Han Solo

Han was born in a rough-and-tumble favela on the planet Corellia during the waning years of the Galactic Republic in 32 BBY. Sometime after he became famous, it would be rumored by a Snivvian bounty hunter that Han was actually a descendant of the Prince-Admiral Jonashe Solo, a member of the ancient Corellian royalty. During his formative years, his father Ovan worked in the Corellian Engineering Corporation shipyards, building vessels such as YT-1300 light freighters until he was laid off. Solo's father wished he could leave Corellia on such a ship, but was never able to afford to. According to Han, he was never close with his father. At one point his father brought him to the freighter factory where he worked and pointed out to the young Han that the ships being built there were his contributions to the galaxy, but that they ultimately didn't matter. He advised him that he wasn't meant to build ships, but rather to fly them. Eventually, his father abandoned him. At some point he met the Ithorian Pjolan.

Around 24 BBY, Han joined the White Worms criminal gang as a scrumrat. Here, Han met fellow scrumrat Qi'ra. Despite being in service to the gang, Han showed considerable defiance towards them and their methods. One day, he intervened as a smaller child was attacked by a group of bullies, which led to Han getting beaten as well. Afterwards, Qi'ra asked Han why he helped the child despite not getting anything in return. Han answered that while that might be how the galaxy works, it didn't always have to be that way.

When Han was about the age of eighteen, Han and Qi'ra were vying for the position of Head within the White Worms. During their respective assignments, Han and Qi'ra both failed to deliver as promised, leading them to be hunted down by factions such as the White Worms, the Kaldana Syndicate, as well as the Empire. Han had acquired a datacube with plans for a shield generator that was desired by all the factions. Han and Qi'ra had no choice but to partner up to find a resolution to their problems. Eventually, Qi'ra became Head thanks to Han's recommendation to Lady Proxima. As they later ate together, Han asked if he and Qi'ra were on their first date. Qi'ra denied it, but acknowledged the possibility that it could happen someday. Sometime later, Han and Qi'ra began a romantic relationship.

Acting under orders from Lady Proxima, Han set up a deal with some individuals to exchange coaxium for credits. Qi'ra suggested that Han shouldn't go alone, but both Proxima and Han disagreed with her. Upon meeting with the individuals, Han got into a fight with them due to having not abided by their stated terms and proceeded to escape with an extremely valuable vial of coaxium, as well as a speeder. Han fled the criminals on his M-68 landspeeder through the streets of Coronet City. He drove through a bridge and hung his dice on the windscreen.

Upon arriving at the Den of the White Worms, he and the other Scrumrats were herded by Lady Proxima's enforcers into her underground chamber. Three children fought over stolen items they had pickpocketed. Han and Qi'ra embraced each other in a tunnel. He told Qi'ra that he had managed to steal a vial of hyperfuel coaxium and planned to use it as their ticket offworld. Moloch, Syke, and Rebolt soon caught up with them and brought Han before Lady Proxima, who asked Han for a progress report. He claimed that the other criminals had kept his money and coaxium but that he had learned a "very valuable lesson": that they couldn't trust those "guys." Lady Proxima was furious that Han had come back with nothing from his errand. Rebolt beat Han with a stick. A defiant Han grabbed Rebolt's stick and said that he would beat those who beat him. Moloch raised his blaster at Han but Qi'ra stopped him. Lady Proxima warned Qi'ra not to disobey her. Han pulled out a rock and claimed to have a thermal detonator but Proxima was not fooled. Han revealed that it was a bluff and hurled the rock through the ceiling, letting in a beam of sunlight. Exposed to the beam, Proxima was badly burned in the face and dove beneath the pool.

Han and Qi'ra escaped in Han's stolen M-68 landspeeder and raced out of the White Worms' den into the streets of Coronet. Han's plan was to drive to Coronet Spaceport with the stolen coaxium and use it to bribe their way offworld. Han vowed to be a pilot and see the galaxy. Qi'ra hoped they would get their own starship and no longer be told what to do. The pair were soon pursued by Moloch's A-A4B truckspeeder, which was also carrying two Corellian hounds. Moloch rammed his truckspeeder against Han's landspeeder. After narrowly avoiding a truck, Han drove through an Imperial checkpoint. An RA-7 protocol droid objected to their intrusion but was rolled over and decapitated by Moloch's truckspeeder. When Qi'ra said that Moloch was fast, Han reassured her that they were faster. Han's landspeeder and Moloch's truckspeeder were pursued by an Imperial patrol trooper riding a C-PH patrol speeder bike. However, the rider crashed into a barrier. Han and Qi'ra drove through a factory with Moloch hot on their tail. Han managed to escape Moloch's truck by driving the landspeeder through a tight corner. With the landspeeder stuck, Moloch dispatched Rebolt and the Corellian hounds after them.

Han and Qi'ra managed to reach the Coronet spaceport on foot. There was a strong Imperial military presence at the spaceport, where there were long queues offworld. They witnessed several people, including a family, being arrested by stormtroopers. Han and Qi'ra joined a queue. Qi'ra was worried about being trafficked by the Crimson Dawn, but Han vowed to protect her. Since they didn't have identification, Han and Qi'ra used the coaxium vial to bribe the Imperial Emigration Officer Falthina Sharest into letting them through the customs booth. After depositing the coaxium, Han managed to cross through.

Before Qi'ra could cross into the other side of the terminal, she was apprehended by the White Worms enforcers. Qi'ra told Han to flee, and he vowed to return for her. Han managed to evade Imperial forces and the White Worms by donning a stolen hat and hiding behind several crates. He witnessed more people being arrested by stormtroopers. Lacking sufficient funds to travel offworld, Han found an Imperial Military recruiting post. Han spoke to the Imperial recruitment officer Drawd Munbrin and volunteered to join the Imperial Navy as a pilot. Since Han lacked a surname and family, he dubbed him "Han Solo" in the absence of a surname. Approving Han's application, he told Han to proceed to Transport ID-83 to the Imperial Flight Academy on Carida, promising Han that he would be flying in no time.

When Han enlisted, Drawd Munbrin assigned Han to the Imperial academy on the planet Carida. When Han arrived, droids stripped all his clothing off. Right after, different droids gave him his new Imperial cadet suit and also shaved him. Han entered a room filled with many other cadets. Here a female Imperial officer named Triosa Broog was speaking over them. Soon after, he tried to greet a cadet, who told Han to shut up. Han realized that when he said shut up, he used Han's cadet name, and you were only known as numbers at the Imperial Academy. Later Han was practicing on a battlefield as an Imperial Army trooper and wondered how this was supposed to help him in pilot training. Broog overheard Han. Han then raised his hand, and Broog called him a Corellian worm. Broog asked what his name was. They had a short conversation about his name. Broog then suggested to the other cadets that they show Han how basic training is supposed to help flying by hiking up a mountain twice.

Immediately after, the cadets started to beat Han up. During this, cadet 404-913, named Beilert Valance, began to insult Han before cadet 803-308 told them to let him go. Han thanked her for the help and asked for the name of the cadet but refused to say. Right after, two cadets, Lyttan Dree and Tamu Dree, were talking about why they joined the Empire. They also asked Han why he had signed up, with Solo simply replying that he had to get off Corellia. Lyttan and Tamu said that he would never learn how to fly at the academy and that they might send him to a wretched place like Urthak or Mimban. Han was thinking about what they said and thought that he should do something deeply stupid. Han then snuck into a TIE fighter hanger and stole a fighter. Han eventually crashed the TIE, leading to stormtroopers surrounding Han at the crash site.

After the crash Han was imprisoned. He eventually got out because of his great piloting skills. Fourteen days later, Nico, who was cadet 803-308, was one of the top of the leader board. Suddenly Han came upon Lyttan and Tamu, who were surprised about Nico topping the leader board. Lyttan and Tamu were surprised that Han survived the crash. The cadets had started a bet about Solo's fate, with one of the Dree brothers winning.

Soon after, Han was bullied by 404-913, who started a fight with Han. Eventually Han was beaten, and Valance went to hurt Lyttan and Tamu, but Han kicked Valance in the crotch before he could do so. Han then smashed Valance in his face with a food tray. Valance was about to punch Han in the face, but before he could, Imperial troopers arrived and asked what was going on. but they told a lie instead of what really happened. Han suggested that Valance and Han should start over. Han told Valance his name, but Valance refused to give his. He said to look on the leader board to find out. Han looked and saw that Valance was the top one on the board. Soon after, Han said he could not believe that the academy let Valance actually become the top one. Nico came up behind Han and said she wondered how long he would last. She was also surprised that Han survived the crash. Tamu then told Han that there was no way Han was moving to top of the leader board. Han disagreed.

Later during flight school, Han asked the instructor if there would be flying at any point. It took time, but eventually Han entered the cockpit of a TIE fighter. He made it to third place on the leader board. During a another flight class, the teacher Yurib Nakan, told the class to work in pairs and destroy a cannon's shield. Han and Tamu were partners for this exercise. Tamu's fighter was damaged, and Han saved him. When the training was over, Lyttan thanked Han for saving his brother's life. Soon after, a cadet came to Lyttan and said that he broke off before he could get a shot. Yurib then said that everyone failed the training. Han's actions of saving a cadet could have given Han a chance to become the best pilot the Galactic Empire had ever seen, but Han's fellow cadets might kill Han before he could do so. Solo claimed they should have earned partial credit since the team worked together.

Solo and the other cadets were ordered to make soup for the all the cadets. During the night, Solo snuck out of his bunk and cleaned the floors in the refresher, but logged Valance as having done all the assignments. As a result, the next morning, Solo and the other cadets were assigned to the Quasar Fire-class carrier cruiser 07200823 by Yurib. Their orders were to transport several TIE fighter pilots. During the voyage, Solo was able to modify the cruiser's speed to give him and the cadets a day off. Solo also revealed he had day passes and told them there was a Pantolomin cruiser nearby they could visit and gave them civilian clothes. Despite Nico's objections, Solo was able to convince them to leave the cruiser.

Aboard the cruiser, Solo told his fellow cadets to have some fun. Solo played sabacc with Nico and attempted to learn her reasons for joining the Imperial Navy. Nico refused to tell him why and deduced how Solo pulled off the excursion. She also noticed him eyeing an Ithorian. Solo was soon left to himself and met up with Pjolan. Solo attempted to drink an Ithorian ale to no avail. Han also asked Pjolan about Qi'ra. Pjolan said nothing, indicating that Qi'ra was still alive, but told Solo that Lady Proxima had a 200-credit bounty on him, so he pulled a blaster on Han. He was saved by Nico, and the two of them went to get Lyttan and Tamu. Pjolan attempted to collect Solo's bounty, but Solo was able to inform Black Sun, the cruiser's owners, about Pjolan, and the cartel captured him. Solo and the other cadets were allowed to leave with their thanks. Solo and the others were able to return cruiser 07200823 to Carida's academy. Upon their return, they were reinstated to full flight status. Later the cadets were told by Yurib to come to the training room the next evening.

After Solo completed his training he was stationed on the planet Qhulosk, where he became part of Carida Squadron and was sent to fight a battle for the Empire at Howlan. During the battle, Valance was shot down by native Qhuloskians, but the skirmish resulted in an Imperial victory. Yurib ordered the squadron to return to base. Solo refused and wanted to help Valance. Yurib responded that Valance was gone and told Solo to abort. Three enemy fighters came and fired at Carida Squadron, killing one of the TIEs. Eventually, the squadron defeated the fighters and fled back to base. When they arrived, Solo spoke to Yurib about why he could not save Valance. Yurib said that TIE bombers would wipe out the entire city soon and there was no time to rescue Valance. Solo became mad and set off to rescue Valance alone. Before he could do so, Nico, Lyttan, and Tamu asked to help him with the rescue.

