The first part of this review is copied from the deluxe Luke Skywalker and Grogu review.  Commentary specific to this single carded release follows.

Luke Skywalker and Grogu Review:  Bret - 10/16/2023

t was a lot of fun and a bit emotional to see a young Jedi Luke Skywalker making appearances in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.  The first appearance was a surprise in the second season finale, and it was a joy to watch Luke annihilate a platoon of Dark Troopers in an almost effortless manner, displaying a fighting prowess we’d never seen before, and then finishing with a bittersweet moment when he took Grogu away from Din Djarin to be trained as Jedi.  The second was more of a fulfillment of what so many long time fans wanted to see - Luke building his Jedi Academy and spending quality time training Grogu.  Reading a bit online it seems there’s a bit of a debate as to who was Luke’s first student.  It was widely believed that Ben Solo was his first student, but technically it was probably Leia (as depicted in The Rise of Skywalker flashback).  It would now seem that Grogu was probably his second student, but first at the academy - even though it wasn’t really built yet.

I was rewatching the relevant TBOBF episode in order to get some inspiration for the diorama shots in this gallery. It wasn’t until after I took all the images that I realized Luke changes outfits during the time he trains Grogu.  At first, we see Luke with Grogu on a hilltop where they’re playing around with they cyclops frogs.  Luke appears to be wearing his basic Jedi outfit, which just seems to be an all black version of the traditional Republic-era Jedi garb.  Later in the episode, Luke takes a hike through the bamboo forests with Grogu in the backpack.  At this point, Luke changed into a different getup, perhaps a bit more casual and robe-like.  He dropped the belt with the silver buckle, and the leather boots replaced by something softer.  It is this outfit that is the inspiration for the figure. Later, in the stone building where Grogu must make his life choice, Luke appears to have gone back to his previous outfit.  All that is to say, that while the figure comes with many accessories, it is technically only accurate to the part where he was using the backpack to carry Grogu.

The figure is a kit bash, with some newness.  The arms and bare left hand are reused from VC264 Luke Skywalker (Imperial Light Cruiser), as is the head.  I don’t recognize the torso, which I assume is new, as is the belt.  The legs may be re-used, but I believe they are at least somewhat new.  Someone can correct me in the comments if necessary.  The soft goods lower tunic, a design choice made for all three recent Luke figures from the ROTJ and ROTJ-adjace time frame.  While the headsculpt isn’t new, I feel it has received the best paint/photoreal application of the three Luke Jedi figures.  The articulation is excellent, with the elbows and knees bending past 90 degrees, and the hips being the newest variety.  While Luke was among the least dynamic Jedi we’ve ever seen on screen, the articulation makes this particular iteration the most poseable of any Luke figure we’ve ever had.

VC298 Luke Skywalker (Jedi Academy) Review:  Chris - 11/16/2023

I can’t figure out Hasbro’s game plan with some of these deluxe figures.  For several releases now, Hasbro has released a figure in a more compelling and more desirable deluxe set either just before or just after that same figure is made available as a single carded release with less accessories.  Hasbro is cannibalizing their own market.  One release or the other is eating up the majority of the market demand.  I’m really not sure what the thinking is here.  The only thing I am sure of is that this will be the first Luke Skywalker figure to peg warm in a long, lone time.  The deluxe release is a Target exclusive, and it’s already glutting their stores.  Target + exclusive + plentiful stock = the clearance vultures are circling.

As Bret indicated in his review, this Jedi Academy Luke is designed to recreate just one scene, and that’s when he’s running through the bamboo reeds with Grogu on his back.  Absent of the backpack and Grogu, this release offers questionable value.  I can only see this appealing to carded collectors, and well, that’s me.  And I absolutely love this as a carded piece.  For my money, Hasbro chose the perfect film out.  Seeing Luke Skywalker donning black Jedi garb instantly stirs something in anyone who remembers the vintage Kenner Luke Jedi figure.  The card image also shows a backpack occupied by a Yoda’s species character making it the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of visuals.  It melds the good vibes from Episodes V and VI.  This figure immediately went up on my wall display:

Bret gave the original release a 9 out of 10 in part due to the accessories.  Since those accessories are now absent, I’m deducting a point to an 8 out of 10.