First Order Stormtrooper Officer - SW [S] - Basic

Aren’t we all sick and tired of First Order anything at this point? Hasbro keeps producing members of this incredibly shrinking army, yet they never cease adding them into the basic figure line. Originally part of the Kohl’s exclusive Force Link 2.0 four-pack, the First Order Stormtrooper Officer now gets is single-carded basic figure release which should make those that missed the exclusive version happy. Hasbro didn’t bring anything new to this version versus the exclusive version. And in all honesty, the figure is another boring and unneeded release for the Star Wars [Solo] lineup. With the film’s flop and retail and an all-time worse bottleneck, it’s unknown how many of us will see the third wave of Force Link 2.0 figures arrive at retail. Things have never looked worse at retail, but these products are still difficult to locate online as well. We wonder what it will take for the Star Wars line to right itself. Or perhaps it’s time to face the music and concede the Star Wars line as we knew it is over forever. Or maybe a miracle will happen and Star Wars collecting will get restored to an all-time high. We hope for the latter. This character did appear in The Last Jedi, in the scene where Finn and Rose (in disguise) are found out.

The First Order Stormtrooper Officer is technically a straight repack of 2017’s SW [TLJ] First Order Stormtrooper Force Link figure. The same figure was then added to the Kohl’s exclusive four-pack with new gear and renamed as First Order Stormtrooper Officer. It is this revised iteration that makes its way to the Star Wars [Solo] Force Link 2.0 line. Although the First Order Stormtrooper Officer comes with extra gear like previously mentioned, these figures are identical to each other. The Force Link 2.0 technology has also been carried forward into all four figures, but it’s a crap shoot if you have success using the new technology. It's Hasbro’s worst pack-in premium to date, almost an impossibility for young kids to use. The first Force Link was so much better. Upon comparison, we couldn’t find any noteworthy differences between any versions of this figure. Hasbro’s done nothing unique to the paint jobs to separate them from the others. The First Order Stormtrooper Officer is a figure that captures your attention, thanks to his colorful orange pauldron, and it’s the only way to secure the extra accessories if you passed on the Kohl’s exclusive release. The extra gear looks great on him and fits him well.

With poor figure release planning, poor carry-forward options and a dull variety of characters in the case assortments, something has got to give if the Star Wars brand is to survive. We have spoken to prominent buyers at large retail chains, and they’re viewing the Star Wars brand as toxic. Who would have thought we would ever arrive at this place with the greatest toy property ever created? It’s hard to be angry about this. Hasbro is taking huge risks for the benefits of collectors. We successfully campaigned for The Vintage Collection’s Jabba’s Sail Barge (The Khetanna). But it makes us wonder if it’s going to take a backing program to get the figures we desperately want to see get made. The First Order Stormtrooper Officer isn’t a character that hardcore collectors want to see. Maybe if they made this figure super-articulated for The Vintage Collection instead of the plain white trooper, it might have been a success. But we wonder how many collectors will jump through hoops to try and secure this figure. It may not matter. So far, very few stores are receiving any new Star Wars products at all. And with distribution at its very worst, it’s likely these figures will make their debut at a clearance outlet instead.