Per the plan, Yurib sent a bombing run to the city. One officer recognized that six people had left the base and six speeders were also missing. The officer revealed this to Yurib, but Yurib didn't respond. During the rescue, Solo, Nico, Tamu, and Lyttan were being shot at by Qhuloskians. The Imperial bombing run sent by Yurib almost killed them all but destroyed one of their speeders. When they reached Valance, Valance almost shot Solo. Valance then said to Solo that he couldn't believe that the Empire sent them to rescue him, but Solo said that they had chosen to rescue him. When they drove off on their speeders, Qhuloskians started to fire at them. Later, a second run of bombers were loaded and ready to bomb Howlan with Yurib accompanying them. Han, Valance, Nico, Tamu, and Lyttan were captured. Right before they were killed by the Qhuloskians, Ghulars opened fire on the aggressive aliens. The Ghulars were slaves to the Qhuloskians to mine for farium to make the Qhuloskians' ships stronger during battle. Afterwards, the Ghulars escaped the planet by taking escape pods from a crashed Qhuloskian warship. When they left, Nico began crying that her home planet in the Huru system was under mining control and her friend Weegee was a miner there. She became very angry and kicked one of their bikes. Han then realized that one escape pod was left and decided to fake Nico's death. When Nico left, Han, Valance, Tamu, and Lyttan then left for the base, being chased and fired at by Qhuloskian ships. They then were destroyed by Yurib in the lead TIE, and Howlan was completely bombed and destroyed.

Later, Solo had to say goodbye to Valance, Tamu, and Lyttan at the base, and Solo was put into the brig.

At some point his skills at flying at the Imperial academy at Carida became the only thing preventing his superiors from outright expelling him from the academy. Other recruits had tried to emulate his flying moves, but at least one recruit nearly died in a failed attempt. Broog vouched for Han to her commanding officer, Captain Nettic Whain, asking that he be given one more chance to fall into line. Finally, during an attack by raiders on Onyx Squadron, Han disobeyed orders once more in order to save the life of Cadet Lyttan Dree. Solo was able to take out three raiders before crashing into a hangar. Unfortunately, Solo's crash destroyed the hangar and dozens of astromechs. This action led to him being court-martialed and tried by Commodore Almudin. Solo was expelled from the academy, drafted into the 224th Imperial Armored Division as a Corporal, and deployed to an active combat zone on Mimban.

After three years of Imperial service, Han had been expelled from the Carida Flight Academy for insubordination and was serving as a Mudtrooper Corporal during a battle on the planet Mimban. Solo's 224th Imperial Armored Division was locked in trench warfare against the Mimbanese Liberation Army, enduring heavy casualties in the torrid, muddy weather. Han took part in a ground assault led by Major Staz to capture a ridge. After Han was thrown to the ground, Staz helped him up and told him they were almost there. Solo was confused, but Staz instructed him to head to the last ridge. Unfortunately, Staz was soon killed by an explosion. Han and some surviving troops, including Private Collum Woslo, Corporal Sharlu Greslin, Corporal Danith Nodar, and Corporal Wesger Odry, gathered in a trench with "Captain" Tobias Beckett, who took command as the most senior officer in the group. Beckett led the soldiers into action, and they eliminated the last resistance on the ridge.

Following the skirmish, Han spoke with "Captain" Beckett, expressing gratitude for his help. Beckett advised him to get away from there as fast as he could. Solo soon encountered Beckett's companions, Val and the Ardennian Rio Durant, who were disguised as Imperial Army troopers. They warned him not to follow them. Lieutenant Alayus Bolandin informed Han and his comrades that they would be moving out to the Southern Marshlands in three hours. When Bolandin requested an advance party, Solo questioned why the Empire was destroying and occupying Mimban, earning the enmity of his commanding officer. Disenchanted with the Empire, Han sought out Beckett and his gang, who were planning a heist. Han recognized them as thieves posing as Imperial Army personnel. Val and Beckett initially wanted to kill Han, but he offered his services as a pilot. When Rio asked what a fancy "fly boy" was doing in the mud, Han claimed he had been kicked out for having a mind of his own. Han pointed out that Rio was an Ardennian. Desperate to escape offworld, Solo tried to blackmail them into allowing him to join their gang by threatening to expose them as infiltrators. However, Beckett turned the tables on him and convinced Lieutenant Bolandin that Solo was attempting to desert. Seeking an opportunity to rid his unit of a "trouble-maker," Bolandin had a chained Solo thrown into a pen where he was condemned to battle a "beast" held in captivity.

The beast was revealed to be a Wookiee named Chewbacca, whose species had been enslaved by the Empire. Thinking he was a threat, Chewbacca attacked Han and hurled him against the girders and mud. Owing to Han's ability to speak Shyriiwook, Solo convinced Chewbacca that he was a friend. Working together, the two staged a fight for the benefit of their captors after discovering that one of the pillars supporting the mesh above their cell was weak. The unsuspecting sentries laughed and thought that Han was doomed. After several attempts, Han pretended to goad Chewbacca into pushing against the main pillar supporting the mesh, causing it to collapse. After jumping out of harm's way, Chewbacca threw Han out of the pit and followed suit. The two found that they were chained together. Chewbacca wanted to flee the camp, but Han convinced him to accompany him to a nearby airfield. He told Chewbacca to trust him, promising that they could go their separate ways if he chose to do so afterward. Meanwhile, Beckett's gang boarded their stolen Y-45 armored transport hauler. Throwing off his Imperial army helmet and uniform, Rio asked how they could breathe in those stuffy suits. The three took off, but Beckett spotted Han and Chewbacca waving to them below. Rio was impressed by Solo's determination and believed that a Wookiee would be helpful as muscle. Val was opposed, but Rio convinced Beckett to bring the ship down so they could pick up Han and Chewbacca. The five then departed Mimban in the stolen hauler.

After Han and Chewbacca's escape from Mimban, Beckett took the transport hauler to the snowy, mountainous world of Vandor. While watching over the snowy mountains from the hauler, Han thanked Chewbacca for saving him, acknowledging that he only survived because of the Wookiee. He shared his plan with Chewbacca, explaining that they would do one job with Beckett's gang in exchange for their freedom. Chewbacca accepted the deal. Han asked Chewbacca for his name and settled on "Chewie," finding it easier to say than his full name in Shyriiwook. Upon landing, Beckett enlisted the two of them for a planned heist to steal a shipment of the hyperfuel refined coaxium from a 20-T Railcrawler conveyex transport on Vandor. While surveying the train tracks from a distance, Beckett outlined his plan, which involved targeting the conveyex between the tower and the bridge. Rio dropped them onto the conveyex, allowing them to separate the payload container and lift it up onto the AT hauler. Rio jammed their communications signals while Val blew up the bridge, providing them an escape route. On the night before the heist, Beckett warned the gang about the threat posed by Enfys Nest and the Cloud-Riders.

While resting by the campfire, Val criticized Beckett for involving Han and Chewbacca, considering them amateurs, questioning why they couldn't have simply hired professionals such as the Xan sisters or Bossk . Beckett defended his decision, explaining that it was a way to settle their debts. During the campfire conversation, Beckett and his associates questioned Han about his motives. Han revealed his plans to become a pilot and return to find Qi'ra. Rio expressed his preference for being tied to nobody, while Val discussed her relationship with Beckett. Solo then asked Chewbacca what he would do with his share of the profits, with Chewbacca responding that he would use it to help the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Beckett promised Han and Chewbacca that if they followed his instructions, they would have more than enough to buy their own ship, before disassembling one of his blaster pistols into a DL-44 pistol and tossing it over to Han, who gazed down upon his new weapon.

While Rio flew the Y-45 hauler, Han, Chewbacca, and Beckett landed on the cargo wagon carrying coaxium, with Val positioning herself on the bridge. The presence of Beckett and his team soon attracted the attention of Imperial range troopers, leading to an exchange of fire. As the conveyex train maneuvered along a narrow cliff face, Han and Chewie narrowly avoided being crushed against rocks. Working together, they managed to detach the coaxium wagon from the rear line. Maintaining communication with Beckett, Rio lowered the "witch cables" onto the coaxium wagon. However, before Beckett's gang could escape with the stolen coaxium, they were attacked by the Cloud-Riders, who rode swoop bikes. Enfys Nest, the leader of the Cloud-Riders, ordered her followers to lower their harpoons. Han and the others evaded blaster fire, and one of the swoop bikes crashed against a rock. Two of the Cloud-Riders boarded the Y-45 hauler and fatally wounded Durant. Solo left Chewbacca to uncouple the wagon from the front train while he went to assist Rio.

Solo managed to climb aboard the transport hauler and take control of the ship, triggering a security sensor in the process. Val warned Han that Viper probe droids were heading his way. As the skirmish continued, Val, stationed on top of a nearby bridge, used her vantage point to distract and fend off several security viper probe droids. With his dying breath, Durant apologized to Solo for mocking his flying abilities and acknowledged that Val was right in her belief that no one should die alone. Beckett fought Enfys Nest on top of the wagon. However, the conveyex train was rapidly approaching the bridge, and Val realized there wasn't enough time for her to abandon her position without allowing the crew to steal the coaxium wagon. After communicating her change of plans to Beckett via comlink, Val professed her love for him before detonating the bomb, sacrificing herself and destroying the bridge. The destruction of the bridge caused the conveyex to plunge into a deep gorge. In a struggle, Chewbacca managed to detach the coaxium wagon from the rest of the train. However, the Cloud-Riders had attached grappling hooks to the wagon, dragging it down. Not wanting to risk the lives of Beckett and Chewbacca, Solo made the difficult decision to let go of the coaxium wagon, which plummeted into the ravine below and exploded. Chewbacca grabbed Beckett, and the two survived by clinging to the cable.

Following the failed heist, Beckett erected a hasty memorial to Val and Rio. Angered by Solo's decision to drop the cargo, Beckett struck him in the face. Beckett revealed he had been ordered to steal the coaxium to repay his debt to Dryden Vos, the leader of the Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate. Han proposed deserting, but Beckett countered that Vos would send out enforcers to hunt down those who had crossed him. Beckett said the only thing they could do was go to Vos and make amends. Han agreed to come along to make things right and exacted a promise from Beckett to pay him and Chewbacca for their services. Chewie agreed to come along.

Beckett, Han, and Chewie traveled to the outskirts of Fort Ypso, where Vos' yacht, First Light, had arrived. After surrendering their weapons to Captain Aemon Gremm, they entered the public gallery. Beckett's team entered the yacht's hallway. Beckett spoke to Vos' concierge, Margo, seeking an audience with Dryden Vos. She told him that Vos was having an audience with Governor Diles Anevi, whom Vos killed. Captain Gremm informed Vos of Beckett's presence. Beckett advised Han and Chewbacca to keep their eyes down because the people there were not their friends, gesturing to the wealthy people around them, eating and drinking the most expensive, tasty, and quality food available. Han soon had an unexpected reunion with Qi'ra, who now worked for Vos. The two drank together while reminiscing about their past and ambitions. Beckett soon arrived with Vos, who introduced himself to Solo and shook his hand, as he then did with Chewie. Vos suggested they go to his office to discuss business privately.

After exchanging pleasantries, Vos chastised Beckett for underestimating Enfys Nest and told Beckett to give him a reason not to kill them. Since the few available stocks of coaxium were in Imperial hands, Han proposed stealing unrefined coaxium from Kessel, where the Pyke Syndicate ran a mining operation. Vos was unwilling to jeopardize his syndicate's business relations with the Pykes, and consequentially gestured for his guards to kill Solo, Beckett, and Chewie. However, Han and Beckett informed him that they had no alliance with the Pykes, and taking on the operation themselves would not implicate Crimson Dawn. Qi'ra was supportive of Han's idea but warned that the unstable coaxium had to be brought to a processing facility quickly before it deteriorated. Chewbacca suggested Savareen since it was not under Imperial control. Vos approved of the plan but sent Qi'ra along with them. Before they left, Vos reminded them that he would be forced to execute them if they were to fail him again. In the turbolift, Beckett said he could provide the gear for the mission, before asking if Qi'ra knew where to find a ship.

Knowing that they would need a fast ship for the Kessel heist, Qi'ra took Solo and his companions to The Lodge at nearby Fort Ypso. There, she introduced the team to Lando Calrissian, an accomplished smuggler and pilot who had supposedly won his ship in a game of sabacc. Solo walked past many established scoundrels and bounty hunters, such as Boba Fett and Dengar, unaware that they would become a key part of his life in the future. After walking past two dueling droids, Solo and the rest of the crew eventually found Lando playing sabacc with several alien patrons. Against Qi'ra and Chewbacca's advice, Han challenged Lando to a game of sabacc, seeking to win his ship. Han won the first round and collected several credits. While Han and Lando were playing, the Cloud-Rider Weazel spied on them. Han agreed to a second round and placed a wager on Lando's ship, reputed to be the fastest in the galaxy, whilst Lando did the same for the ship Han claimed to have. Unbeknownst to Han, Lando had a card hidden up his sleeve, which he uses to win the game, ultimately humiliating Han in front of Qi'ra.

