In 1995 Hasbro released a new wave of action figures, Star Wars: Power of the Force. It was a gear-up for the 1997 Special Edition release of the original trilogy. And during this time my obsession with Star Wars began, starting with the Power of the Force Luke Skywalker.
I was really getting a big Star Wars collection going when these figures first came out. I know I got my favorite figure one Christmas, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. Luke is probably my favorite character, and I was a huge Return of the Jedi fan when I was younger. So this figure is pretty special to me, in fact it may be the first Star Wars action figure I ever got.
This figure is definitely a more beefed-up version of Luke, more muscular. His removable cloak is all plastic, molded to his form. Which I think is actually kind of neat, not something seen on figures often. He comes with a semi-transparent green lightsaber, no other accessories. Originally I did not want to remove my figure from the awesome green packaging. I was more into collecting than playing with the toys (even as a middle schooler). But my younger brother begged and begged for me to remove Luke from his plastic and play with him. So I did. And promptly, after much play, his cloak and lightsaber were lost. I still have the loose figure somewhere though.
For years I was bummed about losing Luke’s accessories. And my brother picked up on this. As I got older I forgot all about the accessories, and my brother begging me to open the figure. But my brother never forgot. So two Christmases ago he gave me a special gift, a brand new, never opened Power of the Force Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. Needless to say the gift brought a tear to my eye.
Courtney Martin is a graduate of Indiana University and works in publishing. She’s an avid Star Wars fan and wrote the recipe blog Courtney Cooks Star Wars on suvudu.com. When not enveloped a science fiction or fantasy novel, she is watching television with her husband and son, doing crossword puzzles, or playing with her Shih Tzu, Burt.