The 2015 Poe Dameron pilot from The Force Awakens Line was one of the worst figures of the modern era.  The figure lacked detail, almost as if the final mold had melted slightly.  It had 5POA, with only a ball socket head saving it from Kenner-era articulation.  Like all figures in the TFA line, it came with an crappy off-screen build-a-weapon piece.  But what solidified its place in the annals of action figure infamy, was the atrocious head/helmet combo headsculpt, which was capped off with the wretched “banana visor.”

So how does this TLJ Poe Dameron compare?  Interestingly, to my (legally blind) eye, it almost seems like it’s the same body sculpt, with minor tweaks.  The texture that seemingly “melted” away from the TFA version looks to have returned.  There is a bit more “depth” to this sculpt, almost as if it was the original mold before it melted.  I could definitely be wrong here.  The figure curiously maintains its odd barrel-chested stature.  Again, it could just be me, but I found the body shape to be a bit off.  It’s a less exaggerated form of the POTF2 “He-Man” figures.  I don’t like it, and the look remains for this version.

There are some improvements.  The most absolutely necessary change was to give a removeable helmet to Poe.  It isn’t exactly the spitting image of Oscar Isaac, but it can suffice.  The helmet is good, and fits snugly.  The “banana visor” concept was scrapped, for the love of all that is good and holy, and we now get the proper transparent visor.  The pistol fits well in both the holster and hand.  One surprise addition was articulated forearms.  Facilitated by the long pilots’ gloves, the concealed articulation was added at the spot where the black glove meets the flight suit forearm.  And finally, as with all figures so far in this line, Poe interacts with the Force Link Activator.

Using 5 as a baseline, I subtract from the score for keeping the same basic profile sculpt from TFA Poe, but add back for the renoveable helmet and added articulation.  In the end, there’s nothing special here, and I can’t give too much credit for being better than the original.  It’s like being better than the Jets.  I’ll call it even at a 5.