While it isn't hard to stand head and shoulders over your peers when you're mostly made of head and shoulders, Hasbro designed this alien pachyderm with the kind of care and craftsmanship one doesn't normally associate with a $4.99 mound of plastic. Based on sheer mass alone, this figure was something special as it was the only figure to overgrow the standard sized package in 2002, and this is something he does with a proud, toothy grin.
Ephant Mon is everything collectors have wanted in the toy since first seeing his image surface around the premiere of Return of the Jedi nearly 19 years ago. His physical presence commands our respect, and as such he gets the Galactic Hunter Figure of the Year award.
Runner Up: Bespin Luke Skywalker
In case Ephant Mon is unable to fulfill the duties of Figure of the Year, Bespin Luke is here to pick up the slack. Of all movie-based outfits for Luke, this one tends to get remade rarely, but each incarnation brings something neat. In 1998, Kenner put out a figure with a good sculpt and a really spiffy removable hand-- a first in the line. Flash forward four years later, and Hasbro remembered to keep the removable hand, but went a step further by adding a slashing action, articulation, and a holster, and more accessories than any basic Star Wars figure has been released with to date. While Ephant Mon is the ideal choice for a collector favorite, Luke would undoubtedly make for the most fun figure of the year.
Luke's arsenal of features easily makes him one of the highlights of the year and of Star Wars figures in general.
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