Following the game, an enraged Solo questioned how Lando could have possibly had a specific card without cheating. Calrissian called out to Han questioning where his ship was, before being interrupted by Qi'ra. Lando complimented her, stating that she looked as beautiful as ever, before speaking further with her regarding their upcoming heist on Kessel. Calrissian requested half the profits, which Solo deemed to be ridiculous, before Beckett arrived and negotiated it down to 25 percent. Lando agreed, knowing that Beckett was responsible for killing the bounty hunter Aurra Sing during a skirmish. Han and his companions soon encountered Lando's droid co-pilot, L3-37, who had a female programming and was an avowed droid rights advocate. L3-37 objected to the droid fighting pits at the Lodge and picked a fight with the owner Ralakili, who objected to her trying to stop his droids from fighting. However, Lando intervened and convinced her to let him go. Despite L3-37's misgivings about the newcomer, Lando and the others set out for Lando's ship, which had been impounded. After L3-37 cut a hole through the gate, Lando showed Han and his companions his ship, the Millennium Falcon. Lando had refurbished the ship, including installing an escape pod and wet bar. Beckett agreed to remove the gravity lock in return for taking five percent off Lando's cut, reducing it to 20 percent. Lando reluctantly agreed to Beckett's deal. As the Falcon disembarked, Weazel informed Enfys Nest that they had planted a homing beacon on the ship. Enfys gambled that if they survived, they would bring the price to them.

While traveling aboard the Falcon, Han told Lando that he recognized the ship as a YT-1300 light freighter because his father had worked at a CEC plant before he got laid off. Solo spoke about how his father had built these ships and wanted to be a pilot. Lando questioned how close Solo was with his father, though Han remarked that he never really was, which Lando understood, having the same feelings towards his own father. L3-37 soon arrived and ushered Solo out of the co-pilot seat. Han and Qi'ra smiled at one another whilst L3 complained in the background. Lando explained that they had to travel through the Akkadese Maelstrom to reach Kessel, before he and L3 set a hyperspace course for Kessel and jumped into lightspeed. Meanwhile, Beckett played dejarik with Chewbacca. Beckett used one of his pieces to take out one of Chewbacca's pieces, angering the Wookiee who slammed his fists on the hologram set. Beckett schooled Chewbacca that he had to think a few steps ahead. Han asked if they had seen Qi'ra, but Beckett replied that people were predictable.

Han walked to Calrissian's cape closet where he found Qi'ra trying on a blue cape. Qi'ra asked Han about his plan for Kessel. Though Han wanted to ask her about her experiences following their separation on Corellia, Qi'ra tried to change the subject. Han gave Qi'ra a passionate kiss, and the two embraced. Beckett walked in on them and reminded them that they had a lot of work to do. In private, Beckett told Han that he was making a big mistake by trusting Qi'ra. He told Han that he and Chewbacca would make a good crew but that it would not work with Qi'ra. Beckett advised Han to trust nobody and to assume that everyone would betray him. Han thought of it as a lonely way to live, though Beckett said it was the only way.

As they approached Kessel, Beckett briefed the team about their plan to reach the thermal vault where the coaxium was stored. He warned everyone to stick to the plan. The Falcon landed in a clearing at the base of the mine where they were greeted by several Pykes, including Capo Quay Tolsite. Qi'ra posed as the slaver Oksana Floren, Deputy Assistant to the Vice Admiral of the Federation of Trade Route Allocation and Monetization. Han and Chewbacca posed as slaves while Beckett posed as a helmeted "security attache." L3-37 posed as a servant droid. "Floren" met with Capo Tolsite and offered to trade the Federation's slaves in return for the Pyke Syndicate's spice. One of the Pyke sentinels forced Chewbacca and Han Solo to their knees with a pike and inspected them. Tolsite sent Han and Chewbacca to be clipped. Before leaving, Qi'ra then punched Han in the gut but discreetly passed him his lucky charm. Qi'ra, L3-37, and Beckett accompanied the Pykes into Tolsite's control room while Han and Chewie were led into the mines. Moments later, Han and Chewie were beaten by their Pyke captors, though they soon turned the tables on their guards as the camera feed faded. Han knocked out his guard, but Chewie ended up pulling the arms off his captors, which Han complained about, stating that the suit would have fit him perfectly.

Han eventually found a new suit and, alongside Chewbacca, mingled among the slaves and guards. L3-37 and Qi'ra directed Han and Chewbacca to the thermal vault. As they approached the vaults, Chewbacca broke off to free a Wookiee slave named Sagwa. Han passed Chewie a pike, which he used to attack the Pyke guards beating Sagwa. Following Beckett's directions, Han reached the vault and incapacitated the guard. After L3-37 unlocked the vault, Han stole 12 unrefined coaxium canisters. Han struggled to push a sled carrying the canisters but was noticed by the Pyke guards. Chewbacca came to the rescue and took out the guards with his pike. Sagwa and Chewie helped Han push out the canisters.

Lando exited the Millennium Falcon to join the battle as Han and the rest of the team fought their way out with the liberated slaves and droids. While Chewbacca and Sagwa loaded the coaxium canisters aboard the Falcon, Han and the others exchanged fire with Pyke sentries, who had brought a sonic cannon. Before they could leave, L3 was fatally damaged by gunfire. A grieving Lando came to the aid of the dying L3-37, who succumbed to systems failure. Lando was hit, and Han came to his aid, driving the sentries away. A slave named Tak led the slaves to safety. Chewbacca embraced Sagwa before leaving with Han and Lando. Chewbacca carried a wounded Lando aboard the Falcon while Qi'ra took out the Pykes' sonic cannon with a grenade, causing an inferno. While a distraught Lando cradled a disintegrating L3, Beckett ordered Han to get them out of Kessel. Han then flew the Falcon out of the mine into the skies of Kessel.

While Lando mourned the loss of L3-37, Qi'ra volunteered as Han's co-pilot. They were joined by Chewbacca while Beckett sealed the hidden storage compartment containing the coaxium. As they approached the Akkadese Maelstrom, Lando warned them that they had to hurry due to the volatile nature of the unrefined coaxium. The Falcon soon encountered an Imperial Star Destroyer, which had exited hyperspace in response to the rebellion on Kessel. Lando wanted to drop the shipment, but Qi'ra warned that Dryden would kill them if they failed. Seeking to recover the Falcon's stolen coaxium cargo, the Star Destroyer dispatched several TIE fighters and heavy fighters in pursuit of the freighter. Han flew the Falcon around the Star Destroyer, and the Imperial TIE fighters gave chase. Due to the highly volatile nature of the unrefined coaxium, Lando estimated that completion of the Kessel run was impossible before the fuel detonated - the conventional route having never been done in less than twenty parsecs. Han proposed taking a shortcut through the maelstrom, which Lando regarded as suicidal. Han convinced Lando to download L3's neural cords, which contained her navigational data, into the Falcon's systems.

Han took the Falcon and its TIE pursuers through the dangerous storm clouds of the Akkadese Maelstrom while Beckett manned the ship's ventral laser cannon, taking out two TIE fighters. However, a third fighter managed to evade Beckett's laser cannon and inflicted damage on the top of the Falcon's hull, causing Lando to fall. Han rolled the Falcon, striking the TIE fighter with its side and sending it into an asteroid. More TIE fighters continued the pursuit, prompting Han to state they needed to divert power to the rear shield generator. Chewbacca did so, causing Han to ask when he learned to fly. Chewbacca responded that he was 190 years old. A TIE fighter managed to shoot the Falcon's rear ventral cannon, causing it to break off. Han flew the Falcon deeper into the Maelstrom with the TIE hot on his tail. Mimicking a move copied from a Corellian street racer, Han got Chewbacca to deploy the landing gear as the Falcon scraped against the surface of an asteroid. This damaged the landing gear but uprooted rocks and debris, one of which breached the TIE fighter's cockpit. Han then took the Falcon deeper into the Maelstrom. Meanwhile, Lando and Qi'ra managed to retrieve L3's internal processor. Beckett observed the coaxium vials becoming more unstable and alerted the others. Lando and Qi'ra managed to install L3's processor into the Falcon's systems.

As they reached the Maw Cluster, L3 constructed a model of the Akkadese Maelstrom and warned them that they were approaching a massive summa-verminoth. The Falcon soon found itself face to face with the monster. The crew tried to escape the monster but ended up arriving at a large gravity well, which Lando identified as the Maw. Thinking fast, Han ejected the Falcon's escape pod into the well for the summa-verminoth to follow, which took the bait. Guiding the ship's systems, L3 found a way out 90 degrees to the left. However, the Falcon was trapped in the gravity well. Qi'ra and Lando convinced the rest of the team to inject a drop of coaxium into the fusion core to give them the kick needed to escape the gravity well. Carrying out their plan, Beckett retrieved a drop of coaxium. Meanwhile, the verminoth was pulled into the Maw and ripped apart. At Solo's command, Beckett boosted the ship's fusion core with a drop of coaxium, which briefly supercharged the engines. Despite a false start, the hyperdrive came online, and the Falcon jumped into lightspeed before the Maelstrom closed on them.

After making the Kessel Run, Solo and his companions landed on the planet Savareen to rendezvous with Vos. As the Falcon approached the Bis Refinery, Solo radioed the air traffic controller Dhowar Repareed, warning that he was coming with a cargo of coaxium that needed to be offloaded immediately. The damaged Falcon circled the coastal refinery before landing on a landing pad. Due to its damaged landing gear, the Falcon was lopsided. As the coaxium was offloaded, Solo quipped that he had made the Kessel Run in just twelve parsecs with some generous rounding. Han put his arm around an un-amused Lando, who was grieving over the loss of L-3 and was furious at the damage to his ship. He told Han that he would be waiting aboard his quarters for his share of the money and vowed not to see him again.

Han found Qi'ra at a bar in the nearby Pnakotic Coast village and asked when Vos was coming. Qi'ra reassured him that he would get paid for doing his job. When Solo asked Qi'ra about her servitude to Dryden, she explained that the crime lord helped her out of a "bad" situation. He asked how long it would take her to pay off her debt. Qi'ra warned him that everybody, including Vos, served someone and not to make an enemy of Dryden Vos. Han said he could take care of himself and was no longer the "kid" she knew on Corellia. When Qi'ra asked who he was, Han said he was an outlaw. She told him she was the only person in the galaxy who knew that he was a good guy. Han disagreed and said he was a terrible person. Beckett reminded the two about the coaxium.

While walking through the village, Han and his companions noticed that much of it lay in ruins and that the inhabitants were impoverished. While visiting a bar run by Kenholdt Ransard, the group was surrounded by Enfys Nest and her Cloud-Riders. Han tried to lift his blaster out of his holster, but Beckett counseled him not to. Solo attempted to intimidate the Cloud-Riders by claiming to have a complement of armed mercenaries aboard the Millennium Falcon. However, Lando took off aboard the Falcon, leaving Han and his companions behind. Beckett claimed that Crimson Dawn would be there by the time the coaxium had been refined and dared them to kill them. Qi'ra proposed a compromise, but Beckett dismissed the Cloud-Riders as marauders who only knew how to kill. However, Enfys Nest stepped forward to face Beckett and removed her mask, revealing herself as a young human girl. She walked past a shocked Beckett and told them that she needed a drink.

Inside the bar, Enfys told Han and his companions how the Crimson Dawn originated from a band of mercenaries who plundered a planet. When the inhabitants rebelled, the mercenaries responded by cutting off the tongues of every last man, woman, and child. Enfys explained that she and the Cloud-Riders were from populations who had been terrorized by the Crimson Dawn and the other Five Crime Syndicates. She warned Han and his companions that the Crimson Dawn would use the stolen coaxium to plunder more systems. When Han asked what the Cloud-Riders would use the coaxium for, she told them that they needed the coaxium for their rebel cause.

Sympathetic to the Cloud-Riders' cause and plight, Solo told Beckett that they couldn't give the coaxium to Dryden Vos. Beckett didn't care and asked Solo if he had a plan. Solo said he had a plan to get their money without giving up the coaxium. Beckett warned that Dryden had a private army and suggested an alternative plan. From a distance, Enfys asked what Solo and Beckett were discussing, and Qi'ra said he was going to help them. After their meeting, Beckett invited Solo to come with him, but Han declined the offer. Before leaving, Beckett told Han that he was going to Tatooine, where a big-shot gangster was recruiting a crew for a job. Beckett saw it as an opportunity to pay off his debts.

