Han Solo

"Is that even possible?''" "''I never ask that question until after I've done it."

- Rey and Han Solo

Han Solo was a Human male smuggler-turned-Rebel who fought in some of the most pivotal battles of the Galactic Civil War. He hailed from the planet Corellia and, along with his best friend and first mate Chewbacca, worked as a smuggler for Jabba the Hutt. He piloted the Millennium Falcon, which he won in a game of sabacc from fellow scoundrel Lando Calrissian, and flew the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. Though he was Jabba's best smuggler, he ran afoul of the Hutt crime lord when an encounter with the Galactic Empire forced Solo to dump his cargo, indebting him to Jabba.

Solo's life took a turn towards rebellion when he met Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine, and he agreed to give them passage to Alderaan on an important mission for the Rebel Alliance. They arrived to find that the Death Star had destroyed Alderaan, and they were captured by the Death Star. Solo worked with Skywalker and Chewbacca to assist the captive Princess Leia Organa in her escape from the Death Star. Kenobi sacrificed himself in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader so the others could escape, and Solo brought the princess and the others to the Rebel base on Yavin 4. Though he intended to collect his reward money and leave, he helped Skywalker destroy the Death Star in the Battle of Yavin and became a hero of the Rebel Alliance.

Over the next several years, Solo continued to serve the Rebel Alliance in operations such as an assault on Cymoon 1 and a battle on Vrogas Vas. He intended to leave the Alliance to repay his debts to Jabba after the Battle of Hoth, but he, the princess, and Chewbacca were forced to find safe refuge with Calrissian on Cloud City. Unknown to them, however, was that it was an Imperial trap; Vader captured them to lure Skywalker, his son, to Cloud City so he could be captured and brought before the Emperor. Solo was frozen in carbonite as a test, to ensure that the process would work on Skywalker, and was taken by bounty hunter Boba Fett to Jabba on Tatooine. He was later rescued by his friends, resulting in Jabba's death.

After escaping Tatooine, Solo returned to the Rebel Alliance and was commissioned as a general. He led a special forces group known as the Pathfinders during the Battle of Endor, resulting in the destruction of the shield generator protecting the second Death Star. After the destruction of the Death Star and the death of the Emperor, Solo continued to lead the Pathfinders in operations against the fractured Empire. He served in the New Republic after its formation and, along with Chewbacca, intended to help liberate Chewbacca's homeworld of Kashyyyk from the Empire.

After the battle of Endor, Han and Leia had a child named Ben, who was strong in the Force and was taken as an apprentice by Luke Skywalker. However, Ben turned to the Dark Side of the Force and served under Snoke, joining the First Order and taking on the name Kylo Ren. Han abandoned the New Republic and the Resistance as he returned to being a smuggler with Chewbacca, though the Millennium Falcon was stolen from him. However, he encountered Finn and Rey, who were taking BB-8 to the Resistance using the Millennium Falcon. Han and Chewbacca joined them, and they eventually reached the Resistance base. Han took Chewbacca and Finn on a reconnaissance mission to disable the shield around Starkiller Base and rescue Rey from captivity. During the mission, Han confronted Kylo Ren, pleading him to return. However, Ren refused and killed his father by stabbing him through the chest with his lightsaber in the hope that this act would diminish the call of the Light Side.

Early life
"Just blast everything and fly a fast ship. And bring a Wookiee. Works for me."

- Han Solo

Han Solo was born on the planet Corellia during the waning years of the Galactic Republic. He was orphaned at a young age, and turned to a life of crime as a thief in order to survive the perils of the galaxy. Solo, at some point, acquired a starship and became an exceptional pilot. Solo began workin During his early years as a smuggler, Solo devised a plot to get revenge against a crime lord who owned a massive gambling den on the planet Stenness, and had continuously double-crossed spice smugglers. In order for the escapade to look as legitimate as possible, Solo and his fellow scoundrels arranged a fraudulent marriage ceremony where Solo and the woman Sana Starros were illegitimately married. The robbery occurred, too, and Solo was given his share. However, Solo also took Starros's share and fled, leaving Starros in a dire situation. As a result, Starros came to believe that the only thing Solo was good for was lying, likening him to a "scoundrel."

Solo and Chewbacca also crash-landed on a planet in the Monsua Nebula that was entirely covered in electrical super-storms and cyclones. But beneath the storms, a beautiful oasis laid. Solo and his copilot located a cave that they turned into a smuggling den, storing Corellian wine and other things within. He and Chewbacca used the den several times over the years.

Eventually, the pair came into the employment of the Outer Rim crime lord Jabba the Hutt, who was based on the desert planet Tatooine and was the leader of the powerful Hutt Clan. Solo and Chewbacca smuggled for Jabba for many years and Solo became Jabba's top smuggler. The smuggling duo also spent much time in the Mos Eisley Cantina looking for work. However, they were forced to dump a shipment of valuable spice, an addictive drug, when the Falcon was boarded by an Imperial crew who would have surly arrested Solo and Chewbacca if they had been caught with the illicit drug. Solo and Chewbacca returned to Jabba, who placed a large bounty of 50,000 credits on the pair; it was only intended to be removed if Solo paid restitution for the Hutt's loss. Solo, some time later, in order to repay the Hutt, smuggled for the Pyke Syndicate, who controlled a near-monopoly over the spice trade, from the planet Kessel where the syndicate's controlled the spice mines of Kessel. Solo and Chewbacca were hired to transport spice from Kessel to the syndicate's customers; known as the foolhardy Kessel Runs. Using the Falcon, Solo broke a long-held record for the Kessel Run, he completed the challenge in less than twelve parsecs.

A fateful business venture
"Seventeen-thousand! Those guys must really be desperate&mdash;this could really save my neck. Get back to the ship and get it ready." "Hurrr."

- Han Solo to Chewbacca, after meeting with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker Some time after losing Jabba's cargo, Solo and Chewbacca traveled to the Mos Eisley Cantina to look for work to pay off Jabba. Chewbacca soon met Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, also known as Ben Kenobi, who was seeking charter to the Alderaan system on a mission of vital importance for the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Kenobi defended young Skywalker from criminals Ponda Baba and Cornelius Evazan with his lightsaber; revealing himself as a Jedi before making their way to Solo's booth. They arrived and began bartering terms of the deal. Solo assured Kenobi that the Millennium Falcon was the fastest around, because it had made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. Kenobi informed Solo that the cargo was only himself, Skywalker and two droids, and that they wanted to avoid Imperials entirely. Therefore, Solo set the price at 10,000 credits; higher than he normally would have. However, Kenobi raised Solo's bid to 17,000 credits: 2,000 in advance and 15,000 when they reached Alderaan. Solo was perplexed that Kenobi had raised his bid and quickly accepted the deal. The smuggler then told his temporary employer to meet him in Docking Bay 94 for departure as soon as he was ready, before warning Kenobi that some Imperial sandtroopers had entered the cantina and were looking for Evazan and Baba's attacker. Kenobi and Skywalker hastily fled, leaving Solo to express his elation to Chewbacca at having garnered such a high-paying job to pay off Jabba. Chewbacca left as well right after.

