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Han Solo

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Template:SW Character Han Solo is a character in the Star Wars universe. He was played by Harrison Ford in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Solo is a character in the Star Wars saga, the second most important figure in the Rebel Alliance he's Luke Skywalker's deuteragonist. In the first released Star Wars film (A New Hope), Solo appears as a largely self-concerned spice smuggler who only reluctantly and somewhat accidentally becomes involved in the rebel movement against the evil Galactic Empire. Over the course of this film and its sequels (The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi), Solo becomes a chief figure in the Rebel Alliance. Star Wars creator George Lucas describes him as "a loner who realizes the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good."[citation needed]

Character history

As portrayed by Ford, Han Solo is a superb smuggler with a wry wit, a reckless disposition, and technological savvy who flies the Millennium Falcon along with his Wookiee copilot Chewbacca.

Star Wars films

The events in this section take place in the original Star Wars film trilogy

A New Hope

At the beginning of A New Hope, Solo and Chewbacca are notorious smugglers. However, during one Kessel Run, the Imperial Navy intercepts and boards their ship, forcing Solo to jettison his cargo to avoid arrest. This results in a large and mounting debt to his former employer, Jabba the Hutt, who places a bounty on Solo's capture. Desperate to pay off his debt to Jabba, Solo accepts a charter to transport Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and their two droids to the planet Alderaan. As a result, Solo reluctantly becomes involved in the Rebel Alliance and helps them rescue Princess Leia from Imperial custody, though he claims he is "only in it for the money," and parts ways with the rebels after delivering them to safety and receiving his payment. However, near the end of the film, he has a change of heart, and helps Luke Skywalker destroy the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin. As a result, Solo is handsomely rewarded and given, along with Luke Skywalker, the Alderaanian Medal of Freedom.

The Empire Strikes Back

In The Empire Strikes Back, set three years later, Solo again attempts to leave the Rebel Alliance as he is still being relentlessly pursued by Jabba's minions. However, he is once again dragged back into action when he saves Skywalker from freezing to death and Princess Leia from an Imperial invasion of the rebel base on Hoth. It is likely that Solo's personal feelings toward the princess played a major role in his decision. He takes her to hide on the planet Bespin, but his old friend Lando Calrissian betrays him and turns them over to Darth Vader, who was informed of their location by Solo's nemesis, bounty hunter Boba Fett. After being tortured by Vader, Solo's body is frozen in carbonite and given to Fett as a reward, who then delivers the incapacitated Solo to Jabba.

Return of the Jedi

Six months later, during the events of Return of the Jedi, Skywalker, now a nearly full-fledged Jedi, rescues Solo from Jabba (with help from Leia, Chewbacca, and a penitent Calrissian). Upon rejoining the rebels, Solo, now promoted to general, accepts their offer to lead the commando raid on an Imperial shield generator facility on the forest moon of Endor. By destroying the shield generator, they allow rebel fighters to enter the Death Star's superstructure and destroy it in the ensuing Battle of Endor, permanently crippling the Empire.

Expanded Universe

File:Han njo.jpg
Han Solo in the New Jedi Order series.

In the years since the release of Return of the Jedi, several novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe have detailed Solo's life before and after joining the Rebellion.

Before A New Hope

In his youth (described in the Expanded Universe novel The Paradise Snare) Solo was a beggar in the streets of Corellia. He was discovered by Garris Shrike, captain of the Trader's Luck. Seduced by promises of a better life, Solo followed the man to his space ship, a relic of the Clone Wars. Unbeknown to the young Corellian, the Trader's Luck was little more than a slave ship, where the rule was "Everyone works." After spending most of his childhood pickpocketing and scamming at the whim of the abusive Shrike, Han came under the care of Dewlanna, a widowed Wookiee "indebted" to the ruthless captain. At some point in his youth he was in a swoop race with Dengar, who was severely injured during the course of the race. Dengar sought revenge on Solo ever since. At the age of 19, Solo escaped the Luck on the droid-controlled vessel Ylesian Dream in pursuit of his piloting career. In the process, an enraged Garris killed Dewlanna, Solo's foster mother.