When Dryden Vos landed on his yacht First Light by the Pnakotic Coast, Han, along with Qi'ra and Chewbacca, went to deliver the purportedly "fake" coaxium canisters to the Crimson Dawn crime lord. Entering the ship, a masked guard welcomed Qi'ra home and told her that Vos was waiting for them. When he asked about Han and Chewie's weapons, Qi'ra vouched for them. The trio traveled up the turbolift. Han was confident of winning, but Qi'ra said that the trick was surviving rather than winning. Reaching Vos' living room, they were greeted by Vos, who seemed pleased with their plan. Qi'ra claimed that Beckett did not survive while Han claimed that Beckett died saving his life on Kessel. Vos expressed admiration for Beckett's principles and thanked Han and his team for following his example. Qi'ra claimed Han and Chewbacca would make good mercenaries with their own ship. Vos was pleased that his top lieutenant Qi'ra survived.

When Han asked for payment, Vos asked to see the coaxium. Han opened the storage vial and brought out a sample of the processed coaxium. When Vos asked to see one, Han claimed it was volatile but complied when Vos insisted. Vos surprised Solo's team by announcing that the coaxium was fake and revealed that he was aware of Han's plan to sell the real shipment to the Cloud-Riders. Han thought Qi'ra betrayed him, but Vos responded that Qi'ra had a weak spot for Solo. Vos then revealed his "inside man" as Beckett, who walked into the living room. After "apologizing" to Han, Beckett reminded him about his "lesson" not to trust anybody. Beckett ordered Han to surrender while a guard checked the lid. A defiant Han responded that it was too late because Enfys Nest had it. Beckett responded that they had figured that as Captain Aemon Gremm and his Hylobon Enforcers stormed the nearby village, captured the masked "Cloud-Riders," and seized the coaxium containers. Vos asked Qi'ra what to do with the "traitor" Han. Qi'ra responded that she would want to know why and to prove their loyalty by sacrificing something they loved.

One of Vos' guards raised a sword. Beckett said that he tried to warn Han about her. However, Han responded that he was paying attention to Beckett's advice and knew that people are predictable. Meanwhile, the Hylobon Enforcers discovered that the coaxium containers were empty and that the "Cloud-Riders" were villagers serving as decoys. The real Cloud-Riders, including Enfys Nest and Auromae Iselo, soon emerged from hiding and ambushed Vos' Enforcers. Han mockingly asked Vos if he sent all his enforcers. Beckett realized that the real coaxium was with Solo. Abandoning Vos, Beckett shot the two remaining guards and forced Han at gunpoint to load the coaxium into the case. He also took Chewbacca hostage and left with the coaxium containers. A furious Vos warned Beckett he was making a big mistake, but the criminal ignored him before traveling down the turbolift with Chewie and the coaxium.

Once Beckett had left, Han grabbed his blaster and fired at Vos, who retrieved a pair of custom Kyuzo petars. Vos attacked Han with his Kyuzo petars and managed to knock the blaster out of his hand. Vos chased Han around the room, hurling his daggers. While Han was distracted with Vos, Qi'ra drew a sword and managed to pin Solo to the ground, knocking the blaster out of his hand. Qi'ra apologized while Vos said that Qi'ra was loyal to Crimson Dawn. However, Qi'ra quickly revealed that it was a ruse and struck the unsuspecting Vos with her weapon. Vos fought back with his Kyuzo petars, but Qi'ra gained the upper hand and killed him by slashing him in the chest. Qi'ra told Han to go after Chewbacca and Beckett, telling him that if they gave their coaxium to Enfys, they would need something else to buy a new ship. Before parting company, Qi'ra embraced Han and reminded him to look after Chewbacca and to smile. She told him that she would be right behind him.

After Han left, Qi'ra removed Dryden Vos' signet ring and used it to seal the living room. Alone aboard Vos' yacht, Qi'ra contacted Vos' superior, the former Sith apprentice Maul. She informed him of the coaxium mission's failure and assumed Vos' position but carefully avoided telling him about Han's involvement, instead pinning the blame on Beckett. Using the Force to draw his dagger, Maul ordered Qi'ra to bring the yacht to the planet Dathomir and told her that together they would deal with the traitors, before stating that she would be working more closely with him in the future.

Meanwhile, Han caught up with Beckett and Chewbacca along the Pnakotic Coast. Beckett said that Han was relentless while Han told Chewie that he came as fast as he could. Han confirmed that Dryden was dead and that Qi'ra killed him. Beckett said that Han still didn't understand that Qi'ra was a survivor. Han responded that Beckett's problem was that he thought that everyone was like him. Beckett responded that Han was not like him. He tried to trick Han into lowering his guard by offering to tell something while reaching for his blaster.

Before Beckett could shoot him, Han shot first, fatally wounding the gangster. Han helped up the dying Beckett who complimented Han for his quick thinking, admitting that he would have killed him had Han not reacted. Beckett praised Han for his courage on the Vandor mountain before breathing his last. Han watched as Qi'ra departed on the yacht First Light, having given Solo a clean break from his debts to the Crimson Dawn. Qi'ra watched Han and Chewbacca from the viewport. Chewie put a comforting hand on Han.

Following the deaths of Vos and Beckett, Han and Chewbacca delivered the refined coaxium to Nest, who revealed her plans to use the coaxium, which was worth 60 million credits, to aid the rebellion against the Empire. She offered Han the chance to join her, but he declined. In response, Nest stated that someday he might feel more sympathetic to the rebels' cause. Out of gratitude for his help, Nest gave Solo a vial of coaxium, enough to buy a ship for himself.

Following their departure from Savareen, Chewie and Solo paired up on various jobs, including one where they were riding a 74-Z speeder bike under fire and another where Solo was tied up. Eventually, they found their way to Numidian Prime.

Elsewhere, Han and Chewbacca soon tracked down Lando to a jungle outpost on Numidian Prime, where Lando was regaling patrons about his adventures in StarCave Nebula. Han chided Lando for leaving them on Savareen before embracing him. When Lando asked for his cut, Han replied he was not getting any since they barely survived their last adventure. After exchanging pleasantries, Han again challenged Lando to a sabacc game for possession of the Falcon. Han had previously subtly relieved Lando of the cards stashed up his sleeve and therefore won the game.

After acquiring the Falcon, Han told Chewbacca that he planned to go to Tatooine, where Beckett told him that a gangster was putting together an organization. The Falcon then jumped into hyperspace.

The Falcon instantly became Solo's most prized possession. With their newly acquired ship and confidence, Solo and Chewbacca began engaging in much more dangerous and risky criminal operations, eventually becoming smugglers. Around the same time, Chewbacca hung Han's pair of chance cubes above the freighter's piloting console. At some point during their travels, the two met Dash Rendar.

Solo and Chewbacca also became acquainted with the infamous Tonnika sisters, but the many events that occurred between both parties left their relationship soured. On one occasion, Solo and Calrissian attended a party aboard a casino starship, aboard which they met up with the sisters, on the Hydian Way. One event—remembered by the sisters as the "Lando ordeal"—was Solo's idea, but he blamed them for what happened. Calrissian's business partner Lobot also became familiar with Solo.

Solo piloted the Falcon through an asteroid field during a run to sell marked sabacc decks to the casino on Marquinn. He told Chewbacca to take the day off while he sold marked sabacc decks to the casino's owner Zefin Tuzo. During Chewbacca's day off, he countered a criminal named Vullen Candroon which wanted to kill Chewbacca. Chewbacca escaped Candroon but ran into Zefin Tuzo, who was working with Vullen. Later Chewbacca managed to escape Candroon and Tuzo. Meanwhile Han was talking to patrons in the casino. Chewbacca immediately ran into the casino to get Han because he was getting chased by Candroon and Tuzo. Later Han and Chewbacca managed to escape aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus hired the bounty hunter IG-88 to assist in tracking down Solo, with the intention of bringing the smuggler to justice for defecting from the Empire and assisting Enfys Nest. Solo and Chewbacca fled the two, and escaped capture by flying the Falcon between two Imperial Star Destroyers.

Some time after escaping Kallus, Solo and Chewbacca were transporting two tons of Cordaxian ore on the planet Odona, with the help of Frax, a Kajain'sa'Nikto. They were pursued by the Empire, and Frax, who was worried about being put in an Imperial prison, pulled a blaster on Han. Chewbacca did a barrel roll with the Millennium Falcon, knocking Frax off the ship into the Cordaxian Sea. Han and Chewbacca escaped the Empire and Odona, but they left Frax behind.

Eventually, Solo would make his way to Stenness, where he devised a plot to get revenge on a crime lord who operated a gambling den 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' 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 crash-landed on an unnamed planet in the Monsua Nebula that was entirely covered in electrical super-storms and cyclones. But beneath the storms lay a beautiful oasis. Solo and his copilot located a cave that they turned into a secret hiding place, 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 Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina looking for work.

Solo and Chewbacca were smuggling for Jabba when they were faced with an Imperial blockade. Faced with the choice of either surrendering to the Empire or dropping Jabba's cargo, they dropped the cargo, and escaped to the planet below.

Solo and Chewbacca began repairing the Falcon, which was damaged in the escape, until they realized that the planet was inhabited by the crime lord Rekias Nodo. Posing as Jabba, he convinced Nodo to repair the ship, but he then found out that Nodo had dozens of prisoners, including Meecha Odon. Before he could act, the crime boss Lallani showed up looking for Jabba.

The two crime bosses started a shootout, so Solo and Chewbacca used the chaos to escape, freeing the prisoners and stealing several barrels of rhydonium in the process. Solo intended to keep the rhydonium to pay for the cargo he dropped, but Chewbacca convinced him to give it to Meecha Odon and the other freed prisoners.

While they were at the space port on Valtos in 9 BBY, Solo was loading supplies onto the Millennium Falcon when he was captured by the bounty hunters 4-LOM and Zuckuss. The duo informed Solo that Nodo had put a bounty on his head. Solo, however, was hired by Beris Ford's family to rescue him from the bounty hunters. Solo and Ford were freed by Chewbacca. After dumping Ford in a barrel with a homing beacon, Solo and Chewbacca were pursued by the Mist Hunter. Solo and Chewbacca were forced to crash the Falcon on a planet in its ocean; the two bounty hunters followed them.

The four scoundrels soon found that the planet was inhabited by a horde of droids that wanted to eradicate all life in the galaxy. The four escaped in the Falcon, but Han and Chewie tricked the bounty hunters into thinking that the Falcon lost power, and the two hunters fell for the trick, jumping back to the planet below. Han and Chewie then escaped the planet, leaving 4-LOM and Zuckuss behind.

While on Coruscant after a smuggling job, Chewbacca and Solo were approached by Alinka Aloo, the daughter of Sim Aloo. Aloo wanted to hire them for a job, and requested that they go to her tower. A week later, they visited Aloo, and she told them that she had a tooka-sitting job for Chewbacca on the planet Ushruu, though Solo was to remain with her. They reluctantly accepted, and Solo remained with Aloo. But she took Solo prisoner and told Chewbacca that he wouldn't be set free unless the job, which wasn't actually a tooka-sitting job, was completed. Chewbacca later returned from the failed job and broke Solo out of captivity with the help of Mayvlin Trillick and a bunch of Corellian hounds. They then escaped Coruscant and a squadron of TIE fighters, subsequently promising to fly Trillick back to her homeworld of Oktaro for free.

After the mission to Ushruu, Han Solo and Chewbacca took a mission to free planet Rendel from a curse. The job was to deliver a single statuette for a one million credits. Chewbacca was unhappy with the mission because he thought the planet was cursed. When they arrived on Rendel, they found the planet was smothered in thorns the size of Rancor teeth. Right when they walked out of the Millennium Falcon, the tracker said that they had to deliver the statuette in the middle of a giant thorn patch. During the delivery of the statuette in the thorn patch, Solo and Chewbacca ran into a Cranan star-hopper. They found out that it was Karamu's and SV-3's ship after they found Karamu's droid Ess-Vee-Three. All of a sudden, Ess-Vee-Three said that the Bellan the Emerald Witch was waiting for him in the forest. Immediately Han told Chewie that there was no witch, vines must've gotten into his central processor, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Later Han went alone to deliver the statuette because Chewie was too frightened. It wasn't long before Solo realized he should have stayed with Chewie when a vine caught his leg. Solo was on the ground trying to get unstuck until he found Karamu stuck into vines. Solo tried to free him, but a pink flower sprayed Solo and made him look older. Solo was able to free Karamu, but they both got stuck later.