As solo got up to leave, he was confronted by one of Jabba's bounty hunters: the Rodian Greedo. Greedo demanded to be payed Jabba's debt, or he would take Solo's dead body back to Jabba as payment. Solo, therefore, in self defense, nonchalantly pulled his DL-44 blaster pistol and shot Greedo from under the table a fraction of a second after Greedo fired his weapon&mdash;although, Solo hit his target and Greedo did not. Solo ignored the Murder tax Jabba enforced, opting instead to let Wuher, the cantina's bartender, take care of it: he tossed some credit chips to the bartender and apologized for the mess before heading to Docking Bay 94.

Solo arrived in the docking shortly thereafter, and found Jabba himself, with several of his guards&mdash;including Jabba's top bounty hunter Boba Fett&mdash; looking for him near the Falcon. Jabba inquired as to whether Solo was going to pay him, and why he had "fried poor Greedo." Jabba was disappointed in having to put the bounty on Solo; the crime lord's top smuggler. Solo insisted he had had no choice but to dump the cargo, and informed the Hutt that he had secured a charter that would be able to compensate the Hutt's loss in full as soon as he completed it. Jabba was pleased and added that if Solo paid twenty percent interest all could be forgotten, however, Solo talked him down to fifteen percent, and ironically stated that the Hutt was a "wonderful Human being," before entering the Falcon.

A short time later, Kenobi, Skywalker and their two droids, the protocol droid C-3PO, and the astromech droid R2-D2, boarded the Falcon after Skywalker remarked that the Falcon appeared to be a "piece of junk." Solo corrected him: The Millennium Falcon looked out-of-shape, but had been given "special modifications" that made it one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. Just then, a squad of stormtroopers appeared in the docking bay and opened fire on Solo. Solo fired back while retreating on board and for Chewbacca to take off. The Falcon blasted away from the Mos Eisley spaceport and clear of Tatooine. Solo inserted coordinates to the Alderaan system into the Falcon's navigation computer while teaching farmboy Skywalker the importance of entering the correct coordinates&mdash;If it was not done correctly, the ship could run into any number of dangers associated with space travel. The Falcon outran two Imperial Star Destroyers and jumped into hyperspace.

While en route to Alderaan, Solo boasted of outrunning the "Imperial slugs," but was annoyed when no one would humor him. Chewbacca and R2-D2, often shortened to Artoo, were playing a game of Dejarik when Artoo outplayed the Wookiee, so Solo warned the droids not to upset him because Wookiee rage was not something C-3PO, often shortened to Threepio, a droid programmed in protocol would want to experience. Skywalker, meanwhile, trained with a remote with his lightsaber, trying to deflect the sting bolts with the civilized weapon. Solo was skeptical of the Force&mdash;the energy field that connected all living things in the galaxy, and the Jedi, like Kenboi, were able to use to perform seemingly supernatural feats&mdash;because in all his travels he had never seen proof that pointed to its existence; to Solo, it was all "simple tricks and nonsense." Kenobi took Solo's skepticism as a challenge and put a helmet over Luke's face so he couldn't see. Skywalker tried to deflect the bolts again, and did, while unable to see. Solo was mildly impressed, but acquitted Skywalker's ability to luck.

Immediately after, the Falcon emerged from hyperspace in the Alderaan system. The Falcon came out at Alderaan's galactic coordinates, but into an meteor shower, with Alderaan nowhere in sight. Kenobi, using the Force, realized the asteroid field was Alderaan: The entire planet had been destroyed by the Empire. Solo couldn't believe the Empire had had enough firepower to do so, even with their entire fleet, but then an Imperial short-range TIE fighter appeared, seemingly confirming Kenobi's suspicions. Skywalker and Solo both conflated that if the fighter identified them as the freighter that had blasted away from Tatooine, they would be damned. Therefore, Solo got in range to destroy it. Kenobi, however, argued against it before Solo realized that the fighter did have a base; what appeared to be a small moon that was seen in the distance. Kenobi quickly surmised that the moon was not a moon, but, but an Imperial space station, the Death Star battle station equipped with a superlaser that was capable of destroying entire planets. Solo was shocked at the Death Star's 120 kilometer spherical diameter and prepared to turn the Falcon around and retreat. One of the station's tractor beams, however, began to pull the Falcon in. Solo prepared to fight his way out once they were taken aboard and shut the freighter down. Kenobi was able to talk Solo into listening to him, though: hide instead of fight. Therefore, they ejected the Falcon's five Model CEC Class-1 escape pods and hid themselves in the Falcon's smuggling compartments located under the floor.

Rescuing the princess of Alderaan
"Wonderful girl! Either I'm going to kill her, or I'm beginning to like her!"

- Solo to Skywalker, after Organa took the lead in their escape

The freighter was pulled into Docking Bay 327 where it was boarded and quickly searched by stormtroopers on the orders of Darth Vader, the Emperor's chief lieutenant and a Dark Lord of the Sith. After the troopers left, Solo and the others emerged from the compartments and Kenbobi devised a plan to disable the tractor beam from inside the station. As they worked out the plan's details, an Imperial scanning crew came aboard to more thoroughly search the ship. Solo shot them and then impersonated the crew, yelling out to a pair of stormtroopers outside for assistance. They came, Solo shot them, and he and Skywalker dressed themselves in their armor.

Skywalker, now under the guise trooper TK-421, fooled an officer, Treidum, into opening the door to the hangar's control room. Chewbacca and Solo cut down the officer and his comrades, while Artoo plugged into a computer terminal to locate the tractor beam controls. Artoo found them and Kenobi departed to disable it after commanding the others to stay in the control room. Solo was fine with staying; he'd gotten much more than the he's signed on for in the cantina. Artoo, however, had learned that Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan and a leading member of the Rebel Alliance, was aboard the station, and was scheduled to be executed in Detention Block AA-23 very soon. Skywalker insisted that they go rescue her, and reasoned that if Kenobi had known she was present, he would have gone after her, too. Solo at first refused, but decided it was worth the risk when Skywalker and Chewbacca assured him there would be a huge reward from the Rebel Alliance if she was rescued. Skywalker quickly worked out a subterfuge to bluff their way into the prison using Chewbacca as a prisoner scheduled for a prisoner transfer.

Soon thereafter, they set out to the fifth level of the Death Star with their "prisoner" in stuncuffs and left the droids behind. They arrived at the detention level and told the officer in charge, Childsen, of the supposed transfer. He went to check the legitimacy of the fake stormtroopers' claim, while other troopers went to detain the Wookiee. Chewbacca, per the plan, attacked. Solo kept up the charade while firing on the guards and security cameras. Solo located the princess's cell in the prison computer and sent Skywalker to get her while he tried to convince a technician that nothing had gone wrong via a comm system, before giving up and shooting the panel when the tech saw through the rouse and sent stormtroopers to investigate.

The troopers blockaded the only exit to the detention block and attacked. Solo and Chewbacca returned fire while they retreated to Skywalker's position. Skywalker had gotten the princess, who critiqued their plan to rescue her without thinking through an escape route. Solo quipped that she was welcome to return to her cell and be executed rather than rescued if she desired, while they took cover in the corridor and traded fire with the Imperials. Organa lost patience with the the three men, took a blaster and shot open a chute and dove in after telling the others to follow. Solo remarked to Skywalker that he wasn't sure if he was very frustrated with Organa, or if he was beginning to like her, and shoved Chewbacca into the chute. Skywalker and Solo followed right after.