In response to an ad for good pilots, Solo braves the planet Ylesia's storm-ridden atmosphere. There he discovers a religious conspiracy, led by Ylesia's High Priest, Teroenza, to attract slaves to process illegal glitterstim spice. With the help of his friends Muuurgh the Togorian (a feline humanoid) and Bria Tharen (his first love, whom he discovered as a mindless drone in the factories and deprogrammed), Solo steals a significant portion of Teroenza's private art collection. The trio also destroy the spice factory, adding insult to injury by hijacking the T'landa Tils private yacht. On Coruscant, Bria disappears from Solo's life, engendering in him a "Love 'em and leave 'em" philosophy towards women. He then enlists in the Imperial Navy and is nearly killed by Garris Shrike on the night of his induction ceremony. Shrike intends to collect on the bounty placed on Solo for his Ylesian sabotage. Hungry for vengeance for Dewlanna's death, Solo turns the tables on the captain and nearly kills him. Amidst their savage battle, a second bounty hunter guns Shrike down in order to claim Solo for himself, only to be killed himself by a desperate Han. He spends about five years in the Imperial Starfleet, first at the academy on Carida, where one of his classmates is future Imperial ace starfighter pilot Soontir Fel, and then on active service.

In The Hutt Gambit, he wins the Corellian Bloodstripes, represented by the dotted-red line running down the sides of his pants (how he won them has never been revealed-all that is known about the circumstances through which he won them is that they took place over several days). A scheduled rendezvous with a slaving vessel reveals that an adult Wookiee has overwhelmed the crew and released the Wookiee children that were to be sold. Leading a TIE fighter squadron, Solo boards the damaged ship and meets Chewbacca for the first time, barely alive in the pilot's seat. Commander Nyklas orders the young lieutenant to skin the Wookiee, but Solo refuses to do so. He later loses his lieutenant's commission and is dishonorably discharged. His Bloodstripes are the only decoration not literally ripped off his uniform when he's cashiered out of Imperial service, as they weren't an Imperial award. Chewbacca swears a life-debt to his rescuer, and from then on the two are inseparable.

The duo's early career is spent doing smuggling runs for various masters, including the Desilijac clan of the Hutts, in their barely-functional ship Bria. The ship is rendered inoperable soon after the Battle of Nar Shaddaa (where a combined smuggler's fleet fought off an Imperial attempt to raze the moon), and Han had to seek a new vessel.

Solo, down on his luck, wins the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in an intense sabacc tournament on Bespin, whereupon he embarks on his smuggling career.

In the novel Rebel Dawn, Solo's bravery during the Battle of Nar Shaddaa earns him the attention of his old flame Bria Tharen, now an agent of the Rebel Alliance. Hardly considering himself the heroic type, he is reluctant in aiding his former love, who is planning an all-out attack against the slaving colonies on Ylesia. Promised appropriate compensation, Solo, Calrissian, and Chewbacca take on the mission. In the aftermath of the battle, Tharen's troopers turn their blasters on Calrissian and the rest of Solo's friends, confiscating all valuables in the name of the Rebel Alliance. Angered, Solo threatens to kill Bria if he ever sees her again. Defaced and branded a traitor back on Nar Shaddaa, Calrissian refuses to believe Solo was not involved in the swindle, punching the Corellian in the jaw.

After Return of the Jedi

In the novels that take place after Return of the Jedi, Solo plays a central role in the turbulent years following the death of Emperor Palpatine and destruction of the Empire. Solo is picked to command a New Republic task force to hunt down and capture or destroy Warlord Zsinj. In the novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, Solo resigns his commission in order to pursue Leia, whom he eventually marries on Coruscant after destroying Zsinj.

In the Thrawn trilogy, Solo plays a key role getting Talon Karrde and other smugglers to support the New Republic through intelligence and mercenary work. He is frequently separated from Leia during this time, going on contact missions with friends such as Calrissian, Wedge Antilles and Lieutenant Page. He is also present at the battle on Wayland which resulted in the death of Joruus C'Baoth.

Solo and Leia have three children together, twins Jaina and Jacen and their younger brother Anakin, who is named after Luke and Leia's father (and the former Darth Vader), Anakin Skywalker. Imperial agents frequently attempt to kidnap these children, with the intent of raising them as Dark Jedi.

In the Dark Empire series, Solo and Leia's son, Anakin, becomes the target of Palpatine's clone, who attempted to inhabit the infant's body. Anakin is spared this fate in the final entry, Empire's End; Just as Palpatine is about to possess the child, Solo shoots him in the back, destroying the Sith Lord's body. Palpatine's spirit makes one final lunge at young Anakin, but his former ally Empatojayos Brand turns against him and blocks his way, destroying him.