Zalla, the sister of Bellan, the Queen of Rendel, came to Solo and Karamu and had a conversation with them about that when she cursed Rendel because she was jealous when her sister became Queen so she drove her sister off the planet, and her sister Bellan became known as the Emerald Witch. Soon after, Chewie came and saved Solo and Karamu. Solo then kicked the statuette at the Collector, and the plants and vines started to die. Zalla then fell to her knees and started to sadden and die. After Zalla's death, the planet was lifted from the curse, and Chewie, Solo, and Karamu escaped on the Millennium Falcon.

At some point, during a smuggling job for Jabba the Hutt, Solo and Chewbacca stopped at The Labyrinth on Kelada. There they ran into an Azumel named Makkeer, who was being chased by Gwarm. Eventually Solo fought for Makkeer by punching Gwarm in the face. Soon after, Lorana shot her blaster to warn Gwarm and his gang to leave. Solo asked Makkeer why Gwarm was after him. Makkeer said that Gwarm was searching for the lost treasure of Rane Mahal. Makkeer revealed that Mahal hid coordinates to the treasure in one of three jewel-encrusted droids. Two of the droids were booby trapped. The first droid was located in Starfarer Restaurant on Kelada working as a waiter. Solo, Chewie, and Makkeer went to the restaurant. Solo and Chewie drew the droid into a room. Solo called for Makkeer, but Makkeer was captured by Gwarm and his gang. When Makkeer got free, he spoke the password to the droid, which caused it to become a booby trap.

Solo, Chewie, and Makkeer then went to Nubia, where the second droid was located. While on Nubia, they ran into R5-P8, a member of Gwarm's gang. They chased R5-P8 back to the gang's location and discovered that second droid was in the gang's possession. The droid ended up being a booby trap and exploded.

Solo, Chewie, and Makkeer then went to the planet Ogem to find the final droid. The droid was in the hands of Gwellis Bagnoro. When they all arrived at Bagnoro's homestead, Gwarm was already there. Bagnoro's Barghest pet Izby attacked Gwarm, which allowed Solo, Chewie, and Makkeer to escape with the droid. The droid revealed the map to the lost treasure of Rane Mahal, which was located on Sakreen. As they headed to Sakreen, they were followed by Gwarm and his crew. Once they arrived at Sakreen, Solo spotted Rane Mahal's galleon, but Makkeer betrayed him and Chewie and broke the Millennium Falcon. Makkeer also revealed that he had been working for Gwarm the entire time. The Millennium Falcon then crashed onto the surface. Gwarm and his crew then entered the galleon and found where the treasure was located. Solo and Chewie shot at them, and Chewie threw Makkeer at Gwarm and his gang. Solo then opened the chest and out came Rane Mahal. She revealed that there was no treasure and that she had been waiting for a ship to come so she could leave Sakreen. Solo suggested to Mahal that she take Gwarm's saucer. Mahal told her crew to load Solo, Chewie, Makkeer, Gwarm, and his gang aboard Gwarm's saucer and sell them to the first slave trader they came across. Solo and Chewie escaped. Mahal and her crew left Sakreen with Makkeer, Gwarm, and his gang. Mahal also took the droid that contained the location of Rane Mahal's fake treasure. She found out that Solo had put an ion scrambler on the droid, which caused the saucer to overload. The saucer was left in space. Solo and Chewie then blasted off aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Sometime later, Solo and Chewbacca aided Khel Tanna and her crew with a heist on Galator III. Though they were late to the rendezvous point, they rescued the crew from local security, with Solo ramming the Falcon through a casino cruiser in order to escape. Upon returning to Jabba's Palace, Solo and Chewbacca were paid for their work by Jabba. Jabba then gave them their next assignment; stealing a urn which contained the ashes of one of Jabba's most hated rivals, Krestrel D'Naran. Offering one million credits as a reward, Jabba paired Solo and Chewbacca with the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo before sending the three of them to Solo's home planet of Corellia. After landing on the planet, Solo briefly talked about his upbringing with Greedo as he led them to Corellia's Pearl District. While on a rooftop, Greedo explained that they were stealing the urn from Augustus Graves, Chief Executive Officer of the Corellian Engineering Corporation, who had the urn stored in a safe within his penthouse.

Stealing a passcard from someone exiting the building, Solo bluffed his way past security and quickly found the safe. Determining it to be a Locris 1-42-08, Solo left the building and met back up with Chewbacca and Greedo in a local bar, telling them they would need something powerful to get into the safe. Solo told them he would figure it out and his partners left the bar while he got a drink of Montalsian ale. But before he could drink it, he was bumped into by an older man, who he noticed was a worker for the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Solo offered to buy him a drink and pointed out that his father worked for the same corporation as him. When the man asked what his father's name was, Solo said it was Ovan. The man then exclaimed that Ovan was his name and claimed that he had found his son. In reality, the man was the criminal Corbus Tyra. As Solo's supposed father tried to embrace his supposed son, Solo punched him, believing the man to be conning him. When Han accused him of faking his injury, "Ovan" removed his eye patch and revealed his scar, remarking that shipbuilding was dangerous work. To this, Solo asked "Ovan" if he had any powerful tools like a plasma cutter, which the man confirmed that he did.

Afterwards, Solo met back up with Chewbacca on the Falcon, where they discussed whether the man was actually Solo's father. When Greedo accused Solo of being sentimental, Solo explained that the man claiming to be his father was going to help them retrieve the urn. Chewbacca then pointed out that Graves had hired private security since Solo broke into his penthouse, to which Solo claimed the guards would be their way in. Later, Solo found "Ovan" at one of the docks and took the plasma cutter from him. When "Ovan" suggested going along with them for the heist, Solo refused until "Ovan" recalled a conversation he'd had with Solo on the same dock when Solo was a child. Despite Greedo's objections and Chewbacca's suspicions, Solo took his supposed father with them as they burst into a local laundromat and took three guards' security uniforms. While Chewbacca retrieved their getaway speeder, "Ovan" bluffed his way past security, who allowed him, Solo and Greedo to enter the premises in their disguises. After talking with "Ovan" about surviving on Corellia while using the turbolift, Solo had Greedo break the sealing the entrance to the penthouse. When Greedo was unable to break the lock, Solo told "Ovan" to open the turbolift doors in case they needed to escape. Solo then called one of the actual guards and asked them to remotely deactivate the lock due to it malfunctioning.

The guard did so, letting the three into the penthouse. Once they were inside, Solo told Greedo to stand watch and not touch anything while he and "Ovan" worked on opening the safe. While they did so, Solo asked his apparent father why he hadn't asked about his cut of the reward. When the man claiming to be his father asked Solo to trust him, Solo reminded "Ovan" of his upbringing and lack of trust in others. "Ovan" then gave Solo a recording that seemed to be of them together during Solo's childhood. When Solo claimed he didn't do sentiment, "Ovan" said he just wanted to get to know his supposed son better. Solo thanked "Ovan" for the recording and revealed that he still had the dice from when he was a child, though requested that he not to tell anyone. As they started working on the safe, Solo contacted Chewbacca to check on his progress. However, he ended the call once they opened the safe and saw that it was empty. Solo confronted Greedo over his bad intel and quickly realized that he had taken an expensive item he wasn't supposed to. Tagged with an , the item set off an alarm and alerted security of the break-in. Solo ran for the turbolift and opened the door to escape, only to be met by a group of armed security guards.

Greedo pulled out his blaster and tried firing at the guards, though the blast only bounced off of the transparisteel windows. From Greedo's failed plan, Solo got an idea and called another group of guards for medical assistance, hoping they were unaware of what had happened. From there, he called Chewbacca and told him to forget about the speeder and come to their location. Solo then retrieved the plasma cutter and used it to break one of the windows. Minutes later, more guards arrived with a and Solo stunned the driver before he, "Ovan" and Greedo used it to escape from the penthouse. They then met back up with Chewbacca and used a landspeeder to reach the Falcon. Once they arrived, Solo told his supposed father that Graves' terminal said the urn had been sold to a buyer on Antillion and that he and Chewbacca could use an extra pair of hands. "Ovan" accepted the offer and joined them aboard the Falcon. When "Ovan" asked Solo if they would wait for Greedo to join them before they left Corellia, Solo said he only went along with Greedo because he claimed to know the location of the urn, which he clearly hadn't. Solo went on to say that the reward would only be split three ways as they left Greedo on Corellia and headed for Antillion.

Once they arrived on Antillion, Solo went on to explain that the urn had been sold to a Sava named Madelin Sun. When his supposed father doubted anyone on such a planet could buy the urn, Solo speculated that she may have traded something for it. Upon locating Sun's shop, Solo said he would negotiate for the urn. However, when Sun denied having any such urn in her possession, Solo told "Ovan" and Chewbacca that she definitely had it and that they would have to get her away from her collection. When "Ovan" asked him if he had a plan, Solo said he would inform the local stormtroopers of illegal contraband in her possession. After he did so, Solo, "Ovan" and Chewbacca watched from a distance as the stormtroopers raided Sun's shop. Sun was then assisted by a mysterious person with whom she left in a ship. Solo told Chewbacca to wait for him and "Ovan" in the Falcon while they retrieved the urn from the shop. Upon entering the shop, they found that the stormtroopers had been killed. "Ovan" then found the urn amidst a pile of artifacts. But before they could leave, Solo's supposed father was suddenly stunned before Solo found himself in the grip of the Wookiee bounty hunter Krrsantan.

Solo fought Krrsantan briefly, but was knocked out and taken to Mollo Tanka. Once he awoke, he found himself in the presence of Augustus Graves, who demanded to know the urn's location. After an unsuccessful interrogation, Solo was found by Chewbacca, who proceeded to fight off Krrsantan in a death duel. Subduing the mercenary with a thermal detonator, Chewbacca fled with Solo from Graves' palace, only to find that the Falcon was gone. They were then surrounded by Krrsantan and Graves' guards, but were quickly rescued by Tanna's crew and brought aboard their ship. Once they were safe, Tanna punched Solo as payback for stranding them earlier. With T'onga, Akko and Ooris Bynar beside Tanna, Solo admitted he was grateful before he was punched by Greedo for leaving him on Corellia. When Tanna asked Solo where the urn was, he said it was back on Antillion, but that they first had to find the Falcon and his father. Tanna's crew aimed their blasters at Solo and insisted on retrieving the urn first, to which Solo agreed.

Solo and Chewbacca led the crew back to the shop on Antillion, only to find that the urn was gone. Chewbacca then realized that "Ovan" was an imposter and that he had faked being unconscious so he could make off with the urn and the Falcon. Revealing there were moments where he had not believed the conman, Solo used a tracker he had planted on his fake father as insurance to locate him. Solo, Chewbacca, Greedo and Tanna's crew followed the tracker to where the conman had been detained: the Benelex Marshal Service Headquarters on Paqualis III. Tanna had Solo take control of the ship along with T'onga and Akko while the rest of them went for the conman, warning him not to damage her ship. Solo provided cover fire as Chewbacca, Greedo, Tanna and Bynar retrieved the conman, whom they learned was named Corbus Tyra. However, as they brought him aboard the ship, Chewbacca was blasted and placed under arrest by Marshal Buck Vancto. Solo tried to stop the crew from leaving without Chewbacca, but he was shot in the chest by Greedo.