They found themselves in a garbage compactor with the only exit locked. Solo sarcastically told Organa great work in getting them nowhere and tried to shoot the open the exit. The laser bounced wildly around the compactor, nearly hitting the rebels. Skywalker informed Solo that he had already tried it, that it was magnetically sealed. Organa commanded Solo to put his blaster away. Solo was unhappy at being ordered around, but did so. Just then, a low growl sounded; the four simultaneously realized they weren't alone. A moment later, a tentacle belonging to a dianoga grabbed Skywalker and pulled him under water. Solo and Organa frantically searched for him, and seconds later he reemerged. Solo grabbed Skywalker and tried to shoot the creature, but Skywalker was pulled under again. Solo had almost given up looking when the dianoga released him and vanished. Solo helped him up, before the walls of the compactor began to close in. Chewbacca the princess and Solo tried to brace them while Skywalker contacted the droids in order for Artoo to hack into the station's network and shut down the compactor. After a bit of a delay, Artoo succeeded. The three Humans and the Wookiee rejoiced, for their lives had been saved.

They left the compactor and Skywalker and Solo took off the trooper armor. As they did so, Chewbacca heard strange noises coming from the compactor and ran away. Solo fired a laser blast into the compactor to prove that the Wookiee was acting with cowardice. Organa scolded him for making so much noise, and told him that he would have to take orders from her if they were going to survive the ordeal. Solo was appalled at Organa's demeanor, and informed "her worshipfullness" that he only took orders from himself. Leaving Organa to quip that it was amazing that the smuggler was still alive. Solo looked at Skywalker and muttered that no reward was worth putting up with the princess's attitude.

As the group made their way back towards the docking bay, they ran into a group of stormtroopers. Solo yelled for Skywalker and Organa to go to the Falcon while he and his first mate charged the troopers. The troopers turned and ran from the screaming smuggler. Solo, however, ran into the troopers' reinforcements, and then he was being chased. He ran back into the hangar and through a blast door as it closed; stopping the troopers who had pursued him and Chewbacca. Solo caught up with Skywalker and Organa who had also run into some trouble, and they prepared to board the Falcon, but several stormtroopers stood guard outside. The troopers, however, rushed to Darth Vader who was locked in lightsaber combat with Kenobi. The group took advantage of the distraction Kenboi had created to rush aboard the freighter&mdash;except for Skywalker, who stopped. Kenobi saw that Skywalker and the others would be safe, so he let himself be cut-down by the Dark Lord. Skywalker yelled in grief, alerting the troopers to their presence. The troopers opened fire, but Solo ran and started up his ship, and once everyone was on board, blasted off and away from the battle station. There troubles were not over, however: four Imperial TIE fighters were in pursuit.

Chewbacca piloted the Falcon in order for Skywalker and Solo to man its turrets to fight off the attackers. A dogfight ensued, where Solo shot down one fighter and congratulated Skywalker when he shot one down, as well&mdash;and advised him to not "get cocky." Solo soon shot down the final Imperial fighter and sighed in relief as they entered hyperspace to travel to Yavin 4&mdash;the location of the Rebels' hidden base. While en route to the Yavin system, Organa grimly informed Solo that the Imperials had let them escape in order to track them to the hidden base, which explained the relative ease of their escape. Solo, didn't believe it had been easy and demanded to know what information Artoo was carrying that made him so special. Organa told him: the technical readouts to the Death Star. Solo was shocked, and added that once he was rewarded, he was going to leave; he claimed he wasn't interested in the Rebels' revolution or the princess as a companion. Organa assured Solo that if all he loved was money, that's all he would receive, and stomped away. Skywalker took her place and asked the smuggler what he thought of the princess. Solo admitted she had spirit, and inquired to whether Skywalker could see Organa and Solo together. Skywalker quickly said "no," thereby admitting he had his own feeling for the princess&mdash;much to Solo's amusement.

A change of conscience
"I knew you'd come back&mdash;I just knew it!" "Well, I couldn't let you get all the credit and take all the reward!" "Hey, I knew there was more to you than money!"

- Skywalker, Solo and Organa celebrate the destruction of the Death Star The Falcon soon reached Yavin 4 where Solo and the others were welcomed; Alliance Alliance High Command had feared that Organa had died with her world. The plans within Artoo were analyzed and a weakness was discovered: a two-meter wide exhaust port that led to the station's main reactor. Solo and Chewbacca attended a briefing for the Rebel pilots, including Skywalker, who were going to attack the station when it inevitably arrived. General Jan Dodonna explained that a one-man starfighter could get close enough and fire proton torpedoes into the shaft that would cause a chain reaction that would destroy the station. Solo was skeptical, thinking it suicide to even attempt. Therefore, after he was given his rearward of credits, he packed up to leave, but was confronted by Skywalker who insisted he stay and fight with the Rebellion. Solo, thinking selfishly of his debt with Jabba, refused, and asked Skywalker to come with him and Chewbacca. Skywalker was dismayed with Solo's selfishness and angrily walked away. Solo called after him an old Jedi saying: "May the Force be with you." Chewbacca was disappointed in Solo&mdash;he wanted to stay and fight.

Solo and Chewbacca then left Yavin 4 aboard the Millennium Falcon. Soon, however, Chewbacca's nagging and Solo's conscience eventually got the better of the smuggler and he turned around and headed towards the Death Star where the battle was raging&mdash;although he did so not for the Rebellion's cause, but to save his friend, Skywalker. He arrived in his ship to find Skywalker in his T-65B X-wing starfighter being pursued by three TIE fighters in the station's meridian trench. Solo fired on the pursers, destroying one, and causing another to panic, which collided with the last. Solo yelled in glee and told Skywalker to take the shot so they could go home. Skywalker did, and it was a direct hit: The Death Star blew apart and killed everyone on board. Of the thirty Alliance ships that had participated in the battle, only three returned to the base with Solo in the Falcon. Solo rushed to Skywalker as he exited his fighter and congratulated him, while the princess embraced Solo in his bravery and proving there was more to him than money.

A rushed award ceremony was held later for the heroes of the battle; which included Solo. The three awardees, Solo, Skywalker and Chewbacca, walked the aisle past hundreds of Alliance personnel. They reached the stage, where Organa placed a medal around Solo's neck as he winked at her. Skywalker was given his medal and they bowed to the princess and turned as the crowd clapped for them. Organa delivered her speech, next. She asked them all to not forget the lives lost on Alderaan and during the battle, including her adopted parents, Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa. Dodonna followed up by informing the base's population their next course of action: evacuate Yavin 4. The ceremony was adjourned. Organa playfully told Solo that he and his first mate had better get work.

Mission to Cyrkon
"I'm not part of this! I'm not a part of your rebellion, I'm not a freedom fighter, and I don't work for you, Your Highness!" "If you worked for me, I'd have fired you already." "If I worked for you, lady, I'd have quit."

- Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa

With the Falcon scheduled to leave shortly after the Battle of Yavin, it was already an hour late as it lay parked in the Great Temple of Massassi following the rebel's victory. Leia Organa, helping oversee some of the last stages of the evacuation approached Han in an effort to get him to aid the Rebellion once more by rescuing Lieutenant Caluan Ematt of the elite rebel recon unit the Shrikes. Initially refusing, Han was eventually persuaded to come to the rebel's aid following pressure from his companion, Chewbacca. With an even larger bounty of 224,190 credits placed on his head, Han decided against his better judgement to aid the Princess, if only for feeling a pang of guilt for her and their doomed resistance movement. With the Falcon the fastest ship and only ship that could reach Ematt in time, Han and Chewie set course for the distant Outer Rim world of Cyrkon where Ematt had been last heard from. Narrowly escaping an the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Vehement by changing their ship's IFF transponder, the two landed in the city's capital, Motok, where they ran into a gang of bounty hunters set out to capture the reward Jabba had put on their heads. Feigning surrender and stalling for time, Han offered to give over the money they had to pay off their debts to Jabba for their lives. Nonetheless, the arrival of ISB Commander Alecia Beck and a quartet of stormtroopers interrupted the firefight, in which Han pretended to be the victim of a gang of rowdy rebels. With the bounty hunters now engaged fighting the stormtroopers, Han and Chewie ran off to meet with their old friend Delia Leighton of the starship Miss Fortune, a moving bar that could pack up and leave whenever local authorities realized their operations and evasion of property taxes. While initially refusing to believe that Han was working with the Rebellion, Delia ultimately agreed to help Han by providing him with the location of Ematt in a low-rent hotel on the outskirts of town. Heading there in a recently purchased high-end speeder, which Han intended to bill the Alliance, the gang of bounty hunters they had run into previously also followed them there after interrogating Delia and threatening to kill her longtime friend. Unbeknownst to Han, Chewbacca and Ematt, the bounty hunters realizing their situation for fighting the Empire earlier agreed to help the Imperials by hunting down Han Solo and the rebel he was supposed to meet, with Alecia Beck having previously ambushed Ematt's team members of Taanab. Not intending to have Ematt commit suicide as his team members did to protect the sensitive information in their heads, Beck ordered over forty stormtroopers to take up positions in and around the hangar where the Falcon was parked as the bounty hunters chased Han back towards his ship.

Arriving in the hanger to be surrounded by stormtroopers, Han and his compatriots believed they were done for. Nonetheless, in an effort to escape, Han pretended to instigate Chewie by referring to him as his slave, in which Chewie would angrily retort. Starting a fight, the rebels would quickly assault the nearby Imperials attempting to cuff them as Delia and her ship, Miss Fortune opened fire on the hangar, with Delia seeking to make amends with Han for her forced betrayal. Firing at the two magnetic generators protecting the hangar from the toxic fumes of the planet outside, Han managed to escape with Chewie and Ematt along with Delia in her ship as they blasted off into the planets atmosphere. Needing time for the navigation computer to plot their jump to lightspeed, Han and Chewie manned the cockpit while Ematt manned both turbolasers from the ships cockpit. Fending off several TIE/LN starfighters, the Miss Fortune suddenly took a hit to their navicomputer. After a moment's reflection, Han decided to help her and her ship instead of running away as he would have normally done, distracting the Star Destroyer as it utilized its tractor beam in an attempt to capture the Falcon. Fixing their navicomputer, the Miss Fortune was able to jump to light speed however not before the Falcon was caught in the Vehement's lock. Han, horrified by the Empire's willingness to destroy its own fragile TIE fighters in the wake of their tractor beam to capture them, he fell into a freefall towards the planet in an effort to escape the beam. Due to the planet's gravity interfering with the tractor beam, Commander Beck ordered the Star Destroyer to move closer to attain its target, however was ultimately forced to pull out after Beck realized that utilizing the tractor beam so close to the capital city of Motok would utterly destroy it, turning thousands to citizens against the Empire and resulting in mass media coverage of the atrocity. Backing off, the Falcon pulled up from its collision course with the city, and with its navicomputer plotted, jumped into the safety of hyperspace.

Cymoon 1
"I am Overseer Aggadeen. Whom do I have the honor of addressing?" "The official emissary of his high exaltedness, the illustrious Jabba the great, mightiest of all Hutts, master of Tatooine and grand warlord of the Outer Rim. But you can call me Han."

- Aggadeen and Han Solo upon meeting Shortly after losing his reward money from rescuing Princess Leia, Han took part in the assault on Cymoon 1. He returned to the Rebel Alliance and he, Leia and other Rebel members devised a plan after capturing a shuttle that was sent from Jabba the Hutt, Han's former employer. The shuttle had contained an envoy that was to negotiate with the Empire about shipping resources from Hutt controlled space to Imperial factories like Cymoon 1&mdash;in order for the materials to be manufactured into Imperial war machines; such as TIE fighters and All Terrain Armored Transports Walkers. Han and the others agreed that due to Han's previous ties with the Crime lord, he would be able to pass himself off as a member of the envoy, while Luke and Leia disguised themselves as his bodyguards.

Soon the plan was in motion, they boarded the captured shuttle and departed for Cymoon 1. Han led the team onto the landing platform, they were greeted by a squad of stormtroopers and an Imperial officer who introduced himself as Overseer Aggadeen. Han introduced himself as Jabba the Great's official emissary, but his name was Han, Han Solo. Han quickly dubbed Aggadeen "Aggie" and greeted him while an Imperial LOM-series protocol droid confirmed his identity as a small time smuggler who worked for the Hutt. Curiously Han also had a 50,000 credit bounty on his head, Han was eager to explain that "funny story" but was cut off by Aggadeen, who required Han and his bodyguards to leave their weapons outside&mdash;as to not start the negotiations on a sour note. Han mockingly told his "bodyguards" to leave their weapons as they were escorted into the factory.

Han and "Aggie" conversed as they walked through the factory floor, Han bragged of being the man who had taught Jabba the Hutt's shrewd business practices. Aggadeen took this opportunity to inform Han that there would be no negotiating, the Empire's negotiator would set the terms and they would be accepted without question. Han retorted that the Empire must be getting desperate after the Death Star was destroyed, making deals with criminals&mdash;especially all the way out in the Outer Rim was not the Empire's style. They arrived at the room where the negotiations were to be held and Aggadeen ordered then inside to await the negotiator. But Han said he'd rather hold the negotiations on the noisy factory floor. Aggadeen began to question Han's intelligence and asked why. Han reminded him that he'd said it earlier; "we aren't here to negotiate", then gave R2-D2 the signal. R2 began pouring a green liquid onto the floor and electrocuted it and the stormtroopers who now found themselves standing in it. Han, Luke and Leia engaged the remaining troops in hand to hand combat. Aggie had officially decided that Han was insane, and asked, "What kind of envoy are you?" Han pointed an E-11 blaster rifle that he had confiscated from an unconsciousness trooper and said; "The Rebellious kind." and asked the direction to the main power core. But the proud Imperial officer refused to tell the Rebels&mdash;until R2 threatened to electrocute him as well. "Aggie" gave in and pointed them in the right direction. Leia thanked him with a fist to the jaw.

