Review: Star Wars Black Series Luke Skywalker from A New Hope, Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary POTF2 Carded Exclusive
- Mephitsu
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
“I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!"
Following the relative success of Hasbro’s Vintage Carded Black Series figures marking the key anniversaries of the Original Trilogy, the next logical step was to mark the 1995 return of the 3.75-inch Star Wars figures in the Power of the Force 2 series. The 2021 POTF2 carded wave was released as part of the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Celebrations and included three figures of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Greedo. The trio were exclusive to Hasbro Pulse and Shop Disney, but in the UK, they found themselves part of the large dump of excess stock that year, hitting stores like Game at a deep discount.
stock photos
The cardbacks mirror the design from 1995 with the Darth Vader helmet-shaped card top, and a red-hued lightsaber blade cutting diagonally across the dark coloured card. The character is pictured in a panel to the side of the main blister, under which sits the name, both trimmed in a silver tramline. The only new addition is the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary logo in the top right. Around the back, we get a hybrid of the original card, alongside the newer Lucasfilm Anniversary timeline and covering text. The older POTF2 ‘cut out’ character bio survives, and the original Kenner logo sits alongside that of Hasbro.
Luke is the same base figure as released in 2016 in the Phase 3 ‘red’ packaging and soon after in 2017 as part of the first-ever Black Series Anniversary wave, celebrating 40 years of A New Hope. The base figure is made up of Luke’s beige Tatooine farmboy trousers, with wrapped brown boots complete with a black sole. The upper body is a naked torso in skin tone, over which we have a soft goods wrapped tunic fastened around the middle by way of a dark brown belt with a variety of pouches, each inclusive of a bronze fastener, and with a central silver buckle. The soft goods are very bright in their colouring compared to what we see on screen from the harsh Tatooine sands. The material is relatively soft, but does not hang naturally enough, with particular issues around the sleeves, which seem to balloon over the arms.
versus the 2016/7 release (right)
The head sculpt is the same as has been used across the 2016 and 2017 releases, but for the 2021 POTF2 figure, we do have an upgrade in the decor to a facial print finish. This improves the likeness somewhat, but still fails to capture the look of Mark Hammil as seen during A New Hope. The hair is sculpted as part of the head, then painted, and this leaves some unpainted flesh edges behind the ears, which is unsightly.
The original 1995 POTF figure came with a lightsaber and a long-barreled harpoon weapon, which was never seen on screen. For the Black Series equivalent, we keep the lightsaber, but there is no gun and instead, the Macrobinoculars from the original releases are still included. These Macrobinoculars are black as a base colour, with the detailed sculpting picked out with additional silver panels and components. While not immediately obvious, they can be hung on Luke’s belt by way of a clip built into the back side of the piece. This slides over the belt between the belt and the soft goods. Luke can then hold these in one or both hands, and has sufficient arm articulation to raise them to his eyes and to replicate the scenes where he is first searching for Artoo, and then checking out the Sand People.
The lightsaber is also re-used from multiple Luke and Anakin releases and is silver at the hilt with black fins. The loop at one end is designed to hang on a hook on Luke’s belt for a holstered position. Or it can be positioned in either gripping hand, and again, the articulation is strong enough for two-handed poses. The blade, a translucent blue piece, clips into the saber hilt, should you want to pose and display Luke with an ignited weapon.
The articulation has 16 points overall, and an older configuration that includes pinned double-jointed elbows and knees. This allows those two-handed grips for both saber and Macrobinoculars, while the knees can bend and allow Luke to sit and kneel, a key element considering this is the same base figure that fits with the released Landspeeder; therefore, this improved face printed version can be put into your Landspeeder as the driver. While the soft goods do not look the best, they do support the articulation, giving Luke plenty of range.
Like the Vintage carded figures, these POTF2 figures have the initial aim of being displayed in their cardback, capturing the nostalgia of 1995 and the return of the Star Wars figure line from Kenner. For those who want to open the figure, the improved head decor will be desirable, providing a visual upgrade on the original 2016 and 2017 figures, including the one driving your Landspeeder. Despite this, the figures struggled at the time, seemingly unable to evoke the same memories as the carded figures based on the 70s and 80s releases.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
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...