After dedicating the entire first wave of their Indiana Jones Adventure Series figures to Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hasbro have begun a wider focus on the first three Indiana Jones movies via their exclusive release route and in an apparent deal with Target stores in the US. Professor Indiana Jones from The Last Crusade is an early Summer 2023 release and sold via Target in the states, while the figure is available via Fan Channel retailers - including Hasbro Pulse - in the UK and other territories. Professor Jones arrives in the same format, plastic-free, window-less packaging as the main line releases and even references the other releases on a checklist on the side spine.
While the Adventure Series is an extremely new line for Hasbro, Professor Indiana Jones represents the first major re-use of a figure with this Last Crusade version taking much of the body sculpt and the head from the ‘Club Obi-Wan’ Indiana Jones from Temple of Doom. Indy comes in a three-piece grey suit with the soft rubber waistcoat and jacket the only new pieces. The suit is cast in the base colour with paint apps added for the buttons. There is a neatly striped shirt beneath the waistcoat and a red bow tie - all consistent with Indy’s garb in the University scenes at the start of The Last Crusade.
While the head is the same as the Club Obi-Wan Indy, the photo-real print does give it a slightly different look with a softer finish overall. It is a pity that a removable or hatted sculpt could not have been added to this release considering Indy still wears his hat with his suit in his meetings with Walter Donovan and into his arrival in Venice.
The figure is entirely pinless with the joints sculpted in keeping with the flow of the outfit. There are 19 points of articulation in total including some butterfly shoulders under the jacket and a dual joint to the neck. This allows plenty of posing options with or without the included accessories. The said accessories include Henry Jones Sr. Grail Diary all wrapped up with stamps clearly visible on the package. You then get Richard’s Shield, the 2nd Grail marker, which is very detailed with the sculpted inscription and Knights Templar icon on two panels. The inside includes a handle for Indy to hold and is painted to look like aged wood. The final accessory is also from the Venice Catacombs and is the bone torch that Indy improvises as they enter from the Library. This is made up of a bone with painted brown rags at the top that then transitions into orange translucent flame. The torch looks great, something that can’t always be said for effect pieces, and fits in either hand.
Professor Indiana Jones is one of two distinctive looks for Indy from The Last Crusade and therefore its inclusion as an Exclusive is questionable. I’d have liked to have seen a removable hat or alternative hatted head, but otherwise, the choice of additional parts is great with the Knights Templar Shield being the highlight. It is a slightly odd choice to lead off the Last Crusade releases (along with Kazim and Walter Donovan) but we do know that more Last Crusade releases are in development, so this is one to pick up now ready for the arrival of Henry Jones Sr, the Grail Knight, and Elsa Schneider.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...