2020 Bespin Luke Skywalker - Retro Collection

In 2019, Hasbro shocked the Star Wars community with the announcement of 6 Kenner styled figure releases.  These figures looked like the vintage Kenner designs and had matching cardbacks.  They were a Target exclusive for retail sales that were marketed around Father's Day.  But, were also available to online dealers later in the year.  Initially, collectors were skeptical about them.  All of the tired arguments about having them "devaluing" vintage figures were thrown around.  But, when they were actually released, the retail stores sold out of them quickly and collectors generally loved them.  (Sure, there were gripes about the Retro sticker and the "weathering" of the cardbacks.)  Hasbro decided to follow up that success with 6 additional "Empire Strikes Back" themed figures for 2020.  This time, they are a Wal Mart exclusive.  With a bit of luck, I found the end cap containing the figures.  And, for the first time in 40 years, I acquired a Bespin Luke Skywalker figure.

I've told stories of my grandparents and their spoiling me before.  Of course, my memories of this figure also begin with them in the summer of 1980.  I spent a week or two at their home that year.  And, like always, my grandmother spoiled me rotten with daily trips to the various retail stores in Dayton, Ohio.  During these trips, I found many figures.  Lando stands out to me as I remember opening him beside the bed in my grandparent's room.  I found the Snow Trooper at a Best Store, too.  I'm not sure, though, when I found the Bespin Luke Skywalker.  It may have been with my grandparents.  Or, it may not have been.  My first remaining memory of the figure, though, pertains to another piece of my youth, the next door neighbors who lived by us at the time.

Growing up, our next door neighbors and my family were close.  They had two girls who were both older than I was.  One was three or four years my senior while the other was about 18 months older.  Growing up, we were inseparable.  Each morning, we'd meet up outside and play in one of our yards.  By the time G.I. Joe came out, though, the age difference was starting to show and I have no association of Joe to them other than the day they were playing their new "Purple Rain" album in the front yard when I was stuck inside, sick, with my new Zartan figure.  But, I have two, specific, memories of them with Star Wars figures, and the Luke Bespin figure is involved in both.

The first was in the summer of 1980, when I first owned this figure.  As he was my favorite, I tended to take him everywhere.  I was playing outside with him when the girls came out to ride bikes.  I decided to ride one of their bikes down the sidewalk.  The bike had a basket on the front.  So, I put my complete Luke into it, thinking it safe while I rode.  But, somehow, Luke's saber managed to slide under one of the weaves in the basket.  When I stopped riding, it was gone!  We all walked up and down the sidewalk until we found it.  Relieved that it was once again in my possession, I checked the basket to see how it managed to fit under one of the tight weaves.  There were just a few places where it did.  So, it was an incredible stroke of bad luck for the saber to fall out.  Fortunately, being rather young, I was only allowed to ride my bike a short distance.  So, there wasn't too much sidewalk to search to find the missing weapon.

The second memory occurred at least one year later.  By then, my Luke's lightsaber was long lost.  But, one afternoon, the girls came back from an outing with their parents.  They had each purchased one new Star Wars figure.  This was odd as they had never bought a figure before.  But, they had each chosen one for a present.  One of the figures was the Luke Bespin.  We went out to the sandbox in their backyard and built a huge tunnel system to use with the figures.  I was insanely jealous of their lightsaber as it was my most wanted accessory.  Within a couple of days, though, their interest in the figures faded away.  I asked if I could have their lightsaber.  But, they had lost theirs, too.  They said it might be in the sandbox.  I went out and dug through it a bit, but with no luck.  Over the next few days, I'd hop our back fence and sneak into their yard to dig in the sandbox a bit more.  I never found the saber and the yellow weapon with this 2020 figure is the first lightsaber of that color I've owned in almost 40 years.

