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This The Return of the Jedi Last 17 Anakin Skywalker action figure takes its lead from the Emperor figure in that although he wears robes there are no vinyl or cloth accessories and the whole figure is moulded out of plastic. There were no accessories and nothing to lose. The Anakin Skywalker last 17 action figure is just a benign ghostly representation of what Darth Vader might have looked like if he hadn't been barbecued in his first duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Once you had him he was really a figure to stick on the edge of your Ewok Village and forget about.

Find Last 17 Anakin Skywalker action figure on eBay

He’s a background figure with a benevolent smile and the obvious incongruity in that he's probably more than 20 years too old to be Luke's father. The figure came with no accessories presumably because ghosts have no need of them, which reminds me, for a ghost Anakin Skywalker was a very sturdy and thick-set figure. There's nothing particularly ethereal or wisp-ish about him aside from his blue pupil-less eyes.

The Anakin Skywalker Last 17 action figure is perhaps my least favourite of all the vintage Star Wars action figures. This wasn't really the fault of Kenner since the toy was always fated not to have much play value. Anakin's ghost only makes a cameo appearance in order to smile benignly at Luke in a private moment of reconciliation and implied absolution. As such there was never going to be any need for flexible articulation or accessories. Moreover, try placing him anywhere within the Ewok village and he is immediately incongruous because what we wanted from play was action and Anakin only appears after all the action is over and done with. As such he could only ever really be a display figure of interest to collectors rather than an 'action' figure.

This rendition of Anakin Skywalker's ghost has flippers for hands for some reason. Perhaps the Jedi afterlife is an aquatic one presided over by Mon Calimari and Quarren.

It's also unfortunate that this figure was released when the enthusiasm for Star Wars merchandise was on the wane. The Last 17 Anakin figure had everything stacked against it. This even included later being cut from the film and replaced with the Anakin that we had come to know through the Prequel Trilogy. What started out as an ethereal mostly superfluous character became a completely erased and irrelevant one.

See my article on The Significance of Jedi Spirits and Anakin Skywalker in Spirit Form.

Anakin is photographed below alongside the 30th Anniversary Collection Skywalker's Ghost and Power of the Force Jedi Spirits action figures for comparison.

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All Star Wars action figures, vehicles, collectibles and Star Wars toys shown on this website are the 3.75 inch scale and from my own private Star Wars collection unless otherwise stated. Where possible original vintage accessories have been used but in some instances I have placed Kenner Star Wars figures with either reproduction weapons and accessories or for Hasbro figures close approximations have been used. This is mostly the case for modern Star Wars lightsabers where the correct item can be very difficult to identify on some ocassions. Vintage Star Wars action figures are shown with their original weapon or accessory when I have them. When a vintage Kenner action figure is shown with an accessory which is not original I have tried to point this out where possible.

All of the Star Wars action figures shown were purchased second hand, usually incomplete, and in bulk. They have been reunited with their original weapons and accessories where we could get hold of them.

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