Rather than helping Solo, Tanna's crew dropped him off on Escalan. After washing up on shore, Solo was found by Doctor Aber, who heard him mutter his own name as she brought him to a spare bed. After healing, Solo went to a local bar, but was kicked out due to not speaking the native language. He then saw a broadcast reporting on the impending executions of three prisoners in a Benelex Marshal Service prison on Gulhadar. After seeing that Chewbacca was among the prisoners, Solo found a local who spoke Basic and got them to fly him to Gulhadar. Upon reaching the prison, they picked up Chewbacca, Phaedra and the pirate Maz Kanata, who were in the midst of escaping. After dropping off Kanata at her castle on Takodana, Solo and Chewbacca flew to Tatooine along with Phaedra. Once they entered Chalmun's Cantina, they found Greedo and interrogated him for the Falcons location. After being thrown out onto the street by Chewbacca, Greedo confessed that the Falcon was in a docking bay in Mos Entha. Before he had split from Tanna's crew, Greedo had cheated in a game of Sabacc to gain ownership of the Falcon. Greedo also admitted that the urn had been confiscated by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and stored within his office on Coruscant. After punching Greedo and leaving him unconscious in the street, Solo reclaimed the Falcon and discussed the situation with Chewbacca and Phaedra. Solo claimed the heist would be impossible, due to the office being guarded by death troopers. However, Phaedra explained that she had a plan.

Upon arriving on Coruscant, Solo and Chewbacca posed as sanitation workers and snuck through the planet's sewer system while Phaedra posed as a protocol droid. Once she convinced Tarkin to leave his office, Solo and Chewbacca blew their way inside, allowing Solo to retrieve the urn. Surrounded by stormtroopers, Phaedra broke a nearby window and the three of them jumped out before landing on a passing train. But before they could escape, they were caught by a stormtrooper, who blasted Chewbacca and sent him falling over the side of the train. As he fell though, Chewbacca managed to grab onto a passing vehicle and throw off the Imperial driver, allowing him to fly to safety. Just then, the train made a sharp turn, cuasing Solo to lose grip of the urn. Luckily, Phaedra was able to catch it as they leapt off the train onto a nearby platform. She then opened the urn and was surprised to instead find a neural core inside.

Regrouping on the Falcon, the group realized that Jabba had lied about the urn's contents. As Phaedra doubted that they should even bring Jabba the core, Solo said they would first find out the core's origins from an Ugnaught sava named Korin Pers, who had connections with Calrissian. Traveling to the "Smuggler's Moon" of Nar Shaddaa, the group found Pers in her office. Pretending to hate Calrissian to gain favor, Solo asked Pers if she knew anything about the core. After studying it, Pers explained that it was the core of an ancient droid named Ajax Sigma. A droid revolutionary, Sigma had led an uprising of droids over two centuries ago. Sigma eventually led a droid uprising on Kligson's Moon to bring about the emancipation of all synthetic life. After killing many organics during battle, Sigma was finally destroyed by the Jedi of the High Republic Era. Reminded of L3-37, Solo asked Pers what someone would want with a droid like Sigma. When Pers said Sigma would be a formidable assassin, Phaedra insisted they not give Sigma's core to Jabba.

However, they were interrupted by the arrival of Tanna's crew. As they opened fire inside the office, Solo took the core and ran for the exit along with Chewbacca and Phaedra, only to be stopped by Vancto. Chewbacca fought Vancto while Solo and Phaedra returned to the Falcon with the core. But they were then confronted by Tyra, who held them at blaster point and demanded they hand over the core. In the end, Solo and Chewbacca would decide to bury the core.

After dropping a cargo of Kessel spice they were smuggling for Jabba, Solo and Chewbacca had a 50,000-credit bounty placed on their heads. In trying to pay off Jabba, they traveled to Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine, where they looked for work. While Chewbacca left the table, Solo took the opportunity to flirt with a B-girl named Jenny. She sat on Solo's lap and the two witnessed a bar brawl between the exiled Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the criminals Ponda Baba and Cornelius Evazan, who had physically assaulted Luke Skywalker, leading Kenobi to cut off Baba's arm with his lightsaber. As Chewbacca joined them, Jenny realized that Solo didn't even remember her name, leading her to throw the remainder of Solo's drink in his face before storming off.

Afterwards, Kenobi and Skywalker made their way to Solo's booth, Kenobi having talked with Chewie before the brawl. They arrived and began negotiating. Solo assured Kenobi that the Millennium Falcon was the fastest ship around, because it had made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. Kenobi informed Solo that the cargo was only himself, Skywalker, two droids, and no questions asked beyond an admission 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. His interest piqued at such a sum offered when it was so needed, Solo 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 Greedo, who demanded to be paid Jabba's debt, or he would take Solo's dead body back to Jabba as payment. Solo, then, in self defense, covertly pulled his DL-44 blaster pistol under the table; after Greedo tried to shoot Solo but missed, Solo fired back, killing the Rodian. Solo ignored the Murder tax Jabba enforced on Tatooine, opting instead to simply toss Wuher, the cantina's bartender, some credit chips, before apologizing for leaving a mess and then heading to Docking Bay 94. None of the witnesses present could agree whether Solo or Greedo shot first, but all confirmed Solo had the better shot of the two.

Solo arrived in the docking and found Jabba himself, with several of his guards—including Jabba's top bounty hunter Boba Fett— looking for him near the Falcon. Jabba inquired 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, but Solo talked him down to fifteen percent, and ironically stated that the Hutt was a "wonderful Human being," before boarding 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 shouted for Chewbacca to take off. The Falcon blasted away from the Mos Eisley spaceport and clear of Tatooine. As the Falcon entered space, Solo realized that his passengers were even more wanted by the Empire than he thought as multiple Star Destroyers pursued his ship. Trying to dodge Imperial fire while addressing the boy's annoying backseat badgering about the necessity of proper navigation for travel through hyperspace, Solo inserted coordinates to the Alderaan system into the Falcons navigation computer and made the jump to hyperspace, escaping their pursuers.

While en route to Alderaan, Solo boasted of outrunning the "Imperial slugs," but was annoyed when no one would humor him, considering Luke was concerned with Kenobi who himself was troubled by a great disturbance in the Force resulting from what turned out to be the destruction of Alderaan. 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 with the civilized weapon. Solo was skeptical of the Force—the energy field that connected all living things in the galaxy, and the Jedi, like Kenobi, were able to use to perform seemingly supernatural feats—because in all his travels he had never seen proof of its existence; to Solo, "There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny" and 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 attributed Skywalker's ability to luck.

Soon, the Falcon emerged from hyperspace in the Alderaan system. The Falcon came out at Alderaan's galactic coordinates, but into a 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 worried 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 in the distance. Kenobi quickly surmised that the body was not a moon, but an Imperial space station, the Death Star battle station equipped with a superlaser 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 Falcons five Model CEC Class-1 escape pods and hid themselves in the Falcons smuggling compartments located under the floor.

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 enforcer and a Dark Lord of the Sith. After the troopers left, Solo and the others emerged from the compartments and Kenobi 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 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, Shann 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' cell in the prison computer and sent Skywalker to get her while he tried to convince an officer, Ensign Toos, that nothing had gone wrong on their level via the comm system on a "Tulip" style Imperial work station. In the end, a nervous Solo gave up and shot the panel when the tech saw through the ruse and sent stormtroopers to investigate.

After Solo warned Skywalker of the incoming soldiers, 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 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 worshipfulness" 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' 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 Kenobi had created to rush aboard the freighter—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 his ship, and once everyone was on board, blasted off and away from the battle station. Their 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—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—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—much to Solo's amusement.

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 reward 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—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 got the better of the smuggler, and he turned around and headed towards the Death Star, where the battle was raging—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, led by Darth Vader, in the station's meridian trench. Solo fired on the three Imperial fighters, destroying one, and causing another to panic and collide with Vader, who was sent spinning away from the battle station. Solo yelled in glee and told Skywalker to fire his torpedoes, since he was now clear to do so. Skywalker did, and it was a direct hit: The Death Star blew apart and killed everyone on board. Vader, however, escaped after regaining control of his fighter. 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 for 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.

The Rebellion leaked footage of the Death Star's destruction to the DarkNet, enabling Lando Calrissian and Lobot to watch and realize, upon seeing the Falcon fly in, that Solo had taken part in the battle. Sometime following the battle of Yavin, Solo accepted a commission in the Alliance Military as a captain.

With the Falcon scheduled to leave shortly after the Battle of Yavin, it was already an hour late as it lay berthed in the Great Temple following the rebels' victory. Leia Organa, helping oversee 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 rebels' 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 judgment 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 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 determined to claim the reward Jabba had put on their heads. Feigning surrender and stalling, Han offered to hand over the money they had to pay off their debts to Jabba for their lives. The arrival of ISB Commander Alecia Beck and a quartet of stormtroopers interrupted the firefight, whereupon 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 mobile 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. Han and Chewie headed there in a recently purchased high-end speeder, for which Han intended to bill the Alliance. The gang of bounty hunters they had run into previously followed them 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 berthed 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 rile Chewie by referring to him as his slave, provoking an angry retort. Starting a fight, the rebels quickly assaulted 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 planet's 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 ship's cockpit. Fending off several TIE fighters, the Miss Fortune suddenly took a hit to its 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 but not before the Falcon was caught in the Vehements 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, 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, but he was ultimately forced to pull out after realizing that utilizing the tractor beam so close to the capital city of Motok would destroy it, turning thousands of 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 jumped to the safety of hyperspace.

Solo returned to Corellia for parts for the Millennium Falcon alongside Chewbacca. During this, Moloch, who was a member of the White Worms, captured Solo and Chewbacca and brought them to Proxima. When Moloch brought Solo and Chewbacca into Den of the White Worms, Proxima told him he would be punished because he owed her coaxium and gave her face scars from sunlight. Chewbacca gave Solo a thermal detonator, which he used to explode the window which brought in sunlight. The sunlight damaged Proxima's face again and blinded her right eye as Solo and Chewbacca made their escape.

Solo and Chewbacca left to earn credits to pay off Jabba. They took several smuggling jobs, but Solo was getting nervous and turning down jobs. He was approached by Katrull with an easy job but turned it down, stating the sector was under Imperial observation. After Katrull left, Solo noticed a female he had seen previously on another planet. Getting suspicious, he decided to leave only to be stopped by her partner at gunpoint. They escorted him back to the Falcon, where Chewbacca greeted them. The two agents revealed themselves to be part of the Rebel Alliance. They explained that Princess Leia had sent them to borrow the Millennium Falcon for a special mission. Solo refused to allow his ship to used without him and returned to the Rebel fleet to confront the princess.

When he arrived, he angrily asked Organa about her decision to use his ship without his permission or participation. She took him aside and led him to a meeting with Airen Cracken. Organa explained they had undercover agents they had to recover and decided to use the Dragon Void Run as cover to rescue them. She revealed that the Rebel leadership was worried about leaks and wanted to use a ship that wasn't aligned with the Rebel Alliance. Solo agreed to the mission and accompanied Organa back to the docking bay. There, they feigned an argument so it wouldn't draw suspicion when the Falcon and her crew left the fleet.

Solo and Chewbacca arrived in the Gomar sector, checked in with the race officials and attended a party with the other racers. When the other participants realized he was a smuggler and not a professional racer, they first attempted to have him thrown out and then proceeded to ridicule him. Loo Re Anno intervened, and explained Solo had heart and the loyalty of his crew and this made him worthy. The racers then lined up and made the jump to hyperspace to travel to the first checkpoint in the race. When they arrived, Solo found his ship under attack along with the other racers.

Solo attempted to outmaneuver the attacking mines, but was cut off by Delan Vook. Vook used the Falcon as a shield and fired on the attacking mines, hitting Solo's ship. Solo was angered by this and ran into Vook's ship, temporarily disabling it. As more of the mines attacked his ship, Solo noticed that they were ignoring the racers who had been knocked out. He correctly surmised that the mines were programmed to attack ships that were powered up, so he turned off his engines and coasted across the finish line unscathed. Loo Re Anno attached a cable to the Falcon and used it to tow her ship safely across the finish line as well. She thanked Solo for the assistance. After landing on the planet, Solo confronted Vook about firing on his ship. Loo Re Anno told Vook that it was against the rules to fire on or tamper with another racer's ship and that he could be disqualified if Solo wanted to file a complaint. Solo declined, but warned Vook to stay out of his way. As Solo walked away, he was stopped by a who warned him that he was in danger. He was then stopped by several stormtroopers, who arrested him. Solo was rounded up with the other racers of the Dragon Void Run as observers of the race protested. Vook complained about the Imperial interference and was attacked by a stormtrooper. Solo came to his defense and was knocked to the ground. Before any more fighting could take place, an Imperial officer stopped it so that there wouldn't be any bad publicity.