I skipped over the first wave of Retro figures.  I thought they were neat.  But, none of the original figures really sparked that nostalgic flow.  While I had all of them growing up, I didn't feel the need to track the figures down.  I figured I might buy them if I saw them.  But, I never saw them.  With this second wave, though, more nostalgia did hit.  Originally, I wanted Boba Fett because...well...Boba Fett and Lando as I associated him with my grandmother.  Seeing this Bespin Luke, though, brought back the memories of my old neighbors.  We were inseparable for years.  But, as we got older, the age difference began to drift us apart.  Before that really asserted itself, though, they moved away in the summer of 1985.  Their parents would show up at our house from time to time when they were in town on business.  But, I only saw my friends once more in the summer of 1989.  There's a picture of that meeting somewhere in my mother's house.  The story doesn't have a happy ending as both girls ultimately found drugs, poverty, homelessness and even prison.  But, the memories of playing as kids is something I haven't often revisited.  This figure has brought back a rush of childhood events that I hadn't had occasion to remember in quite a while.

One of the reasons I wanted to talk about these Star Wars Retro Collection figures was because we've all seen the Wal Mart listings for a "Retro" series of G.I. Joe figures coming later this year.  We don't know if they will be full on reproductions of vintage Joes.  Or, if they'll be anniversary style figures in retro like packaging.  Either way, a large segment of the Joe world will be disappointed.  We know the price point on those is $13...which is more in line with a more modern figure style in vintage packaging like the Star Wars Vintage Collection.  However, vintage Joes would require 18 individual pieces as well as metal rivets and an o-ring to produce a figure.  The labor to construct it would be higher than a 5 points of articulation vintage Star Wars figure.  So, the price point really doesn't give us any clues.  At some level, I'm hopeful for vintage Joes.  But, Hasbro slammed the door shut pretty hard on classic Joe figures in the early 2010's.  Sure, things change.  But, I'd also like the figures to be anniversary style so I don't have to bother with them.  Regardless of which figure style they are, though, I hope that things like the Retro sticker and faux shelf wear are avoided since they are detrimental to the overall visual experience of the product.

As a kid, vintage Star Wars figures were amazing.  Kenner improved their sculpting as the years went on.  And, at the time of his release, this Luke Bespin was about the most amazing action figure you could get.  Gone were the crappy telescoping lightsabers.  This Luke had a saber that could be shared with others and it did not render his right hand unable to hold a blaster.  But, looking back at this figure now, it's a pretty sorry toy.  Star Wars figures were fun because we had nothing better.  G.I. Joe came along and it was better.  In 1983, it was a LOT better.  And, with the advent of Joe, I had no need for Star Wars toys.  One of the great legacies of the Joe line is the trove of knockoffs it inspired.  But, the overall quality of the G.I. Joe line in terms of construction, posability, accessories and vehicles simply overwhelmed all comers...Star Wars included.  One of the reasons that I've never really gone back to the vintage Star Wars line is because they were rendered obsolete by G.I. Joe.  What nostalgia I had for them was appeased in the 1995 and later Star Wars line that offered far better sculpting and, ultimately, super articulation.  This Bespin Luke is antiquated at best.  Seeing him now, I associate this figure with the crappy toys from the 1950's that my Dad would show me from time to time.  I couldn't understand how kids found those appealing.  Action figures have moved so far ahead of original figures that they are now that dated.  I guess that's good.  But, it was a stark revelation to me when I brought this guy home.

These Retro figures will be an interesting collectible as time goes on.  If Hasbro were to continue releasing 6 figures per year, they could milk a decade and a half just remaking the classic Kenner line.  But, I doubt that will happen.  At some point, the line will suffer from a lack of major characters and the vintage nostalgia train will run out.  We don't really know how many of these were made.  Wal Mart's initial stocking was a pre-packaged end cap with 4 to 6 sets of figures included.  There are over 5,000 Wal Mart stores in the US.  So, that's 20,000 - 30,000 of each figure just assuming every Wal Mart gets one end cap.  (They won't, though.)  Target never restocked their 2019 offerings after Father's Day of that year.  But, online vendors did get stock and additional figures showed up in Europe in 2020.  Wal Mart's online orders haven't shipped yet, either.  So, it's likely we'll see these again in some form...whether additional Wal Mart stockings on standard retail shelves, online or as part of some other release in the future.

