Star Wars The Black Series Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker review

Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker is probably going to be my 1A favorite figure from the Black Series Return of the Jedi collection. My 1B might be Luke in his Jabba’s Palace arrival gear. I’m a big Luke guy and I’ve been anticipating this figure since it was first revealed.

This is Luke as he’s ready to make the sacrifice play to ensure Darth Vader and The Emperor do not defeat the Rebellion. No matter the cost. Let’s skip the rest of the hype. I’ve got Vader. I’ve got The Emperor. Let’s see if Jedi Knight Luke is ready to strike them down and be the king of my ROTJ display.

Packaging: I’m not as geeked about most of the Retro packaging, but it always looks classy and cool with the Black Series. That’s due to the movie art that’s prominently framed next to the figure. The choice of photos is weird though as this is from Luke’s peaceful negotiation with Jabba the Hut coming to an end.

Kenner used this image for its original Jedi Luke figure, but that was accurate to that scene in the film and also included a blaster and Luke’s Jedi cloak. It’s weird that Hasbro couldn’t just use a photo from Luke’s final showdown with Vader.

Early renders had the shirt flap up piece to Luke’s right in the package. It is still there, just behind Luke instead. The card back material is thicker than the G.I. Joe Retro line and should stand up to sensible movement.

On the back of the package we get the cross sell of the other figures comprising this wave of ROTJ figures. That’s a nice touch, but in this case I’d rather Hasbro crank out one of its great bios.

Likeness: Hasbro has already done several ROTJ Luke figures. My lone one was the Endor Poncho figure. That was a welcome variant attire from a very scene specific moment in the film. With the helmet on, the likeness to Luke was great. Since the poncho was cloth, Hasbro made it a 2 in 1 so you could have that figure stand in for Jedi Knight Luke.

I assumed Hasbro was just going to reuse that mold with a few tweaks namely adding the missing belt. Hasbro surprised me by seemingly crafting an entirely new sculpt. Maybe the hands are reused, but the width of the sleeves and pants are wider than the Poncho Luke. That was a nice bonus.

The head sculpt is solid with a reasonably strong likeness to Mark Hammil. The nose on this sculpt is just a bit too broad. That’s the main thing holding it back from being a perfect likeness, but it’s getting better.

Luke’s collar piece is nice and there’s just the right amount of bagginess with his attire so it’s not form fitting. Missing from the Poncho Luke was the belt, which is very well executed with the pouches, big silver buckle and the lightsaber loop.

Paint: Jedi Knight Luke doesn’t need too fancy a paintjob. The silver belt buckle is the most distinguishable aspect of the outfit. The fallen flap of the shirt has a nice off-white color that looks like interior lining that’s strong enough to avoid any bleed through.

Luke doesn’t require the most intricate paintjob since he’s in all black. Hasbro did add a glossy coat to the boots so they stand out from the rest of the outfit. The face printing technique ensures that the paintwork is sharper than the traditional technique.

Scale:  Luke is the shortest of Original Trilogy dudes. At this point in the film the only person his scale matters is Darth Vader (and eventually Han, Leia and the others). His scale to Vader is excellent making Vader look even more powerful and intimidating in comparison to his son.

Articulation:  Luke still lacks the bicep swivel that would add another level to his articulation, but the range in the shoulders really allows for some great movement to the point its absence isn’t pronounced as it is for other figures. I do wish he had a little more give with the shoulders for a more effective overhead saber slash though.

This was easily one of the figures I had the most fun shooting this year.

Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• hips
• thighs
• knees (double jointed)
• ankles

Accessories: Endor Poncho Luke had a nice two in one functionality, but it was somewhat of a compromised Final Battle Luke.

That’s not the case here as Hasbro accounted for the two essential looks for Final Battle Luke

Of course, Luke comes with his green lightsaber. There’s a slight tweak from the Poncho Luke as that hilt lacked the screen accurate gold paint covering the full mid-stem section. It’s a minor detail, but one that’s nice to see Hasbro go back and address with this updated release.

Luke also has the alternate shirt piece with the flap up. I really dig that we can have both versions of Jedi Knight Luke without needing to buy another figure. Yes, I’m still on the hook for Jabba’s Palace look so I appreciate my shelf being spared another Luke.

Worth it?  I got Luke for $20 thanks to my GameStop reward points. I didn’t have any problem paying that old school price for this guy at all.

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Fully owning up to my Luke Skywalker bias here. This is a great version of Luke’s pivotal look from the final battle with Darth Vader and a terrific figure.

Where to get it?  I grabbed Luke from GameStop and that’s been the only retail spot I’ve seen him so he’s clearly the popular one of the wave.  Amazon is currently sold out, but Entertainment Earth has him up for pre-order.