Han Solo - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Basic

Many titles can be applied to Han Solo: rogue pilot, former pirate and Rebel Alliance hero. One of the Rebellion's greatest assets, Solo has played a major role in virtually every Alliance victory since the rescue of Princess Leia from the Death Star.

For one reason or another, Kenner/Hasbro didn’t tool any “all-new” Han Solo action figures for The Power Of The Force “2” [Freeze Frame/The Kenner Collection] line. However, both Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa both received a significant amount of new figures in this line. Han Solo didn’t get the same treatment, sadly. The lack of new Han Solo action figures forced them to dust off their earlier efforts, much to the chagrin of the collecting community. And Kenner/Hasbro added no fewer than four Han Solo action figures from 1995 through 1997 into the Freeze Frame Action Slide line. What made this especially annoying is that you needed to repurchase these inferior figures if you wanted to acquire a complete Freeze Frame Action Slide collection. And that’s what most collectors did. They sucked it up and bought figures they didn’t want for a second time to secure the incredible new pack-in premium that was an instant hit with collectors. One of the most disappointing additions to the 1998 line is the original Han Solo figure. With a bulky body frame, an unfortunate likeness, and a pose that looks physically impossible to imitate, Han Solo may be the biggest dud in the Freeze Frame lineup.

It's easy to hit this figure hard with criticism in 1998. But everything was coming up roses when first released in 1995. After the novelty wore off some, collectors began to realize that the sculpts didn’t favor the likenesses of the characters that much at all. And the new action figures were a far cry from the authenticity the vintage figures displayed. Their lack of screen-accuracy was particularly noticeable with the human characters. Even though droids, creatures, and even Darth Vader for that matter were a little bit easier on the eyes, it was humans like Han Solo that made collectors take a few steps back and question what was going on with the line. Han Solo is beyond too muscular. He is so bulky that he couldn’t pass for a superhero. The exaggeration in the chest and thighs are where this figure looks most unnatural. Han Solo was athletically lean. This action figure is the antithesis of that. The pose of the body is terrible too. The arms are too far from the body. Plus, the stance is laughable too. What is with this leaning forward/walking position? This posture doesn’t look natural for a figure that only offers six points of articulation where you cannot get the figure into a more natural position.

Han Solo also has a terrible head sculpt. It may resemble Han Solo in an alternate universe where the character is muscular and bulging out of his clothes, but this head sculpt isn’t going to cut it. Interestingly, Kenner/Hasbro gave Han Solo a nice paint job. All the colors are well-represented here. Han Solo comes with two weapons. Kenner/Hasbro included a recreation of his DL-44 blaster pistol, but sadly, it’s laughably too large. There is also a larger blaster rifle which Han Solo didn’t use in A New Hope, nor do we remember seeing the gun on-screen at any point in the film. The weapons fit nicely into the figure’s hands, but again, there isn’t much you can do with them because of the figure's articulation and pose. The extra waist joint barely gives additional articulation to this figure that is meaningful in any way. Still, the reason that any collector will reconsider rebuying this figure is for the pack-in Freeze Frame action slide. Honestly, we think it’s an incredible bonus for Kenner/Hasbro to include for collectors. It feels like we’re capturing a piece of the film in our collections. We are getting that exactly, but it reminds us of the vintage Kenner lineup and that movie-viewer thingy they made for kids. It has the same appeal to us.