In the pandemic where few people are shopping, my local Wal Mart sold out of these in less than 2 days.  (And, it's a Wal Mart where collectibles often hang around for a while.)  So, there's huge demand for these figures. For me, key releases will be must buys...provided I don't have to jump through hoops to get them.  I'd love a Luke Jedi or even an Amanaman.  But, I'm past my days of having great in interest in vintage Star Wars figures.  Figures like this Luke Bespin that have associated memories are great.  (I'd probably have tracked down an Obi Wan Kenobi had it been part of Wave 1 for this reason.)  But, vintage Star Wars figures are still easy to find.  Even carded figures collect dust at every collectible shop in town.  But, few mint and complete figures can be had with a cardback for $10.  So, the Retro figures maintain that appeal.  For me, this is a fun product that hearkens back to childhood and the time of the original releases.  So, it's worth it.  Within a few weeks, we'll know more about the retro G.I. Joes and will see if they spark the fire.

Luke Skywalker - Yavin Ceremony (2007)

As a young child growing up in the original Star Wars era, I found the toys of Luke Skywalker problematic.  The only Luke that was available for the first two years of my young playing days was the Tatooine Luke with the sculpted lightsaber on his right arm.  For the instances where Luke needed a sabre, this was perfect.  But, for me, Luke having a blaster made far more sense.  It was not until 1980 and the Empire Strikes Back that I was able to get a Luke who included both a blaster he could hold and a separate lightsaber.  With this figure in hand, Luke and Han embarked on epic adventures.

As I got older, the fact that a lot of time passed between Star Wars and Empire became more obvious to me.  During this undocumented time, Han, Luke and Leia must have had spectacular adventures as they evaded the Empire.  The Luke of this era would not have really been aware of his Jedi powers and would have been closer to the character he would have become had he left Yavin IV with Han rather than blowing up the Death Star.  That era, though, was not really explored if you didn't read EU books (which I did not).  But, it seemed a time that was full of great stories that showed Luke's growth from the kid on the trench run to a full flight commander just a couple of years later.

I watched the Star Wars Holiday Special when it aired on TV.  I remember as my parents knew it was on and we had to hurriedly leave the Glendale Mall in Indianapolis to make it home in time to see the show.  While I have distinct memories of seeing Han and Chewie in person, I don't recall seeing the cartoon.  It could be that we got home too late to see that part and missed it.  Or, I simply forgot about it because of seeing the real characters on the screen.  When I found the cartoon in the late 1990's, it was the first appearance of Boba Fett that initially got my attention.  But, Luke's look was also interesting.  It was obviously based on Luke's appearance at the end of A New Hope and put him on par with Han as a swashbuckling adventurer rather than the Jedi he would later become.

When Star Wars returned to retail in 1995, the Ceremonial Luke was one of my most desired new figures.  When he was finally released in 1997, I had to get him.  And, Hasbro's first attempt at the character was one of their better efforts of that time and the first Star Wars figure to appear on this site back in 2000.  In the POTFII era, that Ceremonial Luke was a highlight and remains one of the few figures I have left from that time.  This new version from a decade later, though, showcases all of the advances that Hasbro made during that interval.  The sculpting is better, the figure is more in scale and the accessories and articulation are simply spectacular.

