LUKE SKYWALKER & GROGU

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“To help him hone his skills and understand the ways of the Force, Grogu trains with a new Jedi Master: Luke Skywalker”

One of the things that has been a marvelous accomplishment in this day and age of literally no narrative turn or surprise going un-spoiled has been the fact that The Mandalorian managed to completely surprise audiences not once, but twice.  First, with Grogu’s reveal at the end of the very first episode, and again with Luke Skywalker’s arrival at the end of the show’s second season.  Due to the secrecy required for such surprising, they were both late arrivals to the merchandising side of things, but now things are in full swing for both of them.  And hey, here they are in one convenient package!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Luke Skywalker and Grogu are part of the Book of Boba Fett-sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series.  The set is numbered 7, and it started hitting late summer.  It exists at a unique price point, as it’s officially billed as a two-pack, but since Grogu’s not a full scale figure, it’s between a deluxe price and a full two-pack price.

One of the impressive things about Luke’s Jedi Knight design is its slow evolution over the course of the film.  Its something that his Mandalorian and Book appearances have kept rolling.  So, by the time we get to his appearance in Book, he’s actually not got any common elements with his Jabba’s Palace look, but the general vibe is still maintained.  Since we’ve gotten every other possible variant on the Jedi look, we’re at the Book design.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Luke’s articulation scheme is the standard set-up for Black Series these days, with the one notable change-up from prior versions being the addition of butterfly shoulders, which are very definitely a welcome addition.  Luke’s sculpt is all-new, though there are definitely a lot of similarities to the other Lukes of the same general design.  It’s an interesting sculpt, especially when it comes to the head, since it’s based on a facsimile of Hamill’s likeness, rather than a direct likeness.  With that in mind, it looks pretty good.  Honestly, it’s probably more authentic than what we saw on screen.  Certainly less unnerving, that’s for sure.  The rest of the sculpt is pretty good, and honestly gave me the ability to see just how different his garb in Book really is from the other appearances. Paint work on this guy is minimal, pretty much just on the head, since everything else is just molded colors.

The last time I looked at a Grogu figure, he still wasn’t officially being billed as Grogu.  Oh how the times change.   There have been so many Black Series Grogus over the years, but it’s only the second one that I’ve taken a look at here.  He’s not drastically different, since his design hasn’t really changed.  He’s still just over an inch tall and he still has 7 points of articulation.  Though he looks exceedingly similar, Grogu’s sculpt is unique from his original figure.  It’s actually a fair bit sharper in terms of detailing, and its most important detail change is his left hand, which has a proper grip on it, for use with accessories.  His color work is again very similar, but there’s a touch more detailing on the head, which really adds more life to the whole thing.

The set includes a whole host of accessories.  We get Luke’s lightsaber (with removable hilt), the back pack for carrying Grogu, a riser piece to prop up Grogu in said back pack because it’s a re-use of the Yoda one, Yoda/Grogu’s lightsaber with an alternate un-ignighted hilt, a box for the hilt, Din’s gift for Grogu, the small frog-like creature, a training drone, a flight stand for the drone, and an effects/environment stand for the drone and Grogu to interact.  Honestly, it covers just about everything you could possibly want from the interactions between the two of them in the show.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Weird CGI-face aside, Luke’s reappearance in The Mandalorian filled me with all sorts of nostalgic excitement, and I wanted some form of figure coverage.  But, by the time his figures from that appearance started hitting, he’d shown up on Book, and I really dug the further updated look.  The two-pack really hit right where I wanted for a post-Jedi look, and I get an updated Grogu to boot.  This set is perhaps a touch pricey for what it is, but it works very well for me.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.