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Princess Leia Organa Figure (Star Wars) - Power of the Force, 1995 Action Figure Star Wars...

Princess Leia Organa (Star Wars) Action Figure: Overview

Princess Leia Figure Monkey Face Power of the Force side

It's been said many times over that the Power of the Force 'Monkey Face' Princess Leia Organa action figure is a butt ugly travesty of a Star Wars action figure. So, I should probably try to go beyond this and find something different to say about the figure. Hmmmmmm.

Okay, so this figure has practically become a byword for Hasbro's confused attempts to save the Star Wars action figure line during its wane in popularity in the early 1990s and they probably looked to what kids were buying elsewhere for inspiration which I suppose consisted of superheroes, He-Man and even wrestling figures. They surmised that muscles were 'in', and oh how wrong they were. This was actually an era of Brit Pop, heroin chic and skinny anti-heroes. It was also an era which liked an element of realism in it's fantasy media, representations of the real world but with a twist and with reluctant heroes who weren't born in to the role (very much like Luke Skywalker had been). To suddenly make our favourite characters from the Star Wars movies look like superheroes was a step in the wrong direction.

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Princess Leia Monkey Face Power of the Force closeup

So I digress. This Princess Leia action figure is proving hard to write about. Well, this Leia looks angry, she looks mixed race and she looks like she's about to pull the ears of a gundark. There's also just something very ungraceful about it which totally departs from the prim and proper Leia that we meet in A New Hope. She looks like she's about to strangle someone between her thighs. She'd make a great Mexican wrestler. I don't think that this succeeds by any measure though in offering a positive feminist role model (or indeed the post-feminist icon which it perhaps aimed for), since the Leia we meet in A New Hope manages to have influence, power, independence and dignitas without rolling around in the mud. Okay, admittedly she does need rescuing from the Death Star but once the door is open she practically rescues herself and the other heroes. It's a good twist on the princess in the tower scenario.

There is just one possibility which might help redeem this Princess Leia Organa action figure and re-claim it as part of the Star Wars aesthetic. I found myself thinking back to early stylized Star Wars posters with a muscle-bound Luke Skywalker wielding his lightsaber in the air like a Norse God whilst Princess Leia clings to his thigh like a helpless puppy, or sits at his feet like a Viking slave girl. Looked at this way, Leia has practically been deified by this figure. Her representation has been salvaged from a stereotypical female objectification kneeling under a big shiny phallus and turned in to an action heroine on steroids. Too far in the other direction perhaps? Nonetheless, this action figure literally takes the place of the muscle-bound Luke from the early posters, effectively supplanting him. It's very much an action figure clamouring to be the focus of attention or at least one that can share centre stage with other 'larger than life' characters. Perhaps this is one reason why the figure has been slated so often by the Star Wars fan base. Or, perhaps it's just a bad figure.

Other Power of the Force Action Figures

All Star Wars action figures, vehicles, collectibles and Star Wars toys shown on this website are the 3.75 inch scale and from my own private Star Wars collection unless otherwise stated. Where possible original vintage accessories have been used but in some instances I have placed Kenner Star Wars figures with either reproduction weapons and accessories or for Hasbro figures close approximations have been used. This is mostly the case for modern Star Wars lightsabers where the correct item can be very difficult to identify on some ocassions. Vintage Star Wars action figures are shown with their original weapon or accessory when I have them. When a vintage Kenner action figure is shown with an accessory which is not original I have tried to point this out where possible.

All of the Star Wars action figures shown were purchased second hand, usually incomplete, and in bulk. They have been reunited with their original weapons and accessories where we could get hold of them.

All opinions expressed are those of the author and not those of LucasFilm, Disney, Kenner or Hasbro toys. All Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The Culture and Cult of Star Wars

Princess Leia Organa Figure (Star Wars) - Power of the Force, 1995 Action Figure Star Wars...

Princess Leia Organa (Star Wars) Action Figure: Overview

Other Power of the Force Action Figures

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