After I saw Rogue One on its release night, I was stoked about Star Wars.  I started buying figures again.  I scoured online sites and started getting up to speed on many of the items I'd missed over the years when I was focused 100% on Joe.  But, when I was gearing this profile up for publication, I realized that it's been a really long time since I've looked at a Star Wars figure.  It's been about that long since I bought one at retail.  I haven't bought any of the new vintage collection figures because I haven't been able to actually find any of the characters that interest me.  Now, I get lambasted for this by "serious" Star Wars collectors who only order online from places that guarantee condition, etc.  But, my interest in Star Wars is relative to the ease with which I can collect it.  Buying cases online takes the fun out of it.  And, searching to NEVER find anything is equally appalling.  So, I've spent no money on Star Wars for nearly two years.

The truth is, Hasbro couldn't care less.  One collector spending $200 per year is irrelevant to them.  The big thing, though, is that I have three boys who are of the age when action figures should be drawing them into a property.  They have no interest in Star Wars toys, either.  Losing a generation should concern both Hasbro and Disney.  Though, if Hasbro gives up the Star Wars license (I'll believe it when I see it, though.), they have no reason to care about the future.  The point for me, though, is that the joy of collecting is gone from Star Wars.  It's an adult oriented, go through the motions hobby with a few joyous clearance finds.  That's a far cry from my burgeoning adult collector days in the late 1990's when Star Wars ruled retail. 

So, in looking back at this figure, I recall a more fun time of Star Wars collecting.  The prequels were over and collectors were settling into an era of no new media, but overwhelming retail support for the Star Wars property.  Every month, it seemed, new waves of figures were being released.  And due to the strong sales, it wasn't really hard to find anything.  It was fun because collecting wasn't hard.  You could get the toys you wanted in the quantities you wanted.  But, all things must end.  And, I find myself, once again, at the end of the line for my Star Wars enthusiasm.  It's possible my oldest boy will take up the mantle.  But, his interest in Star Wars is less toy driven.  So, he may love the property, but never actually play with any action figures.  Again, it's something very different from what I'm used to.  But, that's OK and I'm at a point where if Star Wars figure collecting becomes a relic of my past, I'm OK with that, too.

Like many of Luke's 30th Anniversary brethren, this figure is now worthless.  You can still get carded figures for about what you'd have paid at retail in 2007.  In lots or with patience, you can get them for even less.  To the best of my knowledge, Luke in this outfit has never been released on a vintage cardback.  (Though, one is coming soon if it's not out already.)  I'd actually buy that.  But, this figure is good enough for me.  It's not perfect.  But, few Star Wars figures actually are and Hasbro continues to improve certain characters and figures in increments that leaves you with you many close but not quite perfect releases of the same character.

1983 Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight

There is one reason I collect vintage G.I. Joe figures today.  That is the vintage Star Wars line.  In 1978, I was four years old.  My spotty memories of toys from that time are mostly of die cast cars, fire trucks and little plastic firefighters.  The toys were not overly memorable, not overly forgettable.  In the spring of 1978, my youngest brother was born.  He was born with a heart defect that left him hospitalized for months.  During this time, my younger brother and I were shuffled between Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles and family friends.  One rare moment, my father was home on a Saturday.  He took me to the local Children's Palace toy store and let me pick out anything I wanted.  I don't know what drew me to the Star Wars figures.  I was not familiar with the story or franchise.  But, the packaging and figure size drew me in.  I purchased a C-3PO figure.  By Christmas of that year, I had completed the original 12 figures and was ecstatic when the second wave of figures showed up at the local Ed Shrock's Toys at the Glendale mall.  For the next five years, Star Wars toys would dominate my childhood.

In late 1982, though, that changed.  My younger brother got a slew of new G.I. Joe toys for his birthday.  With little on the Star Wars horizon, I became captivated by these new action figures.  As the calendar moved into 1983, my interest in Joe trumped anything Star Wars.  But, as the summer drew near, buzz started building around Return of the Jedi.  My brother's friend around the block found a Biker Scout at the local Children's Palace.  This cardback opened up huge new possibilities and excitement over the new movie.  Shortly before the film's release, Time Magazine published a full spread and article on the movie and whetted my appetite even further.  I saw the film upon it's release and was immediately back into Star Wars full time.

