Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with our second look at TVC…

Original Review:  Chris - 11/21/10 04:59 PM

I’m in love and I want to shout it from a mountain, but I don’t have a mountain.  All I have is this photo archive entry.  The only negative I can come up with on this figure is that the ball jointed left wrists makes it look like the figure suffered a nasty break.  Other than that, this is the end all be all Death Star 2 Luke.  The head sculpt likeness has been a matter of debate, but I think it’s great.  This figure was executed with great collector conscientiousness.  A ball jointed torso would have added to the posablilty of the figure, but probably would have created the barrel torso effect we’ve seen on recent Han Solo figures.  Despite the limitations, this figure comes with a swivel torso, but maintain the near flawless aesthetics.  10 out of 10.

Updated Review: Chris - 5/22/18 07:05 AM

We were much happier idiots in the eighties.  We were given two Luke figures to represent the entirety of Return of the Jedi and we were happy.  Then we got older and angrier and demanded our toys not be so much toys.  We wanted all of Luke’s nuanced wardrobe changes to be faithfully reproduced.  Luke progressively loses clothing during the course of Episode VI.  If it weren’t for a brief reversal in this trend on Endor where he dons a poncho, he might have been in his birthday suit by the film’s climax.  As it stands, by that point Luke had shed all the superfluous layers and was down to a very simple ensemble consisting of a black shirt, black pants, boots, belt and a single glove.  This would become dubbed the “Death Star II” outfit and despite being the simplest representation of an Episode VI Luke, Hasbro had a long and winding road on the way to this definitive version. 

But that is exactly what was delivered here.  This is the definitive Death Star II Luke Skywalker.  Sure, in today’s landscape, less obvious wrist joints would be employed, but that’s not enough justification for going back to the drawing board.  This figure is otherwise perfect.  The ball jointed hips seamlessly tuck back into the figure’s pelvis for completely neutral poses.  This is something that is not always seen with this type of articulation.  The elbows have tremendous range of motion which allows for all manner of dueling poses especially when combined with the ball jointed wrists.  Eight years has not dimmed my appreciation for this figure at all.  It still holds a place in my personal hall of fame. 

As stated, there is no reason to revisit this figure for improvements.  Additionally, the figure was in constant circulation for the first two years of the Vintage Collection as evidenced by the four major card variations (among others).  The figure also underwent an early retool to add a saber hilt peg hole to the belt (as well as adding a peg to the hilt itself).  This exact figure does not need to be addressed again, but a slight retool is warranted.  A “Death Star Escape” version showing the gray flap of the shirt folded over would compel me to another purchase. 

Updated Review (For PhotoReal release): Bret - 6/11/19 07:05 AM

The first figure we reviewed in the PhotoReal re-release wave was Han Solo (Echo Base).  It may have been the weakest of the 4, not necessarily because of application of the new face paint tech (it was good, although the original face was already pretty good in its own right), but because of the dubious choice of figures.  The Echo Base Han had only a few seconds of screen time, so collector interest in re-purchasing may be limited.  A better choice for a Han Solo PhotoReal upgrade was probably the Bespin figure, which was pretty close to definitive, and due to heavy screen time, would probably be of more interest for collectors that already owned the original release.

In this Luke Skywalker figure, we have one of the best choices for the character.  Not only was it an iconic outfit with plenty of screen time during the climactic scene of the OT, but also in that this particular original release was darn near close to definitive, and even had something approaching the appropriate implementation of JLA (Jedi Level Articulation).  Chris gave that figure a perfect 10 at the time of issue, and then doubled down on the score during our TVC retrospective last year.  I personally feel that a score of 9 would be more appropriate.  It’s an amazing figure, especially for the time, but there were a couple of flaws that could be corrected today.  The ball jointed hips are not as awesome as those that are used today, and could give the figure even more range of motion.  The hands, while including the rare-for-the-day ball jointed wrists, are sculpted with a bulkiness (to accommodate said articulation) that makes them unforgiving in holding the lightsaber hilt.  We also know today, with images of soon-to-be-arriving Luke Skywalker (Crait), that the belt peg hole / hilt peg combo might be surpassed by the superior belt hook / hilt loop combo.  But mostly, I have an issue with the face sculpt.  I don’t think it does Mark Hamill any justice.

But even with that wishlist, the opportunity to once again purchase a great core character with a vastly improved face (if it could be pulled off successfully) would likely be welcomed by collectors.  So did PhotoReal succeed?  I believe, sadly, it did not.  Since I felt that the original Han Solo already had a very good face, the PhotoReal addition arguably made little to no improvement.  In this case, I feel that the figure’s face is definitely “better” in the sense that the paint application is more precise and life-like.  HOWEVER, it still doesn’t look much like Mark Hamill to me.  I feel that nine times out of ten, a figure’s face can be made or broken by the paint.  The sculpt is usually quite good, and often times early hand-painted prototypes shown at conventions look amazing.  But the final product can be ruined by a poor paint job at the factory.  If you agree that neither version of Luke looks like Mark Hamill, then I can only assume that the underlying sculpt just wasn’t good enough.  The face just looks a little too round and/or feminine to me, so even PhotoReal couldn’t really save it.

If you needed another Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight from the Death Star scene, then I must be clear that this really is an outstanding figure, flaws and all.  Adding this to your collection is certainly warranted.  But given the issues mentioned, I think that even this outstanding figure could be measurably more amazing with today’s articulation tech, a new head sculpt, a better hilt/hook system, and of course, perhaps most importantly, THE CHEST FLAP DOWN VARIATION!  So if this Luke figure were retooled as described, adding a second chest tooling could potentially double the sales for collectors.

About the cardback:  Just like Han, Hasbro decided to change the name of the figure, dropping “Capture” from the subtitle, leaving only Luke Skywalker (Endor) on the name pill.  And, just like Han again, the bubble tray has been slightly enlarged and the figure and accessory layout has changed.

It was a good choice by Hasbro, but the face sculpt didn’t do the character justice, and PhotoReal couldn’t help it.  I’d like to lower the score to a 9 and our definitive status to “Close”, but Chris might take me out for that nice seafood dinner, and never call me again.