Star Wars Black Series One - Luke Skywalker

Finally, after all of these years, dating back to the Kenner Star Wars figures of the late 1970s , Star Wars action figures have made it to the 6" scale thanks to Hasbro. And Luke Skywalker happens to be the first figure in the new Star Wars Black series. These figures are hard to find in regular stores like Wal-Mart or Target. You may have to visit a local comic book store, which is where I purchased this version of Luke. I am pleased with everything except the price. The $ 24.99 price tag is a little steep, but the purchase is well worth the money spent. Even the packaging is worth keeping, all you have to do to open the figure from it is to cut the tape at the top of the box and pull upwards. Unlike other toylines these figures can be opened without damaging the box.

As you can see the packaging even makes notation of the figure that was purchased. I think this is a neat feature for those collectors that like to keep their action figures MIB ( Mint In Box ) . 

I was also a little surprised that this version of Luke Skywalker, the X-Wing pilot version was chosen over Luke in his original outfit. The figure is very well articulated, and looks just like Mark Hamill, the actor that played this character in the early Star Wars films. It is nicely detailed, it even has a mole near his right nostril.

Even though this series is classified as 6" scale, Luke falls a tad short of 6 inches as you can see in the above pic. However, do not be disappointed by this, I was not. And the reason why is because even though the line is in 6 inch scale, does not mean that Luke has to be six inches. Since the actor/ character was of shorter stature than most others in the films, it would be wise for a Luke Skywalker figure to be this height, otherwise he and say someone like Han Solo or even Darth Vader himself would end up being the same height as Luke. I love how Hasbro is staying true to character / actor height. Similar to Marvel Legends and the WWE Mattel figures staying true to the height of characters even if it means going just a little off scale.

As for accessories, Luke comes with three. His famous blue light saber, a pistol and his X-Wing fighter helmet. I guess you could say the recording looking device on his chest could be an accessory, but it is attached to him and is not removable. The cord is bendable and so are the leg straps. 

Of the three accessories, the Light Saber and the helmet are my favorites. I wish the light saber could glow in the dark, however you can add a glowing effect to it by placing it near a well lit lamp. The handle is very detailed and has what looks like buttons on it that can be pressed to turn the saber on or off. 

As for the helmet, I love the goggles being made out of a clear see through hard plastic. No moving parts however the chinstrap and goggles does the helmet justice. 

For you customizers out there, there is a clear plastic piece that covers the helmet when you remove Luke from the package. I've decided to take a picture of it just in case some of you may want to use the piece for customizing when you purchase this Luke figure.

The pistol is very well detailed and it may fit better in Luke's right hand than his left, because his right hand has what looks like a trigger finger. I on the other hand prefer to have his sword in his right and the pistol in the left hand. It just looks better this way to me. 

In the following pics, Luke is compared in scale to a couple of 3 inch Star Wars figures and the final pic compares him with other 6" scaled figures from other lines. 

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - Excellent articulation. The joints are very tight. At first I was nervous about moving his head up and down, worrying about maybe breaking something. I finally gave it a go and everything moves well, despite the tightness and stiffness of the joints.

(2) STANDABILITY - Luke stands really well with no balance issues. However the bottom of his boots have holes in them, for those of you that may want to put him on figure stands from other lines.

(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT THIS LUKE SKYWALKER FIGURE? Hard to say, because there are a lot of features to like. The sculpt, the articulation, the details in the face, the gear on his uniform, the accessories. 

(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT THIS LUKE SKYWALKER FIGURE ? Nothing. I could not find anything to dislike about this figure. 

(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO MAKE THIS FIGURE BETTER ? A glow in the dark light saber would have been nice to have, and still would be. 

(6) GRADING SCALE - On a scale of 1-10, not only does Luke get a 10 but everything he comes with does. The accessories, the packaging , etc . 

(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Overall I am pleased with Luke SkyWalker. He is an excellent action figure with cool accessories. I am also glad that Star Wars action figures have finally come to the six inch scale. Now we can finally pose Luke Skywalker next to other super hero icons such as Spider-Man, Bat-Man and SuperMan. The packaging is so well done that collectors can neatly put the figure plus all of the accessories back in the package and make it look as if it never was opened. This comes in handy just in case someone opens their figure but later changes their mind deciding to have the figure MIB .