Han Solo (In Endor Gear) - POTF2 [R/G] - Basic

Height: 1.83 meters
Status: Smuggler, Pirate, Rebel Pilot
Classification: Human
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance
Weapon of Choice: Blaster Pistol (Green packaging only)

Han Solo commanded a strike force of freedom fighters whose mission it was to sabotage the Imperial shield generator protecting the new Death Star. However, a surprise visit from some of Endor's native Ewoks appears to present an uncalculated setback. (Freeze Frame packaging only)

As The Power Of The Force “2” line began rolling out one figure after another in full force, collectors began seeing a pattern when it came to the same character in different outfits: aside from the outfit, they all looked the same in regards to their likenesses. Perhaps this wasn’t such a terrible thing overall. It provided uniformity across the brand and gave collectors for the first time a very homogeneous nature to the line. What doesn’t work with this is that the characters evolved throughout the Original Trilogy. Han Solo in A New Hope wasn’t the same Han Solo in Return Of The Jedi. The same can be said with the other main and minor characters as well. In the vintage Kenner era, the action figures captured some rather generic expressions, and now the modern line is following suit. Perhaps more scene specific gestures and expressions should be added into the modern mix to change things up a bit more. Instead of making clones of each other, we would encourage Kenner/Hasbro to take a more artistic approach and make these figures completely unique from one another. Perhaps the best example of where action figures began looking to much like one another is 1997’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Han Solo (In Endor Gear). It’s basically 1995’s POTF2 [R/G] Han Solo in a trench coat.

In all fairness, that’s pretty much what this character is, but it feels like Kenner/Hasbro is reinventing the wheel here and the excitement for a new Han Solo action figure just doesn’t feel nearly the same. Between the exaggerated facial features to the bulky body type, Han Solo (In Endor Gear) feels lost in a line that is making such tremendous strides elsewhere. For us, the biggest downfall aside from the reuse of head sculpts and other parts is the elimination of soft-goods. For Han Solo (In Endor Gear) he has been given a plastic molded trench coat shell. This removable accessory never achieves the same aesthetics as a woven soft-goods trench coat. Plus, the removable of soft-goods technically gives you two action figures in one (and Han Solo was seen in both iterations in Return Of The Jedi). Although the deco is fair on the trench coat shell, it doesn’t look entirely movie accurate. It also encumbers his full range of articulation which is something collectors are going to find irritating. When you remove the shell, Han Solo (In Endor Gear) is left with camouflage arms which looks as silly as you can imagine it would look. Also included is a large blaster pistol which is about as laughable as the removable trench coat shell.

Han Solo (In Endor Gear) is notable for having two distinct variations. The first “error” version was painted with blue pants, the color he wore in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. After a while, the figure was corrected to the standard brown pants as seen in Episode VI. Both versions are very easy to find on the aftermarket because the change didn’t happen until well into the production of the first version. Another variation of Han Solo (In Endor Gear) includes the Freeze Frame. The figure was carried forward into the 1998 phase of the line most likely in order to compliment the many other characters produced from the Battle of Endor. Admittedly, all of the older action figures look incredibly better in the Freeze Frame phase of the line and Han Solo (In Endor Gear) follows suit. With the introduction of “All New Likeness” figures in the Freeze Frame phase of the line, we hope that Kenner/Hasbro continues to do the same with the most popular characters in the Original Trilogy. Han Solo (In Endor Gear) shows that this likeness is getting stale and it’s time to move forward with better approaches to the action figures Hasbro makes. A modern update to the classic 1984 ROTJ Han Solo (In Trench Coat), Kenner/Hasbro needs to do a little more with this character before we’re satisfied.