My youngest brother's plight intervened again, though.  He had additional surgeries scheduled for the summer of 1983.  With school out, I was sent off my Grandparent's house in Dayton, Ohio for a few weeks.  My younger brother would then join me for a week before we went to an Aunt and Uncle's home for the final weeks before my youngest brother could return home.  In 1983, my Grandfather was retired.  He and my Grandmother had a few friends in their neighborhood and would play cards or visit with them most days.  But, this left them copious amounts of free time.  Combining this with my Grandmother's innate need to spoil me rotten, they made it a point to take me out shopping every single day.  At the time, I had few of the new Return of the Jedi figures.  So, they took me on a quest to complete my collection.  Each day, we'd hit a different store, look over their stock and buy me one new figure to add to my collection.  Sometimes, the choice between many figures was difficult.  Other times, there was just one figure that I did not own who was available.  (This is how I ended up with General Madine.)  The one figure I most wanted, though, was Luke Skywalker in his Jedi Knight outfit.

The 1983 Star Wars line was a huge upgrade over previous offerings.  While the basic five points of articulation remained, the figure's accessories were upgraded to heights previously unexplored.  Gone were the vinyl capes that were the hallmark of earlier years.  Instead, full cloth goods were offered on many figures.  A few characters featured removable helmets to authentically recreate specific scenes.  And, there was a wealth of new weapon molds made to mimic those seen in the movie.  The Luke Skywalker figure appealed to me on a few of these fronts.  First, he had a cloth cloak with a hood to recreate his Jedi look.  He also included the completely awesome pistol that many of the creatures in Jabba's Palace had used.  But, in general, the figure was an exceptional recreation of the titular character from the film.  Plus, he had a lightsaber he could hold.

The minute I acquired this Luke, he became my go to figure.  No else was allowed to play with him and I kept his gear pristine.  He was unbeatable as he could shoot far away bad guys or slice them up close with his lightsaber.  In the days that followed my acquisition of the figure I found a version at a local K-Mart store with a blue lightsaber.  I couldn't believe Kenner had made such a gaffe.  I thought about buying it as a way to finally correct my Bespin Luke's yellow saber.  But, now that I had the Jedi Luke, there was no need to return to that Bespin figure.  Luke's reign as top dog in my collection was short lived, though.  As the summer wound down, I finally returned home.  Here, playing with my Star Wars figures up in my brother's room one day, I discovered an Airborne figure.  With that, Star Wars began a decline and Joe began its ascendancy to top spot in my toy world.

When I started coming back into the toy world as an adult, though, it was through the relaunch of the Star Wars line by Hasbro in 1995.  While I had bought Joes here and there in the prior years, it was the new Star Wars figures that really piqued my interest in toys in general and ignited my collector passion.  In the fall of 1996, I picked up Hasbro's new take on the Luke Jedi figure in their POTFII line.  It rekindled my interest in this figure.  As Ebay came around in the following years, one of the items I decided I needed to have was a carded, vintage Luke Jedi.  It represented so much of my childhood and really was the last great Star Wars figure I had owned.  At the time, carded Star Wars figures were starting to get expensive as we really didn't understand just how much vintage stock there was out there.  So, I sacrificed a bit of quality in order to fulfill expediency and acquired the carded figure you see below.  While I don't remember the exact price, it was likely between $40 and $50 after shipping.

In the late 1990's, I actually had quite a few vintage carded and loose Star Wars figures.  I had plans to complete my loose collection as a side hobby between buying Joes.  But, in the early 2000's, my Star Wars figures could not survive the space freeing imperative that I had.  Almost all of my vintage Star Wars toys were sold off to make way for Joes.  The one that remained, though, was this Luke Jedi.  I simply can't sell it.  The figure retains a few memories for me.

