This is one of the most manic figures I’ve ever reviewed.  It either completely works or it completely doesn’t depending on which aspect you are evaluating.  Let’s start with the “works” category.  It looks amazing.  This is one gnarly figure.  Comic books list credits for the illustrators (and even the tracers).  I’m starting to think that a credit to the sculptor of these figures should be listed somewhere on the package.  The sinewy neck on the figure is grotesquely disturbing in a good way.  The fissures and crags in the head are accentuated nicely by the wash which also serves to add a blotchy uneven liver-spotted skin tone.  The limbs are spindly and give the figure an almost arachnid appearance.  All of this perfectly combines to capture the unsettling appearance of Snoke.  As an aside, I still hate the name “Snoke”.  It sounds like something from an 80’s Saturday Morning cartoon. 

Snoke’s arrogance is on display not knowing he’s going to join the long list of Star Wars bisections

The articulation is another area where the figure works. The new ball jointed wrist articulation is a revelation.  What we were previously calling “ball jointed” wrists were really closer to hinged wrists, which could only be articulated along the plane of the hinge.  Now we are being treated to true ball jointed wrists which rotate 360 degrees in addition to flexing up and down.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the first trooper or Jedi figure that utilizes this type of wrist.  The sash that holds the robe on is another win.  It easily unclasps and more importantly, the sash is very easy to reattach to the figure.  If you’ve ever removed a holster belt from a figure and spent seventy two hours trying to reattach it, you know how frustrating this can be.  Not in this case. It effortlessly pops back onto the figure.  Finally, the softgoods robe looks amazing.  It’s not overly bulky and has a quasi-metallic appearance. 

What doesn’t work is that this is one of the most imbalanced super articulated figures I’ve worked with.  This is likely due to the figure’s height giving it a high center of balance.  Trying to avoid the tipping point of the figure is a challenge.  Once you get the figure to stand, even a nearly imperceptible change to the stance will cause it to tip over.  This is exacerbated by the fact that the feet curl upward slightly toward the toes.  I have a feeling that if the prodigious feet were perfectly flat, this figure would stand as unwaveringly as the Gamorrean Guard.  While the robe looks good, it has a few usability issues.  My sample started to curl at the bottom like my 1989 mullet in the summer humidity.  In some of the photos above you can see it rolling up like an old timey scroll that doth decree that this is annoying.  It’s also delicate.  If you’re the type of collector who lets your idiot kids get oatmeal and cat poop on your figures, it won’t stand up to the wear.  There is a plastic collar that attaches through the robe and into the figure’s back.  That hole in the robe was already starting to pull apart in the limited time I spent working with this figure for the gallery above. 

It may take some work, but once you get the figure in a balanced pose, it will stand out in your display.  The negatives I’ve mentioned compel me to give this figure the standard 7 score for a super articulated figure, but the amazing appearance and the pose-ability of the arms demand a bonus point.  8 out of 10.  Overall this figure has me excited for the new figures that are to come in the Vintage Collection.  Hasbro continues to push what can be done in this scale.