In the novel Jedi Search, Solo and Chewbacca go on a diplomatic mission to Kessel. While there, they are shot down and imprisoned by the administrator Moruth Doole. While in prison, Solo befriends a young Force-sensitive man named Kyp Durron. Chewbacca, Solo, and Durron escape in an Imperial Shuttle. They go into the Maw, and are captured by Admiral Daala, who is guarding the secret Maw Installation. Solo is taken to Qwi Xux, who helped design the Death Star, and who has just designed an Imperial superweapon, the Sun Crusher. Solo convinces Xux that the Empire was evil, and Xux and Solo free Chewbacca and Durron. The group then steal the Sun Crusher, destroying a Star Destroyer in the process, and return it to the New Republic.

Durron begins his Jedi training in Dark Apprentice. Under the influence of the spirit of ancient Sith Lord Exar Kun, however, he falls to the dark side. Solo takes off to hunt down Durron, who has stolen the Sun Crusher from its storage location in the heart of the gas planet Yavin, and takes the vessel on an anti-Imperial rampage. After Kun's spirit is destroyed, Durron surrenders to Solo. Solo stands at Durron's side when he goes before the New Republic council, and takes him back to Luke Skywalker. Luke forgives Durron and continues his training, eventually turning him into one of the first Masters of the new Jedi Order.

In The Corellian Trilogy, Solo returns to Corellia for the first time in many years. Solo's cousin, Thrackan Sal-Solo, is inciting a revolution to overthrow the existing government, and the entire system is on the edge of civil war. Solo and his friends help defuse the situation before it degenerates into a full-scale war.

Chewbacca dies saving Anakin's life in Vector Prime, the first in the New Jedi Order series of books. Solo takes his companion's death hard, sinking into alcoholism and depression. He takes his anger and grief out on his family, alienating them and returning to his loner lifestyle. In Star by Star, Anakin dies as well, compounding Solo's despair. By the end of the series, however, Solo finally accepts the deaths of Anakin and Chewbacca and moves on, and repairs his relationship with his family.

While the Expanded Universe posits a life of continuing hardship and struggle for the character post-Return of the Jedi, creator George Lucas holds a different view. In a 2005 interview with MTV News, http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/237059/news/articles/1501522/story.jhtml Lucas opened, "Han and Leia probably did get married," Lucas conceded. "They settled down. She became a senator, and they got a nice little house with a white picket fence. Han Solo is out there cooking burgers on the grill. Is that a movie? I don't think so."

Han Solo's character has remained immensely popular in the decades following his first appearance in A New Hope, with his popularity apparent to a greater degree than that of many other Star Wars characters.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Han Solo.

References

  • Star Wars: The Paradise Snare, (Book 1 of The Han Solo Trilogy), 1st paperback printing, 1997. A. C. Crispin, ISBN 0-553-57415-9
  • Star Wars, The Han Solo Adventures: Han Solo at Star's End, Del Rey omnibus of "Han Solo at Star's End", "Han Solo's Revenge", and "Han Solo and the Lost Legacy", 1979. Brian Daley, ISBN 0-345-37980-2
  • Star Wars: Rebel Dawn (Book 3 of "The Han Solo Trilogy"), by A. C. Crispin. 1998. ISBN 0-553-57417-5
  • Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
  • Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura, 1st paperback printing, 1994. Kathy Tyers, ISBN 0-553-56872-8
  • Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia, 1995. Dave Wolverton, ISBN 0-553-56937-6
  • Star Wars: Jedi Search, (Book 1 of the Jedi Academy Trilogy), 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0553297988
  • Star Wars: Dark Apprentice, (Book 2 of the Jedi Academy Trilogy), 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-29799-6
  • Star Wars: Champions of the Force, (Book 3 of the Jedi Academy Trilogy), 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, 0-553-29799-6
  • Star Wars, Ambush at Corellia, (Book 1 of the Corellian Trilogy) 1st printing, 1995. Roger MacBride Allen, ISBN 0-553-29803-8
  • Star Wars, Assault at Selonia, (Book 2 of the Corellian Trilogy) 1st printing, 1995. Roger MacBride Allen, ISBN 0-553-29805-4
  • Star Wars, Showdown at Centerpoint, (Book 3 of the Corellian Trilogy) 1st printing, 1995. Roger MacBride Allen, ISBN 0-553-29806-2
  • Star Wars: Vector Prime, (Book 1 of the New Jedi Order), 1999. R. A. Salvatore, ISBN 0-345-42844-7
  • Star Wars, New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse, (Book 5 of the New Jedi Order) 1st paperback printing, 2000. James Luceno, ISBN 0-345-42859-5
  • A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, 2nd edition, 1994. Bill Slavicsek, ISBN 0-345-38625-6
  • New Jedi Order Sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast: 2002. J.D. Wiker and Steve Miller, ISBN 0-7869-2777-1

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