Emperor Palpatine Clone/Luke Skywalker - TLC - Comic Packs (12)

Luke Skywalker has discovered the existence of another Jedi, helping him further his goal of reestablishing the Jedi Knights. While he makes plans to go to Ossus to locate important Jedi artifacts, Emperor Palpatine is reborn in the body of another clone, and he makes immediate plans to crush the Alliance and the fledgling Jedi Knight.

More than ten years have elapsed since collectors were first treated to the Expanded Universe sub-line of toys that debuted in 1998’s The Power Of The Force line. And although we did see some Expanded Universe action in the very small but cool Shadows Of The Empire multimedia event, Kenner/Hasbro went all out by creating a micro line that focused on the comics and video games as well instead of a concentration on one storyline. This group of figures were lauded by collectors and given a very warm reception by many others including hardcore movie-only collectors. As a result, they were nearly impossible to find on store shelves to unbelievably frustrating degrees. Even though there is little interest in them today (thanks to Hasbro revisiting the characters with the most modern technology – more on this in a moment), they still are not the most frequent figures you’ll come across. But by the end of 1998, the line was quickly discontinued (we think as a direct result to make room for Episode I) and the products fetched substantial prices in the aftermarket. But it didn't end before give us the hugely popular 1998 EU Clone Emperor Palpatine and 1998 EU Luke Skywalker figures. Those original nine figures are slowly but surely being revisited with modern day standards and two of the original nine have been packaged together in The Legacy Collection Comic Packs. Emperor Palpatine Clone/Luke Skywalker is a most impressive duo of action figures and blows the original versions out of the water. And besides a few minor issues, they are vast (nearly incomparable) improvements over their action figure ancestors. Because this hobby thrives on nostalgia, we believe that even the movie-only collectors will find interest in this set and perhaps cave and buy it because it is a reintroduction of a POTF2 classic. There is no denying that “aging” plays an important part in the collector drive.

Both figures are all-new sculpts, are super-articulated and have been created masterfully. Emperor Palpatine Clone is an interesting figure for multiple reasons. And you may want forewarning before you play with him. He comes with Vader-esque shoulder armor and a blue lightsaber and he is relatively proportionate with Luke Skywalker. He has the preferred soft-goods with long straps that hang from them. But if you decide to remove them (and this is your warning) the Emperor looks like something you may see in some fetish film (not that there’s anything wrong with that). We’re not exactly sure if it was necessary for Hasbro to go with this design to this degree, but it makes for an interesting action figure to say the least. But it is what it is. Despite his scantily clad attire, Emperor Palpatine Clone does look pretty good completely covered. The soft-goods robe works remarkably well. We suppose that if your intent is to recreate a medical scene with this figure, this is the ideal candidate. Although it is a bit alarming and unexpected to see the Emperor so vulnerable, we suppose it works well for the other purposes in the storyline. A great deal of attention has been put on the Emperor’s skin and it is covered in large scale-like blemishes (or liver spots) that are multicolored throughout. He also comes with a removable Force lightning effect that works as needed and it can be partially hidden under his robes and it looks very authentic. Luke Skywalker is a major improvement from the original release too, but we would have favored a much less wider stance on his body and a finer soft-goods drape for his outer robes. The original figure had a very streamlined look and this new Luke is the complete opposite. It’s not terrible at all, but we would have liked more versatility in the figure. Thankfully he's super-articulated so you do have a lot of options. Hey, it’s only our opinion, but we think it is an opinion that makes sense. We will say however that his likeness is great and it is fantastic to get such a great hyper-articulated version of him finally. We just wish the paint job was better.

Dark Empire was a hugely popular comic series. It was really the first new Star Wars storyline to come out based on events that followed Return Of The Jedi. It was embraced by so many Star Wars fans. And what a way to pay tribute by releasing characters in this comics series in the Comic Packs line. This set is a great value for your money and Hasbro has been cranking out quite a few excellent sets. It's extraordinary to get two all-new super-articulated sculpts with a reproduction comic book for under $13.00. Many others also contain all-new figures as well, while other that don’t include all-new figures instead have been so significantly retooled that they appear to collectors as new figures. It would be exciting if Hasbro could revisit all of the original nine figures (from the POTF2 Expanded Universe line via this method). The originals were great figures and the new versions are incredible improvements to them as well as cool accessories, like the hologram of Bodo Bass attached to a holocron just like in the comics.. The main reason we seek upgrades is because enhanced articulation does make for a truly wonderful action figure. It is almost a dangerous entitlement expectation we have any more, isn’t it? But no matter how spoiled we are or will become, the Comic Packs line is probably the best way to get out these figures to collectors because we would essentially bet that Comic Packs figures would never be candidates in the basic figure line. This is OK, but we definitely need to keep a medium going that will ensure us that EU characters will get the treatment they deserve. The Expanded Universe is so vast, rich and diverse that the possibility for action figure candidates seems limitless. This set has sold very well and it is uncertain how long the line will continue. If Comic Packs go away for a while, we hope Hasbro can find ways to get Expanded Universe figures out to the public, especially characters based from the Dark Empire comic series. Fans love it and we want to see more figures based on it!