Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Basic

Held captive in the Death Star, the princess is interrogated by Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin. Leia was ordered to reveal the location of the secret Rebel base or see her home planet of Alderaan destroyed.

As if the hulky bodies of the oldest The Power Of The Force “2” figures weren’t bad enough, the biggest debacle of them all was the very first Princess Leia Organa modern action figure. Her nicknames were downright nasty. “Monkey Leia” and “Manly Leia” are two of the most popular insults the figure was given by the collecting community. Not only did that 1995 POTF2 figure downright stink, she couldn’t stand up unassisted without one foot out in front of her, her costume parts barely stayed on and widespread arms with chunky hands made this action figure anything but the attractive and heroic princess we fell in love with in A New Hope. Three years seemed like an eternity, but in 1998 Kenner/Hasbro decided that enough was enough and designed a new version of the favorite princess to soothe the angry torch-wilding collectors. They were so proud of their achievement that they boasted “All New Likeness” right on the packaging to ensure that they would be distancing themselves from the horrid 1995 as far away as possible. The 1998 POTF2 Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] figure was a big breath of fresh air and although she wasn’t perfect, collectors knew well that she would be hanging around for a long time after her initial release. The new version doesn’t sport any new articulation, but the details are finally feminine and the body looks about perfect.

Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] has many updates made to be more screen accurate as well. You will see a more tapered/pleated appearance to her gown and he belt is no longer completely silver. Kenner/Hasbro were certain to provide her with a white belt with silver geometric shapes running around its perimeter. Her boots also have black soles. This is a huge deal for screen accuracy. We’re impressed that something so “insignificant’ has been captured on the 1998 update. But obviously more important than the details about her boots is that she has boots. The 1995 POTF2 Princess Leia Organa figure just had white legs, from her hips down to her soles. This new version actually is wearing boots that stop around the knee and bare flesh above them. Now that is impressive! Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] still has hands that are too chunky, but the rest of her frame is athletic and not exaggerated in any spots that we can tell. Overall we’re quite impressed with her design. The biggest update her of course is her all-new portrait. It is light years better than the 1995 figure, but we still think some extra work needs to be done to make her look perfect. They got her “star puffs” right and she is wearing light lipstick. Her face is more streamlined and defined too which has removed the potential for a manly appearance. Kenner/Hasbro did very well here.

We’re also quite pleased that Kenner/Hasbro has provided Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] with two guns that she utilized in the film. The guns are still obnoxiously too big, but at least they mimic actual weapons in the film. The signature long-barreled blaster pistol is well-designed. It fits into her hands very well. The larger gun which is some sort of modified E-11 blaster has two “handles” so to speak which allows her pre-positioned arms to hold the gun appropriately in both spots. Admittedly, Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] seems to have been sculpted with the intentions to recreate this pose as it suits her the best. Aside from leaning, Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] is a tremendous upgrade from her POTF2 counterpart. This doesn’t mean that we should expect better from Kenner/Hasbro in the future. But for now this one is good enough to toss your 1995 figure into the garbage can. Part of the third phase of The Power Of The Force “2” line, Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] comes with a Freeze Frame action slide which shows her in the grips of Grand Moff Tarkin’s and Darth Vader’s anger. It is the scene right before her home planet of Alderaan is destroyed. It is refreshing to see vast improvements made to this character and Princess Leia Organa [All New Likeness] assures us that Kenner/Hasbro has authenticity as a number one priority now (which they should always have had as number one).