Luke and Leia removed the Hutt's armor and they headed to the main power core. Leia contacted C-3PO and informed him that the plan was now in Phase 2, Han was just worried about leaving the protocol droid alone on his ship&mdash;and made sure he knew. 3PO assured him all was in working order, but was concerned that the old YT-1300 light freighter continued to so easily be mistaken for trash. Han was insulted and "threatened" the droid. 3PO said "May the force be with you" as the team avoided stormtroopers and arrived at the main power core. R2 plugged in and shut down the safety restraints while Han and Leia rigged the core to explode. Han told Luke to look out for incoming stormtroopers&mdash;but unknown to Han, Luke fell into the force and wandered off. Soon the power station was set to blow in ten minutes time, Leia thanked Han; he didn't have to do this mission&mdash;or even return to the Alliance&mdash;but he had. Han noticed Luke was missing, Leia told Han that "Now the whole galaxy will know...that Han Solo is one of us." Han tried to avoid Leia's question when she asked what the simple smuggler with a price on his head really wanted. Han did not think it an appropriate time to discuss their relationship at that time, and was saved by Luke, who had returned with more passengers&mdash;the Empire's slaves. Han contacted 3PO and told him to get the Falcon headed in their direction, but was interrupted by Chewbacca, who said a ship was arriving. Chewbacca told the team what he was witnessing&mdash;Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith&mdash;the negotiator, had arrived. Han ordered the wookiee to jot fire on the Dark Lord, if he did the entire moon would know of their presence. But Leia disagreed, and commanded Chewbacca to take the shot, their lives were nothing compared to killing Vader. Chewbacca did so but was unable to hit the Sith. Chewbacca was out of contact, the entire moon was on alert and 3PO still hadn't arrived with the Falcon. 3PO informed him that native scavengers were dismantling the old freighter. Han told "Goldenrod" to go and stop them, but the droid was worried. The team and slaves retreated&mdash;while pursued by stormtroopers, into a large warehouse that contained several newly assembled All Terrain Armored Transport Walkers. Han ordered everyone on board, they were going to walk right out of the factory. Leia noticed that Luke was missing again, unknown to the rest of the team the Jedi to be had gone to confront Darth Vader&mdash;the man who had killed his father, mentor and adopted parents.

Han, Leia, R2 and several slaves boarded an AT-AT; Han piloted the AT-AT as they began their escape. Han brought the foot of the walker down into a subterranean hallway where Vader and Luke had been engaged in lightsaber combat. Han told Luke and the slaves to follow him&mdash;he was going to plow their way out of the facility. Leia saw Vader and encouraged Han to "Ram this thing right down his throat!" Han agreed; thinking of how much Chewbacca would love to drive an Imperial walker. Leia acted as Han's co-pilot and again told him to crush the Dark Lord, which irritated Han; he wasn't trying to step on anyone, he just wanted to get his friends out of danger. Leia didn't think Han was performing adequately. Han told the Princess if she wanted to help she should fire back at the Imperials. Leia reminded him that he had chosen a walker that's laser cannons were not operational. Han asked R2 and a pair of Jawas on their progress in fixing this problem, Han told Leia the trio would soon have the cannons working, they just needed to give them more time.

Leia contacted 3PO again and inquired why he and the Falcon had not yet arrived&mdash;the scavengers continued to dismantle Han's prized ship. The battle raged, Han had Vader in his sights, he stated "Now I'm trying to step on somebody." Leia encouraged him to do it for General Kenobi, and the entire world of Alderaan. Han brought the walker's leg down to step on the Dark Lord but was foiled when Vader used the Dark side of the Force to hold the AT-At's leg in place, preventing it from crushing him. The power that Vader throttled at the AT-AT began to tear the walker apart. Han could not believe it, nor he believed that the Force did not exist. Han yelled to R2 that they really needed the laser cannons. R2 responded in Binary, Leia translated R2's message to "Fire!" and the AT-AT's quad laser cannons opened fire on the Dark Lord&mdash;and the factory. The Rebels burst free of the facility as Leia told R2 she could kiss him she was so happy; much to Han's annoyance&mdash;"Oh, him you wanna kiss." Han tried to speak with 3PO, but there was no reply. Han contacted Luke next and told him he believed the Dark Lord of the Sith was dead&mdash;but Luke knew the power of the Force&mdash;Vader had survived.

Return of the spouse
"Han, who is it? Who's found us?" "Why bother asking him? He'd just lie. It's the only thing he's ever been good at. I should know. The name is Sana Solo. I'm his wife." "Oh no."

- Organa, Sana and Han

Within two days, the Falcon and its compliment rendezvoused with the Rebel fleet on the edge of the galaxy. Solo had his head wound treated and was debriefed by Alliance High Command. Later, he and Chewbacca went to work repairing the Falcon aboard a Nebulon-B escort frigate. Solo was amazed that the old freighter had flown with the rushed repairs the Wookiee had given it. Skywalker left the fleet to continue his training as a Jedi later, even though both Organa and Solo advised against it. And unknown to Solo, Sana Starros, who claimed to be his estranged wife, was searching for him.

Solo recovered further from his injuries and tried to acquire the parts he needed to finish repairing the Falcon, but was denied by the Alliance deck crew. So he went to Organa to ask what the deal was. She reminded him that with the Alliance absent of a home base, all resources were being checked to insure the fleet was kept in constant motion. To which Solo countered meant that the princess didn't want him to leave. Organa argued against Solo's suave, and told him that he could get the parts for free if he helped her on a mission to find the Alliance a new home base. Solo agreed&mdash;after reminding the princes that all he did was help her&mdash;and told Organa he was going to leave the fleet after the mission.

Soon, Solo and Organa traveled to the Moddell sector of the Outer Rim aboard a stolen Imperial Lambda-class shuttle, the Invictus, to begin scouting. The pair argued over the legitimacy of how Solo had won the Falcon in a game of Sabacc until a pair of TIE fighters that never would have normally been out so far in the Outer Rim appeared and demanded the shuttle's identification. Organa transferred the clearance codes, but Solo took over and put the Invictus through evasive maneuvers that alerted the TIEs to the illegitimacy of the shuttle, so they opened fire. Organa expressed her disdain with Solo's brash decision while the smuggler headed towards the Monsua Nebula where Solo's smuggling den was located. They soon arrived and Solo piloted them through the nebula's cyclones and electrical super-storms. Organa was shocked that Solo had pilot them into danger willingly, even though the TIE fighters gave up the chase.

Solo landed the Invictus near his old smuggling den while Organa confessed that she never would have guessed that under Monsua's storms a beautiful land rested. Solo admitted he hadn't either until he had crashed landed their with Chewbacca years earlier. The pair made their way to the smuggling den where Solo offered the princess some Corellian wine that he had stashed some time before, after telling her that no one except he, she and Chewbacca knew the Monsua Nebula's secret. Solo poured a glass of the wine for Organa, who promptly threw it into Solo's face and accused him of trying to seduce her when they were running for their lives from the Empire. Solo, however, argued that he would "rather seduce a gundark." Organa berated Solo, telling him that if he hadn't lost his nerve and fled from the Imperial fighters they wouldn't have been in the mess they currently found themselves in. Solo countered Organa's claim that he had "lost his nerve." Saying that there was not a single thing in the galaxy that could make him lose his nerve.

