely removed. Isn't that a staple for a Star Wars figure?

Interestingly, Luke Skywalker (SL22) is close in spirit to 2001’s POTJ Luke Skywalker (X-wing Pilot) than any other release. The reason is both figures were only packaged with a removable helmet. These figures didn’t come with blaster pistols or lightsabers (or separately sculpted flight straps for that matter). Even the thinness of the bodies favor each other very, very much. Their similarities are uncanny actually. Although Luke has paint operation issues left and right, we have to admit that we’re please with the orange color used for the uniform. it’s bright and reminiscent of the 1979 vintage Kenner figure. Luke Skywalker can sit in the cockpit of the larger scaled X-wing fighters (see our gallery for the proof). He can also hold his helmet in his left hand without issue. We found that he is unable to hold it in his right hand, but with a little patience you can tuck the helmet under his arm for alternate display purposes. (Editor’s Note: If you love number trivia like we do, this is actually the second Luke Skywalker (SL22) figure that Hasbro produced (as an X-wing pilot). The figures are seven years apart from each other however. Hasbro took the Luke Skywalker figure from 2008’s TAC Luke Skywalker/R2-D2 (6 of 6) Droid Factory Walmart exclusive and packed him as 2009’s TLC Luke Skywalker (SL22) which was the turning point (in a bad way) for the Saga Legends sub-line. This line became “repack hell” one year after another until it was canceled in 2011.) Obviously it would be erroneous to not call out this figure’s faults. It has potential, but until Hasbro gets the deco under wraps, collectors are probably going to remain disappointed. (And we’re talking about the collectors who like the 5POA lines.)