There have been numerous A New Hope Obi-Wans produced by Hasbro over the years.  Each has seemingly offered something a little different with each iteration.  What we regard as the current definitive ANH Obi-Wan would be The Legacy Collection (blue) Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD 34).  That figure had a great likeness to Sir Alec Guiness, an outstanding overall sculpt, super-articulation, and awesome accessories (including table with holo Leia).  It included soft goods inner “skirt” that was executed to perfection.  However, there were two things about the figure that left room for improvement:  The robe was large and unwieldy, and perhaps more annoyingly, the figure was unable to accommodate a simple two-handed lightsaber grip, negating any possibility of you being able to display it in the iconic poses we know from Obi-Wan’s last moments on this side of The Force as he dueled Darth Vader on the Death Star.

So that’s where this 5POA figure may be worth a look.

As a 5POA, it definitely meets the goal of doing its job.  It stands with no hassle, it interacts with its accessory well (allowing for single or double handed lightsaber grip), it is sculpted well, and it has an outstanding likeness to Sir Alec.  The paint applications are very good, although the efficacy of the new crosshatch facial hair paint may be debatable.  Beyond that nit, it’s a solid figure all around.  The robe is removable, but as with its wave mate, Yoda, you’re not going to really have an option to display it this way because of the sleeves being the color of the outer robe.  It does a better job of disguising the sleeve gap than the Yoda figure, so it looks pretty seamless.  The hood sculpt gives it that nice iconic touch, as it falls over Obi-Wan’s head and onto his shoulders in the right manner.  This is the advantage of sculpted garments over soft goods.  The disadvantage is the restriction on posability.  Obi-Wan cannot sit, as the robes make this impossible.  Otherwise, the limited articulation makes it an irrelevant point.

Now, if you’re a 5POA hater, why should you have any interest in this?  Because the figure can do one key thing that the “definitive” SA version cannot:  it can achieve the iconic poses from the Death Star duel with Vader.  See the images above, which compare two different memorable poses as he faces off with his former friend and pupil.  The images provided show screenshots from ANH, along with attempts to duplicate the screenshot by both this figure and the TLC figure.  Which do you prefer?

If you are looking for the best figure available to achieve either of these specific, yet important, poses on your display shelf, than this Obi-Wan is definitely worth a look.