Stormtrooper Disguise Luke:  Another Figure I’d Buy Again With Tweaks

The 1985 Luke Skywalker (Imperial Stormtrooper Disguise) is my favorite vintage Kenner figure for many reasons. First, it's a figure of my favorite pop culture character of all time and for eternity. Anyone who came before or since is a pretender to the throne. Second, it set an incredible precedent in the Kenner line. It was the first time that inthey went back to a previous movie. Once the Kenner line flipped episodes, new characters from the previous episode were not touched. A possible exception is the TIE Fighter Pilot, but they technically appear in The Empire Strikes Back (in cockpit). It makes sense that since Kenner transitioned to a non-episodic line look in 1985, all three episodes at the time were up for consideration.

Luke Skywalker (Imperial Stormtrooper Disguise) getting tapped by Kenner meant that figures like Grand Moff Tarkin, Garindan, and Dr. Evazan were now possibilities. Sadly, the line ended almost as soon as it started, but a Grand Moff Tarkin figure was planned for 1986 if the line had lasted. In the storytelling of the line continuation universe, it would have been a post-Jedi Tarkin who narrowly escaped the destruction of the first Death Star, but it still would have been an A New Hope likeness. You can read about it HERE. As a side note, if Hasbro ever releases an updated Grand Moff Tarkin, it would be an incredible wink to the history of the line to place it on a POTF card.

Back to the Stormtrooper Luke, as mentioned, it's my favorite vintage Kenner figure for what it represents. Just seeing the POTF card stirs something in me. It never gets old. Sadly, price aside, owning a sample that would meet my standards is impossible. There is a 100% occurrence of yellowing bubbles on POTF cards. Near mint samples do exist, but the bubble is always "nicotine stained", which partially obscures the film out. I find a color breaking crease less distracting than a yellowed bubble. In my opinion, there is simply nothing more to distracting from the presentation of a carded sample than the damned discolored bubble. Second would be the fake distressing on the Retro Collection cards. Yuck.

So owning the real thing is an impossibility, but Hasbro could provide a consolation prize. As mentioned above, the Retro Collection cards don't do it for me, but Vintage Collection cards do. Hasbro should do something to honor the 40th anniversary of POTF next year. If they do, I personally don't expect them to do so with newly tooled figures. Any celebration of the classic line look would probably be done similar to 2022's Droids figures and last year's Ewoks figures. Existing tooling would have to be leveraged. If Hasbro could upgrade Luke Stormtrooper to the VC231 - Stormtrooper sculpt, and place it on a reproduction POTF card with a coin, I'd buy a case of them. Maybe they could also ditch the Kenner yellow hair while they're at it.

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