Just then, a ship came into view: Sana Starros's ship. Solo instantly recognized it as Sana's ship, lost his nerve, and told Organa to run. Sana fired a laser blast down that knocked both Solo and Organa off their feet, and they watched as Sana emerged from the ship and introduced herself to Organa as Solo's wife. Solo could only put his hand over his face and mutter "oh no" as she pointed a blaster cannon at them and demanded to know who the princess was.

At the Battle of Hoth
Afterwards, the Rebels relocated to Echo Base on Hoth. Solo, meanwhile, ran into a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell, convincing him to leave and fulfill his debt to Jabba, so he began repairing the Falcon on Hoth. Believing himself to be leaving, he had a heated conversation with Leia, claiming that she felt romantic feelings towards him. After this debate, Solo learned Luke had gone missing on patrol. Riding out on a tauntaun in the midst of snowstorm, Han found Luke had been attacked by a wampa. After the tauntaun collapsed and died from the cold, Han used Luke's lightsaber to cut the animal open and placed him inside to prevent him from freezing to death. After bringing Luke back to recover from his injuries, Han and Chewbacca went out to investigate a signal and encountered an Imperial probe droid. Realizing the Empire had discovered their location, the Rebels decided to evacuate. During the ensuing battle, Han rescued Leia from the collapsed command center, leading her towards her transport. Unfortunately, a tunnel collapse cut of their way there, so Han, Chewie, Leia, and C-3PO escaped on the still unrepaired Falcon.

On the run from the Empire
"What are you doing? You're not actually going into an asteroid field?" "They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"

- Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo

In space, the Falcon was pursued by several Star Destroyers and TIE fighters. While Solo was working on repairs, the ship drifted into an asteroid field. Claiming that the Imperials would be "crazy" to follow them, Solo flew into the asteroid field, which would cause extensive damage to the pursuing Imperial Fleet. After the immediately pursuing TIE fighters were destroyed by asteroids, Solo landed the Falcon in a cave on a large asteroid, where he continued to work on repairs. While repairing the Falcon, Han and Leia fell in love, sharing a kiss before being interrupted by C-3PO.

Inside the cave, Leia saw something outside of the ship, so she, Han, and Chewbacca went outside to investigate. Discovering that Mynocks were the cause, Chewbacca accidentally fired a shot into the cave, which caused a tremor. Solo fired his blaster into the ground, causing another tremor. The three returned into the Falcon, flying out of the cave, which they discovered was actually the inside of an Exogorth slug. Fleeing back towards the Imperials, Solo flew straight towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer Avenger, then hiding on the back of the bridge. The ruse worked, with the Imperials unable to find the ship. Preparing to spread about the galaxy to search for the Falcon, the Imperial fleet dumped their trash, and Solo detached the Falcon, which floated off with the rest of the trash. Solo then decided to go to Cloud City, a tibanna gas mine on Bespin run by his old friend Lando Calrissian. Unknown to the rebels, however, the bounty hunter Boba Fett had also hid his ship, the Slave I, among the Empire's trash, and followed them to Cloud City.

Imprisonment in Carbonite
"I love you." "I know."

- Leia Organa and Han Solo On Cloud City, Han met his old friend Lando Calrissian, who despite showing initial hostility, embraced his old friend. Calrissian provided the rebels with lodging and promised to repair the Falcon. While Han said he didn't trust Lando, due to his knowledge of Calrissian being a scoundrel, he appeared to be at ease in Cloud City, while Leia felt suspicious due to C-3PO going missing and then reappearing in pieces. Calrissian then inited Solo, Organa and Chewbacca for refreshments, and told them about a deal that would keep the Empire out of Cloud City. To Solo's surprise, he lead them into a room with Darth Vader. Solo immediately drew his blaster and fired several shots at the Sith Lord, but Vader blocked the shots and pulled the blaster out of Solo's hands with the Force. Solo was then tortured by the Empire, but he claimed they didn't even ask him any questions. When placed in a cell, Calrissian arrived and told the prisoners that Solo would be handed over to Fett, who would take him to Jabba, and that they were a trap set by Vader for Han and Leia's friend Luke Skywalker. Angrily, Solo attacked his "friend," but was restrained.

Vader planned to take Skywalker to his master, Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine, by encasing him in carbonite. Unsure if a human could survive the process, he was to test it on Solo. Tearfully, Leia confessed her love to Han, to which he simply replied that he knew. Leia, Chewbacca, Calrissian, Fett, and Vader looked on as Han was lowered into the carbon freezing chamber and frozen. He survived the freezing process and fell into hibernation. He was then handed over to Boba Fett and loaded onto Slave I.  Despite a rescue attempt by Leia, Lando, and Chewie, Fett escaped Cloud City and brought Han to Jabba the Hutt, who kept his encased body as a trophy.

Rescue from Jabba
"Victims of the almighty Sarlacc: His Excellency hopes that you will die honorably. But should any of you wish to beg for mercy, the great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas." "Threepio, you tell that slimy piece of worm-ridden filth he'll get no such pleasure from us. Right?"

- C-3PO, translating for Jabba the Hutt, and Han Solo

Several months later, Solo was released from the carbonite by Leia, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh. Due to hibernation sickness, Solo had temporarily become blind, but recognized Jabba's laugh when he revealed himself to be watching the rescue. Solo was then placed in a prison cell with his partner Chewbacca, while Leia was taken as a personal slave by Jabba. After Leia was captured, Luke Skywalker arrived, and faced off against Jabba's prized Rancor, killing it. In rage, Jabba sentenced Skywalker, Solo and the Wookie to be fed to the sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon.

At the Pit, Jabba offered the prisoners one last chance to plea for mercy, to which Solo replied that Jabba would receive no such pleasure from them. Skywalker then offered Jabba one last chance to free them, which he denied. R2-D2 then released Luke's lightsaber, who caught it and began a battle. In the ensuing struggle, Han was still mostly blind, lending him unable to contribute much. However, after being told by Chewbacca that Boba Fett had joined the battle, Han unintentionally swung an axe into Fett's jetpack, sending him flying into Jabba's sail barge and then rolling into the Sarlacc. After a blaster shot knocked Lando, disguised as a palace guard, off of the skiff they were on, Han lowered the axe down for Lando to grab, but Calrissian's foot was caught by one of the sarlacc's tentacles. Claiming his vision had "gotten a lot better," Han shot the tentacle and pulled Lando back up into the skiff. Luke then rescued Leia, Artoo and Threepio from the sail barge and destroyed it, and the rebels escaped.

At the Battle of Endor
As part of the attack on the Second Death Star, with Skywalker, Organa, and Chewbacca, Han commandeered the Tydirium, a captured Imperial Shuttle and took a strike team to the forest moon of Endor to disable the shields protecting the superweapon. Shortly after landing on the forest moon, the rebel strike team encountered a group of scout troopers. Solo attempted to sneak up on them, but failed to do so, alerting them and allowing two to escape. Luke and Leia hopped on a speeder to pursue them, leaving Solo and the rest of the strike team behind.

