'Star Wars' Canon vs. Legends: Han Solo

Han Solo is the favorite of many fans in the Star Wars universe. And after the original Star Wars trilogy, it makes sense that the many Star Wars fans wanted to see more of him, to see both where he came from and what happened to him. Over the years, many stories about Han have come out, but with the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm, the old canon literature was exiled into “Legends.” And subsequently, we have seen the Solo film come out to shore up the canon material where Han came from. But there are still some great Han stories in Legends, which have some great similarities and vast differences, from Han in canon.

The first books that came out starring Han Solo were The Han Solo Adventures, which were a trilogy of novels released 1979-1980, and were some of the first non-movie Star Wars books published. The first book, Han Solo at Stars' End, doesn’t stray too much from the movie’s depiction of Han and Chewy as the two work with a counter authority faction to rescue a missing person. The second novel, Han Solo’s Revenge, details the pair taking their first Kessel Run and thwarting a slaving ring. The final novel, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, follows Han and Chewy battling war robots while treasure hunting, and concludes with Han asking Jabba for money for a Kessel Run.

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This trilogy built on what we’d associate as the core components of the Han Solo character, from the helping of those in need, to the Kessel Run, and to being anti-slavery.

The next Han Solo trilogy’s first novel was first published in 1997. The Paradise Snare detailed Han’s youth as a Corellian street urchin working on a pirate vessel. He then escapes and uses his skill as a pilot to succeed on a new planet Ylesia, which enslaves people. He eludes and destroys the spice mines of Ylesia and returns to Corellia before joining the Imperial Academy. All the while, he slowly falls in love with the woman he rescued from Ylesia, Bria Tharen, who shares many similarities and ideals with Leia Organa.

In the next book in the trilogy, The Hutt Gambit, Han is a fugitive from the Imperial Navy, who saves Chewbacca, who now owes him a life debt. Han goes to Nar Shaddaa to meet with old smuggler friends before he seeks a career with Jabba and Jiliac the Hutt due to the price on his heads from his adventure in Ylesia. Han and Lando then elude Boba Fett, before falling into a Hutt war. There is then a big battle over Nar Shaddaa, which the smugglers were victorious over the corrupt Imperial general.

The later Solo trilogy culminates with Rebel Dawn, which was published in 1998. This novel begins with Han winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando in a game of Sabaac and Chewy marrying his sweetheart. Han then re-meets his love interest, Bria, who has now become a part of the Rebel Alliance. After assisting on a mission to help Bria, all her friends take Han and his friends’ valuables, causing a rift between Bria and Han and Han and Lando. With little money, Han and Chewy take a desperate mission from Jabba and have to drop their spice load mid run from Kessel to avoid imperial control. Jabba is irate and demands compensation. Bria on the other hand is successful in her mission to infiltrate the imperials, but dies while sending Princess Leia Organa the plans of the Death Star. Han then becomes hunted by bounty hunters before we meet him in A New Hope.

Many of these iconic legends elements were kept in Solo. Han grew up on Corellia, knew the Wookiee language, and grew up in crime. The later trilogy was closer to the established movie plot points with the mention of Bothans assisting in delivering the Death Star plans to Leia similar to how they assist with the second Death Star according to the films (as opposed to Rogue One where Bothans are not involved). And Han grew up in crime on Corellia in all versions.

All stories present a similar Han Solo. A rebellious but charismatic pilot looking out for himself in the galaxy, who wanders into and helps make a positive impact out of himself to the galaxy. Solo starts him off differently, on Corellia, than the later Solo trilogy, but many key points are still connected. Han Solo is a unique and idealized part of the Star Wars universe, and while there are different portrayals of him in canon and legends, we still love his classic charisma.

Which Han Solo do you prefer?

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Written By Dave Sacca

Source(s): Wookieepedia

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