Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,846: Han Solo (Endor, The Black Series 6-Inch)

HAN SOLO (Endor)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Packaging - Also PulseCon Boxed Set
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. E9364 also No. EXXXX
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05
Includes: Trenchcoat, Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: Han Solo volunteered to lead the mission to destroy the new Death Star’s shield generator on the forest moon of Endor, where he and his strike team encountered Scout Troopers and Ewoks. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: For years fans have been grousing that Harrison Ford's likeness is impossible to capture in plastic, and on the whole it seems they're generally right. You can capture a certain sense of Han Solo or Indiana Jones, but is it really Harrison? With Han Solo (Endor) from last year, it looks like the answer is "yes." The actor's wry smile doesn't translate in a single color of flesh plastic - a hint of scruff, some more color around his eyes, and painted lips make a tremendous difference and make this figure (available in a PulseCon set or by himself) absolutely worth owning. Since the Kenner 1984 Endor Trenchcoat Han Solo remains one of my favorites from that era, I'm glad that this 2020 figure seems to be my favorite from the bigger modern line.

The figure is a mix of existing and new parts. The head seems to be new, with incredible face paint and separately-molded hair that make a huge difference in elevating the figure form a perfectly good action figure to something you can look at and say "this looks like an actual technological advancement." The legs and lower body seem to be recycled from Bespin Han Solo (the SKU is still stamped on his boot), but the rest seems to be mostly new. He has no problems holding his blaster, and the coat fits really nicely. I'm not saying it's perfect, but Hasbro's relationship with soft goods has rarely exceeded the quality of what Kenner gave us in the 1980s. This is pretty good - a little thin, but with good stitching and it doesn't look bad.

This is probably the very best Han Solo to date - which gives me high hopes they'll do a pre- or post-Carbonite one some day that will look equally as good. (If you take the vest off of this release, the arms look bad - so he'd need more work.) Since this figure made use of old parts, there's not a lot I can say about the articulation beyond that the coat does a great job covering up all the joints and ensuring the figure has maximum mobility with minimal visible articulation breaks. It even hides the breaks in the yellow stripes if you want to have the thighs rotated. This is one of the perfect combinations of using the costume to both enhance the figure's look while hiding what makes it functional. Old fans should make this Han Solo a must-buy-while-they-still-can, because it's superb. It looks right. Heck, it even gives me hope that if we ever got another Indiana Jones line, maybe this time we won't have to go through 90 figures to find one that has a decent looking face. (2008 was a very awkward year on the pegs.) Get this one - and the matching Leia and Luke - if you still can.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth for the single release, and my 4-pack came from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,846: August 12, 2021