Luke eventually made his way back to the rest of the rebels, without information on Leia. Luke, Han, Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio set off to find Leia, while Han sent the rest of the strike team to move towards the shield generator. While looking, they group was captured by Ewoks. The furry tribesmen believed C-3PO to be a god, and attempted to eat the others at a banquet in his honor. However, Luke used the force to levitate the "god" in a demonstration of his "magic," frightening the Ewoks into releasing the others. At the village, the rebels found Leia, and C-3PO managed to befriend the Ewoks. Luke then left the other rebels to confront his father Darth Vader. The next day, the Solo's group met up with the main rebel strike team at the shield generator, but Ewok scouts informed them of a less-guarded rear entrance. After three of the four guards were distracted by the Ewok Paploo, the rebels neutralized the last guard and entered the shield bunker. however, the operation proved to be a trap, and Solo and the rebels were captured. However, the Empire had not expected the Ewoks to attack, which allowed the rebels to escape. For most of the battle, Han stayed at the door, trying to open it. After R2-D2 was damaged attempting to open it, Han tried to hotwire the door open, which he was unsuccessful at. He then impersonated the pilot of an AT-ST that had been captured by Chewbacca and two Ewoks, getting the Imperials to open the doors.Han was then able to place detonators inside the shield generator, destroying it and leaving the Death Star vulnerable to attack.

Han and Leia witnessed the Death Star's destruction, and she revealed to him that Luke was her brother. Solo participated with the other rebels and Ewoks in the victory celebration held that night.

After Endor
Several months after the Battle of Endor, Han and Chewbacca were informed that Chewbacca's home world of Kashyyyk would have a decreased Imperial presence so they gathered up fellow smugglers and people who owed them favors to liberate the planet. Solo and Organa eventually married, with Solo reconfiguring some of the crew quarters on the Falcon to include a galley as a wedding gift for her.

Some time after this, Han and Leia had a son whom they named Ben Solo. Their son was force-sensitive and trained by Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force, but had too much of his grandfather in him and eventually succumbed to the Dark Side, killing most of the Jedi Luke was training. Taking the blame for Ben's fall, Luke retreated and went into hiding. Unable to cope with the loss of their son, Han and Leia ended their marriage and left each other. Han and Chewbacca went back to being smugglers again which Han claimed was "the only thing he was ever good at". Han then got himself into a lot of debt with various creditors including the notorious Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, and lost the Falcon as well. At some point, Han and Chewbacca managed to obtain a Baleen-class heavy freighter named the Eravana that they used for their smuggling operations and had even assembled a crew to assist them. Han spent the majority of his free time trying to track down the Falcon.

Retaking the Falcon
"There were stories about what happened." "It's true. All of it. The dark side, the Jedi. They're real."

- Rey and Solo

Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, while transporting a cargo of three Rathtars, Han and Chewie found the Falcon floating in space near the desert planet of Jakku, pulling his prized vessel in with a tractor beam. Upon boarding their old vessel, the two went about inspecting their ship and found two stowaways, Jakku scavenger Rey and former First Order Stormtrooper Finn, who he assumed were the thieves that had stolen the Falcon. When Rey and Finn explained that they were going to take a droid named BB-8 to the Resistance as he had a map that would the location of Solo's old friend Luke Skywalker, Han and Chewie agreed to help them.

Skirmish aboard the Eravana
Unfortunately, Han's freighter had been boarded by the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub, whom solo was indebted to. Not wanting Rey and Finn to be involved, Han placed both of them in the lower corridors of the frighten while he and Chewie went to meet with the criminals, with BB-8 accompaning them. The smuggler tried but failed to convince both gangs that he would fix things eventually, with one of the gang leaders threatening to take away the Millenium Falcon as payback. Han having just retrieved his vessel, responded that they would have to take it over his dead body.One of the criminals then recognized the BB-8 unit from a First Order bounty placed on it along with Rey and Finn, and demanded that Han hand over the droid and any stowaways he might have on board. Right before a firefight broke out, Rey accidentally released the Rathtars, providing a diversion for an escape in the Falcon.

Journey to Takodana
Solo took Rey and Finn to the planet Takodana to meet his old friend Maz Kanata at her castle. While there, the First Order was alerted to BB-8's presence and attacked. During the ensuing battle, he killed several stormtroopers both with his DL-44 blaster and Chewbacca's bowcaster, Solo, Finn, and Chewbacca were initially captured, but escaped when the Resistance, also alerted to BB-8's presence, counterattacked. Despite the First Order being driven off, Han witnessed his son Kylo Ren carrying away Rey.

Attack on Starkiller Base
Among his rescuers on Takodana was Han's estranged wife, General Leia Organa. She took Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB-8 to the Resistance base on D'Qar. There, the Resistance planned an attack on the Starkiller Base, in a race against time to destroy it before it fired its system-destroying weapon at D'Qar. The attack would consist on a thermal regulator, but it was guarded by a shield. Having experience in taking down superweapons' shield generators, Solo and Chewbacca volunteered to disable the shield. Finn also volunteered, having knowledge of the base due to his service there. Before he left, Leia told Han to find their son, and convince him to reject the dark side and return to the light. Han, Finn, and Chewie took the Millenium Falcon to Starkiller Base, exiting hyperspace inside the planet's shield just above the surface. When Finn revealed the reason he came along was to rescue Rey from the First Order Han and Chewie agreed to help him.

While planting explosives with Chewbacca, Han confronted Ben aboard Starkiller Base where he tried to talk him out of his destruction. Ben, removing his mask and seeming almost regretful, handed his lightsaber to Solo, saying he needed to do one more thing, before thrusting his weapon through Han's chest. Witnessed by Rey, Finn, and Chewbacca, Han stroked his son's face for the last time, before falling down to his death.

Personality and traits
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

- Han Solo to Luke Skywalker

Han Solo was a cynical, disagreeable individual whose primary concern was gaining enough money to preserve his own life. He and Luke immediately disliked each other: Solo found Luke irritating and overly eager, and his open disdain for Kenobi's beliefs and actions did little to change Luke's initial view of Solo as an extortionist. However, after Han demonstrated his bravery on the Death Star and proved his loyalty, they became genuine friends.

Origins and development
"You old stardog. Took a war to get you out here&hellip;"

- Han Solo's opening line in the rough draft of The Star Wars

Han Solo was created by George Lucas during the development of Lucas' 1977 film Star Wars and is present in Lucas' 132-page The Star Wars: Rough Draft, completed in May 1974. In the draft, Solo is a Ureallian, and is described as a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills. He is a member of the Jedi Bendu and an old friend of General Skywalker. As Lucas refined his story, Solo evolved into a burly, bearded, flamboyantly-dressed pirate. Although Lucas had originally intended for Solo to be a nefarious alien character, he settled on the idea of a human so that he could develop more of a relationship between the film's three primary characters. Chewbacca thus filled the role of the alien sidekick. By August 1975, when Lucas had written his third draft, Solo was described as: "A tough James Dean style starpilot about twenty-five years old. A cowboy in a starship -- simple, sentimental and cocksure of himself." This incarnation of Solo's character went on to appear in the finished film. ''

While developing Solo's character, Lucas defined him in relation to the film's hero, Luke Skywalker. Selflessness was an important theme throughout the film, and Skywalker was a selfless young idealist. Lucas thought of Solo as the sidekick with contrary morals to the hero, and wrote him as a selfish character. Harrison Ford, who portrayed Solo in all three films of Star Wars original trilogy, has described Solo as the smartass to Skywalker's callow youth, with each character having had a clear section of turf to explore.