• The first is the card photo.  Back in 1983, finding photos of Star Wars characters was rough.  So, having a card that showed so many background characters was great.  
• The second is playing in my Grandparent's front yard with this figure after I got him.  I don't remember the adventure.  But, I remember their perfectly manicured bushes that lines the sidewalk that lead to the driveway.  It's a great contextual memory that keeps their home fresh in my mind even though it's been out of the family for over 25 years now.  
• The final is an odd memory of the figure's gun.  At some point, I lost it.  Without the gun, the figure began to fall into disuse.  On fall day, I went to close a window in my parent's family room.  The window didn't close all the way.  On top of the sliding pane, I found Luke's gun.  It was close enough in color to the window to not be seen on a cursory look.  But, how it ended up there, I will never know.  The handle to the gun was stressed from getting pinched between the wooden frames of the panes.  But, I quickly went to get my Luke, gave him his gun and used him for a few more days until Joe retook my imagination.

It is memories like these that give these toys value.  While I don't want to be stuck in the past, it's useful to also not forget where you came from.  Seeing this figure immediately reminds me of my grandparents.  There are few things I own that do that as all the mementos from their home were destroyed while I was in college.  As toys were a big part of my interaction with them, I have fond memories of them that are associated with the playthings that should not, otherwise, hold that much meaning.  It's a bit sentimental and sappy.  But, as my kids never knew their great grandparents, it's a way to provide them a connection and make their ancestors seem a bit more real.

With the release of Revenge of the Sith, I started buying modern Star Wars figures again.  I was not a completist and my purchases were limited to figures and characters that I found really cool or interesting.  The one figure that I desperately wanted, though, was a Luke Jedi done in modern style, but based on this vintage figure.  Hasbro released a few figures that were close.  But, there was always something about them that wasn't good enough for me.  This continued all they way through my forays into the Vintage Collection into 2011.  I haven't checked since then to see if there's a modern take on this figure that meets my meticulous demands.  But, my interest in owning such a piece has likewise diminished accordingly.

It is no secret that the fan anticipation and media blitz that accompanied The Force Awakens brought a huge uptick in vintage Star Wars pricing.  Items that were one acquirable by the average collector have taken on pop culture relevance that has risen prices of many items beyond what long term collectors feel they are worth.  Whether this is sustainable or not remains to be seen.  Disney has managed to keep the Marvel world going for 11 years so far with no signs of slowdown.  Will Star Wars keep pace, even with a film per year?  I don't know.  But, I do know that my dreams of one day having a complete set of vintage Star Wars figures has taken a hit.  Graded samples have priced themselves beyond what I'm interested in paying.  And, the flood of repro and aftermarket accessories makes a dive into loose figures much more precarious than it was just a decade ago.

As such, pricing this figure out is difficult at best.  The figure actually has a slew of variations beyond the green/blue saber, some being substantially more desirable than others.  Then, there are a huge number of cardback/cardfront variants, each having it's own, distinct subset of desirability.  Best I can tell, based on which variants you want, a mint and complete loose figure will run you anywhere between $25 and $75.  But, your mileage may vary.  Carded, its even harder to tell.  It appears you can get a figure in a package better than what you see here for well under $100 while high graded variant figures seem to top out around $400.  It's a lot for a small piece of childhood.  But, Star Wars is on the cultural phenomenon that has transcended generations.  It's as equally likely that someone bidding against someone my age who owned the toy as a kid is instead someone 20 years younger whose fascination with the Star Wars universe was forged with the first Prequels.  That's not a bad thing as I've always felt a vibrant market was the key to a strong collector community.  (Which has somewhat died with Joe.)  But, it is frustrating to see things at two to three times the prices they were just 5 or 6 years ago.  Do you jump now and the market keeps going?  Or do you anticipate a decline in interest and, correspondingly, prices?  It's a tough choice and only time tells you if you're right or wrong.

Personally, this figure retains the memories of my childhood and relatives long gone.  As a memento, it's value far exceeds the cash it would bring were I to part with it.  It remains the last bastion of vintage Star Wars in my possession and is an item I will not part with easily.

Luke Skywalker Ceremonial Outfit - Power of the Force II

1994 was a Joe year. 1995 was split evenly between Star Wars and Joe. 1996-1998 were Star Wars years. 1999 was a Joe year. I had anticipated 2000 being a Joe year as well, but a few things happened. First, Joe prices started rising. You may have noticed some of the rants I've posted about how figures are overpriced. It appears that Joes are hot right now. Unfortunately, for a toy line to remain hot, it must be something that is completable and must have a holy grail or two. The Joe line has neither. With well over 500 unique figures in the line, completing the set is a daunting task, especially for the casual collector who gravitates towards what it popular right now. There also is no particular year or figure that stands out as the hardest to get. Sure, a few variations of the Steel Brigade or Starduster figures are pretty tough, but they are not popular enough characters to carry the burden of an entire Joe renaissance.

The second thing that happened this year has been the awesome clearance sales on tons of Star Wars merchandise. Much of the product that never made it to retail in 1998 and early 1999 has finally surfaced, and it is dirt cheap. I've doubled my already substantial Stormtrooper army in only a few weeks. Awesome Star Wars figures are available everywhere, and they are on sale. As Joes have risen to the point where it is simply not economical to build armies, I've turned my focus to a line where that is feasible right now. Many Star Wars collectors hark back to 1985 when stores were clearing their Star Wars racks at 2 for $1.00 prices. They tore them down to put up Joes. I think these clearance sales are the beginning of the end. Star Wars has had a nice 5 year run, but Hasbro has basically killed most fan interest. As to what will replace Star Wars, I have no idea. A rebirth of 3 3/4" Joes would be what we all hope for, but I am not holding my breath. Perhaps another company will pick up the slack and cash in on the post Star Wars doldrums like Hasbro did back in the '80's.

The reason I selected this figure to profile is that he is my favorite figure in the new Star Wars line. It is a figure that had about 7 seconds of screen time, but is a nice mold of a major character. This is the outfit I always wanted Luke to have. It is the only outfit in the entire Trilogy that makes him look like the dashing young hero he has turned into. Many hard core fans will recognize this uniform as the one Luke wears in his appearance in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special that aired one time back in the '70's. Luke appeared in a cartoon that introduced us to Boba Fett. It is, as far as I can tell, the only appearance of Luke where he is more a pilot and kid and less a budding Jedi. The other reason I like this figure is because it allows you to use Luke outside of the traditional movie settings. All the other versions of this figure have him in basic outfits he wore throughout the movies. It's hard to use your imagination with a figure that is so limiting. This figure has a basic pose that allows for great play value. Had Hasbro made more figures like this and fewer like the pre-posed Cantina Han figure from late 1999, the line would have found tremendous following among children, as well as adult collectors.


When they first came out, these guys were tough to find. The Freeze Frame version was even tougher. That is, until the last couple of months when all the backstock turned up at Toys R. Us's around the country. Now, this guy is all over the place. Of course, I've picked up a carded version of him. I like the figure enough to have a couple. (It is also important to note that every Star Wars figure produced in the '90's probably has more carded versions of him stashed away in some hoarder's attic that there are opened verions. As such, none of this stuff will ever have any monetary value. If you want an investment, buy stocks. The only returns these figures will bring you is personal joy. If you like having them around, then buy them. If you think they will pay off the mortgage, then I've got this bridge in Arizona to sell you....)This guy also makes great custom fodder for Rebel Fleet Troopers and Cantina aliens. Joe customizers do a good job, but Star Wars customizers take the cake. Many of the top Star Wars customizers create pieces that rival what Hasbro could produce. (Check out Rebelscum.com and find the customizers link. Once there, you will find an Imperial Gunner Station made out of old G.I. Joe vehicles that is absolutely amazing.) Enought about this figure, though. I've used this as a catharsis to cure my Star Wars wanderlust and will now refocus on Joes.