Lumiya/Luke Skywalker - LC - Comic Packs (7)

Lumiya has been called a "Dark Lady" in the Marvel Comics from where she first appeared. And while the Hasbro action figure of her is indeed a little dark, she is actually a lot more silvery and shiny. In the comics, Lumiya defeats Luke Skywalker with her lightwhip (yes, you read that correctly) and he conspires to ultimately defeat her. He uses his lightsaber in tandem with a newly created shoto weapon (which is itself a Yoda-sized short lightsaber) and is able to defeat Lumiya. When her mask is removed, the face of Shira Brie (we just recently received her X-wing pilot likeness in the Walmart exclusive Rebel Pilot Legacy (Series III) Evolutions set) is revealed! Oh the drama! Oh the twist! How could Luke have not known that this dark warrior was one of Darth Vader's prized assassins? And how treacherous, perfidious and traitorous of her to have betrayed the Rebel Alliance in favor of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Hasbro has replicated both Lumiya and Luke Skywalker very nicely. They are very accurate representations from their appearance in the comics and overall are pretty good action figures. But they do have their faults. But let us first make it clear that this is a very awesome Comic Packs set that offers excellent articulated and sculpted figures that are nicely colored and very well accessorized. And while you may not be the biggest fan of the Expanded Universe, there is enough homage of the Original Trilogy paid to warrant at the very least consideration of this set.

Luke Skywalker is a very "Dagobah Training" inspired looking figure. His likeness is near perfection (and we wish this good of a portrait would make it into the Legacy Collection basic line soon - it is that good). let us reiterate, this has got to be one of the best head sculpts of Luke Skywalker we have ever seen. It is actually a brand new head on a kit-bash body and it totally makes this purchase worthwhile. His sleeveless shirt looks very good on him (it is a reuse of the 2007 VTSC Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) figure) but since Hasbro decided to use the legs of 2007's TAC Luke Skywalker (No. 25) figure and just repainted them, well, they just don't function the way we need. His legs do not help him stand at all. He constantly falls over creating much frustration and aggravation that an action figure shouldn't bring to a collector. The legs are at a strange angle that can't really be corrected even with plenty of futzing, so we personally find this very aggravating. His cod section is also new as well as his arms, but you may take issue with them as well. Once you remove the plastic bands that hold the lightsabers in place in his hands, he is unable to hold them at all. So, if it is your desire to pose Luke with these weapons in hand, we recommend to you to not remove them! This is an absolute travesty for an action figure since all figures should be able to hold their weapons. We are not sure why Hasbro disregarded this functionality.

Lumiya is a very nice action figure to be quite honest. She is a composite of plastic and soft-goods and weapons we have never seen before in the basic figure or Comic Packs line to this point. Her lightwhip has a silly name, but the actual accessory is beautifully sculpted and very bright in color. Lumiya has an interchangeable portrait and we must admit that we love multiple heads for our action figures. Her disguised look is the character Lumiya, but if you swap it with the other head, she becomes a very battle-scarred Shira Brie (with shag hairdo). So, Lumiya is clearly two figures in one. Her "Lumiya" triangular head is very bizarre, but it works well for her seemingly dark personality. And her very silver costume is very beautifully colored. The silver is actually the outer armor while she also appears to have either a black body glove or under armor beneath the silver set. Her long and flowing black soft-goods "cape" is very long and while it looks as if it was cut in a very choppy fashion, it is a nice contrast to her very antiseptic armor. Lumiya has 12 points of articulation and she really is in no need of any more. She is undoubtedly a very cool female villain and will be appreciated by comic lovers for sure. And she has a very unique look that we really haven't seen in a female character before. It may appear that we have been a little hard on this Comic Packs set, but we do think it is a very nice set. The Luke Skywalker figure is our favorite of the two, but our reason for this is all tied up in the new head sculpt. Please Hasbro, reuse this head on an Episode V or Episode VI Luke Skywalker figure, you have outdone yourselves here! But if you are a fan of the original Star Wars Marvel Comics, you will see this set as a more than worthy addition to your collections!