One of the greatest untapped strengths of the Star Wars Black Series is the ease with which heads can be swapped. Customizers have been using this to full effect, cobbling together their own Dark Jedi Lukes using Darth Maul’s body and placing random Marvel Legends heads on X-wing Luke’s body for random X-wing pilots. But Hasbro itself could be using the swappability to their benefit. Combine that with the specific power that toys have to subvert reality and make things that never were a possibility, and the sky is the limit. I’ve come up with five alternate heads that should have been packed in with major characters.
5. Young Alec Guiness as Prequel Obi-Wan.
Ewan McGregor did a phenomenal job channeling the spirit of Alec Guiness in his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi. From hotheaded Padawan in The Phantom Menace to weary big brother in Attack of the Clones to concerned parent in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan’s character arc was perhaps the strongest in the much-lambasted prequel trilogy.
But how awesome would it be to get an actual head of a younger Alec Guiness to pop onto a spare Obi-Wan figure? A toy can do something not even the most advanced CGI can do — bring Alec Guiness back to life to play a younger version of the role that he… well, that he hated. This would have guaranteed a double purchase from me: one Ewan and one Alec.
4. Young Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker
Hayden did… well, Hayden showed up for the movie as best he could and did what he could with the role that was written for him. And hey, that’s just super. But just like he has no place beside ghost Ben and ghost Yoda, a little revisionist history would be a great thing. Having a younger version of Sebastian Shaw’s head would make a nice connection between his older, wiser self and his early years. He was a good-looking dude with the proper gravitas in his face. Give him a bit of Star Wars flavor and maybe the whining will stop.
3. Marvel Comics Luke Skywalker.
Farmboy-style Luke hasn’t been announced yet, and this would be a perfect little extra to toss in. Star Wars was Marvel’s highest selling comic during the time of the movies, and for many of us it was the only thing that kept the Star Wars fires burning between movies — besides the toys themselves. Marvel’s Luke was a bit more generic, a bit less Hamill, but there’s something that remains iconic about it despite the vague generic quality of it. Blame nostalgia if you want, but this would make me buy two Lukes.
2. McQuarrie Stormtrooper helmet
It’s impossible to reference Star Wars designs or appearances and not think of Ralph McQuarrie. The last two entries on this list made it into the 4-inch line, but would have made equally outstanding alternate heads.
McQuarrie’s Stormtrooper head looks even more sinister, if that’s possible. There’s a malevolent downturn to the “expression” that makes them look even colder. While there isn’t a huge difference, there’s enough that a handful of these would spruce up the twenty or so troopers we all have standing around. If we could find that many.
1. McQuarrie Darth Vader helmet
Angry. Intense. Screaming. Just as McQuarrie’s Stormtrooper looked more sinister, his Vader takes that and magnifies it by a factor of a hundred. The drawn out evil of the features are like a Japanese oni mask. Where the original mask is the definitive icon of evil, the McQuarrie design adds an entirely new dimension of evil to it. If Vader came with an alternate head that looked like this, it would guarantee double or triple purchases.