Tomine told Solo he and the other racers were criminals. When the Imperial officer took offense at , Solo stepped in to prevent the Imperials from harming them. The race officials convinced Tomine to let the race continue, and Solo ran back to his ship to start the next stage. Once on board, he found out that Chewbacca was injured while escorting the Rebel spy Bot back to the Falcon. They began the next stage of the race, and Bot explained his theory that one of the spies that Solo was tasked to pick up during the race was a murderer who was killing the other informants. Solo assured him that everything would be okay. The ship arrived at the next stage of the race, which was a grueling twelve-hour run through a shifting debris field. Solo considered purposely disqualifying himself, which would still allow him to visit all the planets in the race without the risk of the race. He changed his mind and decided to complete the stage despite the danger. At the very end, the Falcon clipped some debris which caused it to slow down and possibly be disqualified but was saved when Vook hooked a tow cable onto the ship and pulled it across the finish line. After landing, Solo left Chewbacca with the Falcon to go retrieve the second Rebel spy, but was followed by camera droids. One of Loo Re Anno's witnesses, who had attached itself to Solo, destroyed the camera droids so Solo could meet with the spy without being observed. Solo and the Rebel spy returned to the Falcon, only to discover the spy had a history with Chewbacca and wanted to settle an old debt.

Once on the Falcon, Dorae drew her blaster and explained that Chewbacca had killed her "baby," a newly hatched Rathtar, which was trying to kill Solo. She had planned to sell the creature, and its death had caused her serious financial problems. Solo stepped in front of her blaster in an attempt to defuse the situation. Loo Re Anno and the Twi'lek racers Sotna Reat and Nowk Asil, who were alerted to the danger by one of Lee Re Anno's witnesses, boarded the Falcon to assist Solo. Solo told the racers he was handling the situation and didn't need their help. Asil confronted Solo and told him that the race shouldn't be used as cover for personal business. Lee Re Anno assured the Twi'lek that Solo wouldn't sully the race's reputation like that and then asked to speak to him privately. She described the history of the Dragon Void Run and how her grandmother had founded the race. She told Solo she saw something greater than just a simple pilot in him, but Solo replied that he was just a good pilot and being a special person just caused trouble. The racers left his ship, and Solo returned to the lounge where all his passengers were. Dorae questioned why Solo was working for the Rebel Alliance and told him she had joined after financial problems caused her to lose her bar. As the race was about to resume, Dorae told him that they were waiting for the last of the Rebel operatives, and once they were aboard he should abandon the race and return to the fleet. Solo decided to delay taking off to wait for the others. A speeder approached the Falcon, chased by stormtroopers, and Solo told Chewbacca to start the engines in order to make a quick getaway. As the last of the Rebel spies boarded the freighter, Solo quickly left the planet, chased by TIE fighters. Solo wondered why they weren't trying to destroy the ship, and Dorae explained they were trying to capture them. Solo jumped to hyperspace and escaped. When they were safe, Solo joined the rest of the passengers. U'il explained that they were ambushed by the Empire because one of the Rebel spies in the group must be a traitor. She and Solo went into the cockpit and discussed their plan of action. U'Il wanted to return to the Rebel base, but Solo wanted to continue to the next leg of the race and try to determine who was giving information to the Empire. When they came out of hyperspace, he and the other racers were confronted by an Imperial fleet. U'Il suggested they flee, but Lee Re Anno convinced Solo and the other racers to continue the race.

Solo took evasive action and asked the other racers if they had any weapons on their ships. When they replied that they were unarmed, Chewbacca fired on a TIE fighter with the Falcons quad laser cannon. During the fight, Dorae entered the cockpit and informed Solo that Aran had been murdered. Before he could react, Lee Re Anno summoned an to distract the Imperials so the race could proceed. As the Falcon entered the Dragon Void, Solo went to confront his passengers. Dorae criticized his decision to enter the Void, knowing that they could end up stranded and captured by the Empire. Solo deduced that Bot had killed Aran, and was attacked by the Duros with a hidden poison injector. He headbutted Bot, who was subdued by Chewbacca but not before Bot injected himself with the poison. Solo and Chewbacca returned to the cockpit to finish the race. He contacted Loo Re Anno and asked her about her plans for after the race. She explained to him that her life as a lone pilot was coming to an end, and she would either win the race or perish. The race continued, and the starships approached the that marked the end of the race. As they got closer, Solo managed to pilot the Falcon past and the . He drew even with and passed her when her starship was hit by fire from the pursuing Imperials. When he got near the gate, he realized he was dooming the legendary pilot to death, and veered off at the last minute, which allowed Loo Re Anno to enter the gate first. His passengers were convinced they were going to be captured and killed by the Empire. U'Il suggested that Solo take her blaster and kill them all before the Empire could take them. The gate opened, and Loo Re Anno and the rest of her people emerged. She thanked Solo for allowing her to return to her people. She then reopened the gate, so the racers could return to the start of the race safely. Once clear of the Imperials, Solo returned to the Rebel base and delivered his passengers to Organa. She chided him on his rash behavior during the race. Solo reflected on the lesson he had learned from Loo Re Anno and decided to stay with the Rebels a while longer.

With the Empire's Death Star destroyed, Alliance High Command chose to press their advantage at the Empire's disarray by launching campaigns across the galaxy, targeting key Imperial worlds and facilities. And when the Alliance learned of the Empire's decision to call on the Hutt Clan to supply the Imperial war machine with resources, Solo decided to co-lead a mission with Princess Leia: intercept the envoy from Jabba at Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1, in the Corellian Industrial Cluster. Solo decided to stick with the Alliance in order to destroy the Empire's largest weapons factory and use his connections to the Hutt Clan to bluff their way into the factory, pretending to be the Hutt's envoy after Rebels ship-jacked the true envoy and stole their ship—which Solo, Organa, Skywalker, and Artoo traveled to Cymoon 1 in. Chewbacca and Threepio, likewise, piloted the Falcon to Cymoon 1, landing undetected in the extensive fields of refuse that surrounded the factory.

Solo landed the transport at Weapons Factory Alpha without incident and the group emerged from the craft. Organa and Skywalker were disguised in Jabba's bodyguard armor, acting as Solo's bodyguards, so Solo introduced himself to the Imperial delegation: the Overseer of the facility, Aggadeen—whom Solo quickly gave the derogatory nickname "Aggie"—a group of stormtroopers and a LOM-series protocol droid. After the protocol droid confirmed Solo's connections to the Hutts, "Aggie" led the false envoy onto the factory floor after Solo and the others handed over their weapons to the stormtroopers. Solo played along, cocky and overconfident, claiming to Aggadeen that he was the being that had taught Jabba his shrewd business skills. "Aggie" was unimpressed and chided Solo for his ignorance, and revealed that there were, in truth, not going to be any negotiations: The Empire would state their demands and Solo would accept them on behalf of the Hutt Clan without argument.

Upon arriving at the conference room where Solo was to meet the Empire's negotiator, Solo and Artoo began the attack; Artoo, Skywalker, and Organa took the stormtroopers down in hand-to-hand combat, while Solo held the Overseer at gunpoint and demanded to know the direction to the facility's main power core. Aggadeen was horrified, but relented and sent them in the correct direction. While racing towards the core reactor, Organa contacted Threepio to ensure the droid would activate the Falcons autopilot in order to pick them up once they finished their task. Threepio assured them that he would, and that he would take care of Solo's ship.

Solo, Organa, and Artoo then went to work rigging the core to explode. Skywalker, however, instead of standing guard as Solo had asked, fell into the Force and located several dozen slaves, which he freed. Solo grew worried at Skywalker's disappearance, but they finished slicing into the reactor nonetheless, programming it to self-destruct in ten minutes. Organa took time to thank Solo for defying his selfish nature to aid her and the Rebellion; however, she questioned just why Solo would act so, wishing to know his true motives. Solo's motives were to help his new friend, Skywalker, but he was saved from admitting that he was also interested in Organa romantically when Skywalker returned to the reactor room with the slaves. Solo figured "the more the merrier" and called Threepio to tell him to start the Falcons autopilot and pick them up. Chewbacca interrupted, bringing news of the arrival of the Empire's negotiator: Darth Vader. Solo ordered the Wookiee to retreat from the Dark Lord, but Organa countered Solo, telling Chewbacca to open fire in order to rid the galaxy of Vader.

Chewbacca consented, but was unable to defeat Vader and was forced to flee, falling out of contact with Solo's group. Solo called Threepio, inquiring where he and the Falcon were, regretting that the planned chain of events had gone awry. The protocol droid explained that he had not yet arrived because the freighter was being dismantled by native scavengers. Solo told him to solve the problem and took off with Organa, Skywalker, Artoo, and the slaves in search of a way out of the factory. Solo located a hangar full of massive All Terrain Armored Transport walkers and proceeded to hijack one such behemoth. Unbeknownst to the group, Skywalker had left the group in order to find and face Darth Vader, the man he believed had killed his Jedi father.

Solo, Organa, Artoo, and several slaves boarded the walker, so Solo began their escape, barreling through the walls of the facility. Solo located Skywalker and Vader locked in lightsaber combat, so he brought the leg of the AT-AT into the confrontation, which forced the two combatants apart. The smuggler told Skywalker to follow him with the slaves, as he was going to clear a path out of the factory before it exploded. Organa saw Vader and ordered Solo to target him, while the slaves targeted the Imperial ground troops. As a consequence of the walker being just-made, the laser cannons were not yet operational, which kept Artoo and a pair of Jawas busy while they worked on enabling them while Solo and Organa argued.

While the rebels continued in their escape, Solo brought the walker towards Vader, trying to crush him with the AT-AT's feet. However, Vader used the dark side of the Force to stop the walker. The dark power the Sith Lord wielded began to tear the behemoth apart. Solo was in disbelief at Vader's power—Solo was still not convinced that the power Skywalker and Vader wielded was real—and at Artoo's assurance that they were operational, opened fire on Vader with the walker's laser cannons, minorly injuring the Dark Lord and allowing Solo to pilot the walker outside the facility into the refuse fields. In the moment of calm, Solo tried to contact both Chewbacca and Threepio, but both failed to answer, leaving Solo to be very grateful when Skywalker assured him that he was heading towards the rendezvous.

While continuing their journey towards the Falcon, Chewbacca roared over the comlink, relieving Solo that his friend was alive. Chewbacca then rescued Threepio from the tentacles of the scavengers and began to repair the damage they had done in order to pick up Solo and the others. However, Organa and Solo soon realized that the factory's reactor must have been defused, because it had been long past ten minutes and it hadn't exploded. Just after, Darth Vader set himself upon stopping the stolen walker, which he did by cutting down the walker's legs. Solo and Organa looked at each other in realization as Vader succeeded in his task: the walker crashed to the ground. Solo was injured in the crash and left battered and bloody. Organa and the slaves carried him from the wreckage while Skywalker covered them. The Jedi-to-be then returned to the factory mounted on a 74-Z speeder bike and destroyed the core reactor, decimating the entire facility. Chewbacca, with the Falcon repaired enough to fly, picked up the rebels, and they fled into hyperspace to the safety of the Rebel fleet.

Aboard one of the Rebel capital ships, Solo was treated for the injuries he sustained. He and Chewbacca then repaired the Falcon best they could with the parts they were allowed by the Alliance deck crew. Later, Solo advised Skywalker, who was leaving on a journey to return to Tatooine to continue his Jedi journey, to not leave because it was too dangerous. Skywalker left anyway, though, believing it something he needed to do.

A short time later, after being denied access to the parts he needed to finish repairing the Millennium Falcon, Solo went and asked Organa what it would take for him to get the parts so he could leave the Alliance and settle his debt with Jabba before bounty hunters showed up to forcibly take him to Jabba. Organa chided him, explaining that the Rebellion couldn't afford to give away expensive items for free—Solo had to work for them. The princess informed the smuggler that she was going on a scouting mission to a possible location for a new Rebel base; Solo could act as her pilot on the mission and receive the parts he needed as payment. Solo agreed, though he was adamant that he would leave the Rebellion upon their return.

