Qi'ra

Meet the old boss, same as the new boss. At 18 years of age, young Qi'ra is already enmeshed in a life of crime, working for a gang on Corellia. As far as films go, no one was asking for Solo - like, sure, there's a story to be told there, but it would have been fine as a comic or novel, it didn't have to be a live-action film. The truly unbelievable thing, though, is that originally it was planned as a full trilogy of movies! Clearly some of that has been compressed now, with this single movie covering a lot of the ground alone (similar to the way Zack Snyder's Justice League turned from two terrible movies into one). The final product is fine, but it does make us miss out on more development with Qi'ra. In the final product, she does have her own arc, but since it's running in the background while she's absent from the movie, she's still basically just "Han's girlfriend." Han's girlfriend was played by Khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke, adding to Star Wars' most enduring tradition: petite brunette girls. The toy's likeness is wonderful, thanks to the Photo Real painting process. Her hair is a separate piece attached to the head, to give the illusion of depth. It's tucked behind her ear on the left, but hangs free on the right. Since this figure represents Qi'ra as a street punk on Corellia and not as the Deputy Assistant Administrator to the Vice Admiral of the Federation of Trade Route Allocation and Monetization on Kessel, she's still got that sort of Debbie Harry/Blondie "girl wearing her boyfriend's jacket" look to her. Not that this is actually Han's coat, but you know what we mean. Her jacket is gray with an asymmetrical wool-lined collar and the sleeves pushed up, her shirt is red with a black interior revealed in the folded-over flap, she's got a black skirt that is lower in the front than in the back and has a light gray coloring along the lower edge. That's worn over black pants and dark grey boots. Who knew outer space had 1980s Minnesota mall rats? A girl's got to protect herself, so Qi'ra is carrying a small silver blaster pistol. It's small enough to conceal easily, which is good for her since she doesn't have any kind of holster for it, and it features two barrels positioned next to each other. According to bigger nerds than us, that's a Monlitzer S-195 blaster pistol, and uses reactant gas capsules or power plugs as its ammo (which you can see on Qi'ra's belt). The figure has the standard Black Series articulation style, with swivel/hinged rocker ankles, double-hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed waist, swivel/hinged wrists, elbows, and shoulders, and a balljointed head. The legs get limited by the skirt, but the fact that it's designed as separate front and back pieces means the obstruction could definitely be worse. Her right hand is molded to hold the gun, while the left is in a gripping pose to accommodate an accessory that doesn't exist. Do you feel she needs a lightsaber? Then she can have it! The inclusion of Qi'ra and her story arc made Solo better than it might have been, and showed that Han definitely has a type. Spunky, dark-haired girls who kick ass? Sign him right the hell up! And while one movie was plenty when it comes to Solo, we're almost certain to see him and Qi'ra cross paths again. -- 12/30/18

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