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The Power of the Force Expanded Universe
1996 – 1998

After Hasbro brought the Star Wars line back to life in 1995, it was dubbed “Power of the Force 2” by most fans to avoid confusion with the previous Power of the Force line. The line proved to be so popular, that Hasbro made the decision to release action figures based on the super successful “Expanded Universe” series, which was released through novels, comics and video games. 

For more information about Hasbro’s Power of the Force 2 (Expanded Universe) line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Power of the Force: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (1996): Basic Figures

In 1996, Hasbro released a total of five action figures based on the Star Wars Expanded Universe novel, Shadows of the Empire. Four of the figures were new designs, while the Leia in Boushh Disguise was a re-pack from the Power of the Force line.

Power of the Force: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (1996): Comic Packs

Hasbro released two different 2-packs for their Shadows of the Empire series, with one being a re-pack of previously released figures and the other was mixed. Darth Vader and Boba Fett had both been released with the Power of the Force line, while Prince Xizor was released individually with the Shadows of the Empire series. However, IG-88 was a brand new figure that could only be found with this two-pack.

Power of the Force: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (1996): Vehicles

Hasbro released three vehicles for their Shadows of the Empire line in 1996 with all three being directly from the novel itself. Boba Fett’s Slave 1 was a re-issue from the Power of the Force line, but Dash Rendar’s Outrider and the Swoop Bike were fun new additions.

Power of the Force: EXPANDED UNIVERSE (1998): Basic Figures

In 1998, Hasbro released a total of nine action figures based on the biggest stories of the Star Wars Expanded Universe at that time. Four of the figures were from the Dark Empire comic series by Dark Horse, three were from the Timothy Zahn written, Heir to the Empire novel and the other two were from the classic Dark Forces video game.

Power of the Force: EXPANDED UNIVERSE (1998): Vehicles

Hasbro released three vehicles for their Expanded Universe line in 1998 with all three being original concept vehicles, similar to the old “Mini-Rigs” of the 1980’s. The Speeder Bike and Cloud Car were new designs of previously released vehicles, while the Air Speeder was a new addition.

Power of the Force: EXPANDED UNIVERSE (1996-1998): Playsets

Sadly, Hasbro did not release any playsets for their Shadows of the Empire or Expanded Universe lines.

Hasbro acquired the Kenner Toy Company in 1991, and a few years afterwards, decided to bring the granddaddy of all toy lines back to life. Hasbro (still under the Kenner brand) released the first new Star Wars action figures the world had seen in 10 years, when the Power of the Force line was finally released in 1995. The line was dubbed “Power of the Force 2” by most fans and collectors to avoid the confusion of the previous Power of the Force line, which was released by Kenner in 1985. The line was well received by most fans and proved that, even without new movies, Star Wars remained just as popular with the public, and the massive sales numbers were proof of that.

The Power of the Force line did so well, in fact, that Hasbro decided to take a bit of a gamble of new action figures and accessories based on the very successful Star Wars Expanded Universe. The Expanded Universe was made up from stories and characters from the various novels, comic books and video games. This Universe began in earnest with the release of “Heir to the Empire” by Timothy Zahn in 1991. Multiple novels would also go on to huge success, including “Shadows of the Empire” by Steve Perry in 1996. This Expanded Universe would take on a life of its own as the years went by and more and more stories and characters were added.

Despite the massive success of the Power of the Force line, these new Expanded Universe series were not so lucky. Many adult collectors and serious fans certainly recognized the Expanded Universe characters, but the bottom line was that kids just didn’t want figures based on characters they didn’t recognize. As a result, many of these Shadows of the Empire and Expanded Universe figures sat on store peg hooks for quite some time before being blown out at discount prices. Most items from these lines can be easily found on the secondary market nowadays, with only a couple of the ships fetching moderate values.