Portrayal
"I thought that the luck of the character was that he represented something close to the audience's sensibilities because of his distance and resistance to the mythology."

- Harrison Ford

When casting the role of Solo, Lucas sought actors who had individual screen presence as well as chemistry with Skywalker. He wanted Solo to be older than Skywalker and to possess a cynical edge. Lucas desired new and unknown actors to play Star Wars major roles, and originally forbade Harrison Ford from auditioning, having worked with him on the 1973 film American Graffiti. Ford was working as a carpenter on the set of the auditions, and was brought in by Lucas to feed lines to the actors who were auditioning, including Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, and Perry King. While feeding lines, Ford impressed Lucas by giving the character a mix of mercenary swagger and world weariness, and convinced the director to let him play the part.

Ford went on to portray Solo in both of Star Wars sequels, 1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi, as well as 1978's The Star Wars Holiday Special. He was hesitant to sign the contracts for the sequels, however, feeling that Solo's character should be killed off. When Lucas was discussing the script of Return of the Jedi with director Richard Marquand and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, the three were unsure if Ford would return for the film. Solo's character had been frozen in carbonite during the climax of The Empire Strikes Back, and Ford was a rising star in Hollywood following his starring role as Indiana Jones in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford himself thought that Solo should die in Jedi, sacrificing himself to save Skywalker and Princess Leia. He reasoned that Solo had no family, future, or responsibilities to the story, and that his death would give the story some resonance. Kasdan also believed that a major character death early in Jedi would keep audiences worried, believing that none of the characters were safe. Lucas vetoed the idea, however, and Solo ultimately survived.

The script of The Empire Strikes Back originally called for Solo to respond to Princess Leia's declaration of "I love you" with "I love you too". Ford disliked the line, feeling that the established character of Solo wasn't being taken advantage of. After many takes, director Irvin Kershner wasn't satisfied either. He told Ford not to think about it, and to say whatever he thought that Solo would say. When Ford improvised the line "I know", Kirshner felt that it was perfect for the character, and it was included in the film's final cut.

Harrison Ford has referred to Solo as an inherently relatable character to audiences, owing to his separation from the overarching mythological themes of the saga. However, he saw Solo as a chess piece that could be moved around and even killed, as the character wasn't as important to Star Wars as its Force-using characters. Ford has called Solo a thin character, and one that wasn't interesting enough to be developed throughout several sequels, unlike Indiana Jones. As such, Ford thought that if Solo died in Return of the Jedi, it would introduce a needed complication for the character and give the story resonance.

Several unused concepts and shots of Solo exist within Star Wars film lore. The scene that sees Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the viewer first meet Solo and Chewbacca in the original film was at one point set to feature Solo sitting with and kissing a woman named Jenny. A young Han Solo was slated to appear on Kashyyyk in 2005's Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, living among the planet's Wookiees as well as assisting Yoda. No actor was cast and the character was cut from the final draft. However, the concept was somewhat recycled with Jaybo Hood in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Mystery of a Thousand Moons".

Before reprising the role for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, Ford indicated that he was unlikely to portray Solo again.

Impact on popular culture
"Han Solo is that character that we always wished we could be. I think most of us felt like Luke Skywalker, but we would have loved to have been Han Solo."

- Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In 2005, Solo placed #14 on the list of greatest film heroes composed by the American Film Institute. The criteria involved in the lists's selection included cultural impact, legacy and inspiration to contemporary artists and audiences, and heroism defined as prevailing in extreme circumstances coupled with a sense of morality, courage and purpose. Empire magazine deemed Solo the fourth greatest movie character of all time, citing him as full of charm and laconic cool that was brought by Harrison Ford. The magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked him at #7 on their list of the all-time coolest heroes in pop culture, and the website Fandomania.com placed him at #15 on their 2009 list of the 100 greatest fictional characters.

The developers of the 2008 video game Prince of Persia cited both Solo and Indiana Jones as having inspired their nameless protagonist. Actor Chris Pine also named both characters as sources he drew upon when preparing to play James T. Kirk in the 2009 film Star Trek, mentioning their humor and "accidental hero" traits.

Solo's likeness has been used in a variety of media, including the American television shows Mind of Mencia and Robot Chicken. In the cartoon Family Guy Star Wars-themed episodes Blue Harvest and Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, the character Peter Griffin plays the role of Solo. Mel Brooks's 1987 Star Wars spoof Spaceballs features a protagonist named Lonestar, who parodies both Solo and Skywalker.

When George Lucas made a slight edit to one of Solo's scenes for the 1997 Special Edition of the original Star Wars film, the change and its consequent fan response developed into somewhat of a pop culture meme. The original version of the film depicted Solo shooting the bounty hunter Greedo before Greedo could fire a shot of his own, but the Special Edition added in a laser blast from Greedo that preceded Solo's shot but harmlessly hit the wall. Many fans disapproved of the change, and an online petition that called for Lucas to re-release the original cut of the scene was signed by thousands. T-shirts were produced reading "Han Shot First", and Lucas was even spotted wearing one on the set of the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Arguments over the subject appear in the films Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks II, and a scene from the 2005 movie Serenity was inspired by the debate. When the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy were released on DVD in 2006, a promotional article on StarWars.com stated that fans could "yes, see Han Solo shoot first."

Appearances
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 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Lost Stars {{Mo}}
 * Untitled Han Solo Anthology film
 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope {{1st}}
 * A New Hope Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Escape from Darth Vader {{C|Appears in final page illustration only}}
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars: Heroes Path
 * Star Wars: Battle Pod
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part I
 * Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part II {{Imo}}
 * Star Wars: Princess Leia, Part V
 * Star Wars: Chewbacca, Part I {{C|Mentioned only in opening crawl}}
 * Heir to the Jedi {{Mo}}
 * The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure {{Mo}}
 * Star Wars 1: Skywalker Strikes
 * Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part II
 * Star Wars 3: Skywalker Strikes, Part III
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 1: Vader {{flash}}
 * Star Wars 4: Skywalker Strikes, Part IV
 * Star Wars 5: Skywalker Strikes, Part V
 * Star Wars 6: Skywalker Strikes, Part VI
 * Star Wars 8: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part I
 * Star Wars 9: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part II
 * Star Wars 10: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part III
 * Star Wars 11: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part IV
 * Star Wars 12: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part V
 * Star Wars: Vader Down, Part I
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 13: Vader Down, Part II
 * Star Wars 13: Vader Down, Part III
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 14
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 15
 * Star Wars: Commander
 * Star Wars Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Use the Force! {{C|Appears in Force vision}}
 * The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
 * Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure {{Mo}}
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part I
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II {{Mo}}
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part III
 * Aftermath
 * Before the Awakening {{Mo}}
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens novelization
 * Han & Chewie Return!

Non-canon appearances
}}
 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi