Toy Review: ‘Star Wars’ Black Series A New Hope Han Solo Shoots First

He’s a rogue and a scoundrel. He’s also one of the Star Wars universe’s greatest heroes, but he’s got a ways to go there. Today we’re looking at the Star Wars Black Series A New Hope Han Solo from Hasbro.

Han Solo — as played by Harrison Ford — is one of the greatest heroes in science fiction. Starting as a devilish rogue who only cared about himself and money (and money to save his own hide), Han probably had more growth as a character than any other across the Star Wars saga. He evolved from that smuggler who only looked out for himself to a more heroic figure who tried to maintain his scoundrel credibility to the heroic general who won the heart of the princess and a leading figure in the Rebellion.

If you can’t tell, Han is probably my favorite character in Star Wars (with only Obi-Wan Kenobi coming close to challenging him). Naturally, he’s one of the few who I have multiple plastic versions on my shelf, with almost all of them from the Black Series (though I do have the upcoming Blokees figure on pre-order).

This latest series of Black Series figures continues to give me mixed feelings.

This figure poses so well immediately out of the box. This is three for three this week as to a figure that didn’t require a hot water bath to pose well. The joints were immediately flexible and allowed for some fun posing. The character’s vest covers up butterfly joints in his shoulders, but does limit a few poses. On the flip side though, Han isn’t a Jedi, so most of those poses aren’t really necessary.

For the most part the design is great. Han’s clothing from the original Star Wars is faithfully recreated here. I loved the detail on his belt, particularly the comm-link on the left side. Even the hairstyle is Han Solo through and through.

Now this figure falls short once again in its accessories. There needs to be a smirking alternate head, and maybe a few different hands. An alternate belt — ie: the stormtrooper belt with its blaster — would work really well here too.

And also, I do not understand why the likenesses on Obi-Wan and Anakin are damn near perfect, yet Hasbro cannot get Ford’s face right, creating a Han that just doesn’t quite look right, especially when Hasbro has nailed it with other figures (including both Han Solo and Indiana Jones as seen here).

Am I glad I was about to pick him up though? Absolutely. This is a figure that gets the spirit of Star Wars and its characters, even if the likeness isn’t perfect.