Solo and Organa soon set off aboard a stolen Imperial Lambda-class T-4a shuttle, the Invictus, and intended to scout several locales, including the Ganath Cloud and the Moons of Ovise. They began their search in the Moddell sector. Before they could truly begin, however, a pair of Imperial TIE fighters unexpectedly approached the shuttle and demanded identification from the Invictus. Solo found it inexplicable that Imperials were as far out in the Outer Rim as they were, and prepared to put the shuttle through evasive maneuvers. The princess stopped him, however, and transferred their stolen clearance codes to the TIE fighter pilots. The pilots were about to clear the Invictus, but Solo became impatient and put the shuttle through evasive maneuvers, tipping the Imperials off that the Invictus was not what it claimed to be, so the Imperials opened fire. Organa was furious at Solo, but as it was too late to rectify the situation, let Solo take the shuttle to an unnamed planet in the nearby Monsua Nebula. The TIEs didn't follow Solo through the planet's electrical super-storms, though that saving grace didn't change the princess' mind; she told the smuggler that she hated him.

On the surface of the planet, Solo was satisfied when Organa forgot their troubles, admitting that she found it incredible that beneath the planet's atmosphere of super-storms, a beautiful oasis laid. Solo led her to his secret hiding place and offered her a glass of Corellian wine in an attempt to seduce her. The princess rejected Solo's invitation: she threw the wine into his face, stormed out of the cave, and berated him for getting side-tracked on their mission—especially when they were in danger. Organa argued that if Solo hadn't lost his nerve and alerted the TIEs that they weren't who they claimed to be, they wouldn't have been in the predicament in the first place. Solo countered that nothing in the entire galaxy could make him lose his nerve. However, a ship—the Volt Cobra, Sana Starros' ship—appeared and fired a laser blast down at the pair. Solo recognized the Cobra, lost his nerve, and told Organa to run. Confounded, Solo and Organa watched as Starros emerged from her freighter and introduced herself to the princess, pointing a blaster at her and claiming to be Sana Solo, Han's wife. Solo could only put his hand on his face and mutter "oh no."

Starros had placed probes in the atmosphere of the planet some time before in an attempt to track Solo, and it had paid off. Starros had taken it upon herself to make Solo's life miserable until he paid her share from the robbery on Stenness years earlier. Organa was shocked that Solo had never told her he was married, though Solo made it clear that he wasn't. Starros greeted Solo with a kiss, and then struck him across the face, which led Organa to decide that she wanted no part of their business. Solo called to the princess, pleading to her that Starros was not his wife. And when he did, Starros recognized the name of Princess Leia and decided to claim the bounty on Organa by turning her in to the Empire. Organa ignored them and went to return to the Invictus, but Starros, by voice-control, told the Cobra to destroy the shuttle, which it did, cutting of their escape. Solo was appalled at Starros' ruthlessness and was forced to let Starros frisk him; she took his DL-44 blaster pistol.

Starros then contacted the Star Destroyer that had come to the planet after being alerted by the TIE that had originally pursued the Invictus, telling them that she intended to claim the bounty on Organa. Solo whispered to Organa that he could make it right, though he wouldn't take Starros on in a gunfight: she was a better shot than him. The princess, however, took over Solo's plan; she kicked him into Starros and pulled a blaster pistol from her boot. Much to Solo's dismay, Organa held Starros and him at gunpoint, though Starros pointed out the flaw in Organa's plan: TIE fighters were already descending from the sky.

Several TIEs landed and their pilots emerged, ordering the trio to stand down. Organa opened fire on them. Solo pleaded with Starros to give him back his blaster, but she refused, only consenting when Solo lost his temper and admitted that he had joined the Rebel Alliance and was on the Empire's most wanted list. Solo and Starros raced aboard the Volt Cobra, and Organa did, too, after realizing that Starros had given up on selling her to the Empire. Solo tried to persuade Starros to let him pilot her ship, but both she and Organa commanded him to "shut up" as they fled into space. Solo and Organa manned the Cobras turbolasers, firing on the pursuing TIEs before Starros finally jumped to hyperspace.

While in hyperspace, Starros mused Solo, amused that he had become a Rebel. Solo berated Starros for continuing to claim to be his wife, reminding her that their marriage was illegitimate and part of a robbery they had both been a part of. Organa then interrupted, bringing news from the Rebel fleet that Skywalker was in trouble on Nar Shaddaa. Solo did not understand what his friend was doing there, but he would soon find out: Organa promised to pay Starros if she took them to Nar Shaddaa—and Starros accepted. En route to Nar Shaddaa, Solo begged Organa to trust him rather than Starros, but Organa mostly ignored him and slammed a door in his face. Flustered, Solo decided to admit the truth—he explained the robbery on Stenness, where he had participated in a marriage ceremony with Starros that was faked. He went to apologize to her, but behind the door, Organa was gone. Solo slumped to the floor, wishing Chewbacca was with him.

Shortly thereafter, the Cobra arrived on Nar Shaddaa at the coordinates of Chewbacca and Threepio, who had also answered Skywalker's distress call and come to his rescue. Chewbacca, however, had fallen afoul with the Corellian bounty hunter Dengar, who had subdued the Wookiee in an attempt to lure Solo there so he could claim Jabba's bounty on Solo. Enraged, Solo shot the bounty hunter in the back and demanded he take his "damn hands off" his friend. Solo ordered Dengar to step away from Chewbacca and he would be allowed to live, but Dengar refused; instead he activated a thermal detonator that he threatened to detonate. Chewbacca, who was not hurt badly, took advantage of Dengar when he was distracted and threw the bounty hunter from the roof of the skyscraper, where the grenade and Dengar exploded. With that settled, Solo made sure Chewbacca was all right. The group did not know where Skywalker was, but a flight of TIE fighters streaking through the sky tipped them off: follow trouble to find Skywalker. Immediately after, Solo and the group—including Starros, who had come to ensure Solo did not try to lose her—arrived at the location of the Imperial attention: the Palace of Grakkus the Hutt, where Skywalker had been kidnapped by Grakkus the Hutt, an avid collector of all things Jedi. Grakkus had organized a gladiator fight between Skywalker and Kongo the Disembowler, a massive beast from the molten world of Mustafar. As Solo led the group into the palace, the crowd that had come to watch the fight fled the arena because Kongo was on the loose. Solo and the others tried to fire on the monster, but an EMP blast triggered by Grakkus had disabled all electronics—including blasters. Confounded on how to proceed, the group was saved by Artoo, who located the group and threw Solo, Chewbacca, and Organa each lightsabers that belonged to Grakkus. Solo scoffed at using the weapon of Force-sensitives, but with his DL-44 unusable, he charged into the melee with his first mate and the princess, cutting down stormtroopers and TIE pilots.

Solo soon located Skywalker and went to gather him so they could leave the smuggler's moon. Skywalker quipped that Solo looked good wielding the Jedi weapon, though Solo only wished he had his blaster at his side. Skywalker tried to persuade Solo to let him go back and claim more of Grakkus' Jedi artifacts, but Chewbacca hoisted the Jedi-in-training and carried him back to the Falcon while Solo made sure Organa and Starros also made it out. Starros made her peace with Organa and Solo, so she set off on her own in the Cobra. Skywalker, using "The Journals of Ben Kenobi" that he had claimed on Tatooine, set out to the planet Vrogas Vas, where an ancient Jedi temple was said to remain. Solo, Chewbacca, and Organa, returned to the Rebel fleet, Solo having decided to stay with the Rebellion just a bit longer.

Some time later, the Rebel fleet was notified that Darth Vader had been shot down on Vrogas Vas by Alliance forces. Organa informed Solo that she intended to go after Vader to kill him, though Solo thought it foolish; Vader was too powerful. Solo realized, however, that Vrogas Vas was where Skywalker had gone, so he decided to put priority on making sure Skywalker was all right—not wishing to face Vader as the princess wanted. Soon thereafter, Solo, Chewbacca, Threepio, and Organa traveled to Vrogas Vas aboard the Falcon with a complement of Rebel starfighters.

The YT-1300 freighter soon arrived at the Rebel Refueling Base on Vrogas Vas, and he and the princess were briefed in the mission by an Alliance captain: Skywalker had brought Vader down by crashing his T-65 X-wing into Vader's TIE Advanced, the bravest thing the captain had ever seen. After receiving word that Skywalker's safety status was unknown, just that his fighter had crashed, Solo took it upon himself to rescue the "lucky, crazy kid." Solo expected Organa to do the same, but she put her focus on taking Vader down once and for all. Solo was shocked that the princess would do that, but he left her to lead an assault on Vader with the base's company. Solo nonetheless left with Chewbacca in the Falcon and headed to the quadrant where Skywalker crashed, saddened at Organa's order of priories.

Upon arriving at the coordinate's where Skywalker crashed, Solo and Chewbacca saw explosions in the distance, so they quietly landed the Falcon near the source of the commotion. Solo hiked atop a ridge with a pulse cannon sniper rifle, while Chewbacca headed around the ridge to intercept the mercenaries. Solo soon saw Skywalker, though he was unconscious and being carried by the assassin droid 0-0-0. 0-0-0 was accompanied by his counterpart, the BT-1 assassin droid BT-1, and their master, Doctor Aphra, who had been hired by Vader to kidnap Skywalker.

Solo called out to Aphra and her droids, making it clear that he wanted to just save his friend. Aphra, however, had researched Skywalker's associates and recognized Solo, so she thought she could anticipate his next moves. Aphra retorted to him that he would have shot first if he was any good at rescuing his friends. Solo recognized Aphra as the notorious gun thief, and listened to her threats, waiting for Chewbacca to get in position. Once the Wookiee was in position, he ripped off 0-0-0's—known commonly as Triple-Zero—arms before the droid could harm Skywalker. Aphra charged and took cover at the bottom of the ridge below Solo, and they fired on one another while Chewbacca took on the assassin droids. Skywalker was awakened by Artoo in the ensuing chaos and forced to flee when BT-1—known commonly as Beetee—charged after them. With neither Solo nor Aphra able to gain the upper hand, they each resorted to shooting their own nests of wasp-worms above each other's heads, which dropped the stinging worms onto each other. Blinded and covered in worms, Solo tried to rip them off of himself, but ended up colliding head-on with Aphra. Skywalker, with Chewbacca and Artoo, came and revived the smuggler and thanked him for coming to his rescue again. Triple-Zero and Beetee, however, confronted the Rebels, intending to kill them, which Artoo denied them when he sprayed a liquid into Beetee's rocket launchers and chainguns, which caused the confused droid to launch his weaponry, blowing up the ridge around them. Solo and the group fled the chaos back towards the Falcon, and Solo called Threepio to tell him to inform the princess that they had rescued Skywalker, no thanks to her.

Once at the Falcon, Chewbacca explained that Triple-Zero had poisoned him with . Artoo prepared to give him a medical shot that would reduce the effects of the Mandalorian Xenetox. Just then, a live message from Organa came over the Falcons comm system, in which Organa ordered a squadron of Y-wing bombers to converge on her position and drop their payload on her because she had been captured by Vader, and in her death, Vader would also be killed. Solo quickly got his ship in the air and stubbornly told the princess over the comm that he was not going to let her sacrifice herself.

However, before they could make any headway, an Auzituck anti-slaver gunship collided head-on with the Falcon, knocking both starships into the ground below. Solo and Skywalker recovered themselves and were met by Krrsantan, now working for Jabba, second only to Boba Fett. Solo pleaded with Krrsantan that it wasn't the time to collect Jabba's bounty on him. Unknown to Solo, however, Krrsantan was working alongside Doctor Aphra and had come to claim Skywalker to take to Aphra. Krrsantan blew a hole in the Falcons cockpit using a detonator and pulled Skywalker out. Solo was at first glad he hadn't come on Jabba's behalf, but then he realized that him taking Skywalker was no better. A duel between Wookiees then broke out when Chewbacca came to Skywalker's defense. Solo told Skywalker to run and save Organa while Solo and Chewbacca took care of Krrsantan to insure they had a ship to escape Vrogas Vas in.

Neither Wookiee gained the upper hand for some time, so Solo drew his DL-44 pistol to help his friend, but Krrsantan thwarted his attempt when he threw Chewbacca straight into the smuggler, knocking his blaster into the bounty hunter's grasp. Artoo emerged from the Falcon and informed Solo that he hadn't gotten a chance to give Chewbacca the shot to reverse the poison, so he sent a syringe flying into Chewbacca. Rejuvenated, Chewbacca quickly gained the upper hand against Krrsantan. Solo contacted Skywalker via comlink and asked whether he had located Organa yet, to which Skywalker replied with a warning, just as he was knocked unconscious by Imperial stormtroopers and captured. Before Solo could warn Artoo of Skywalker's capture, Krrsantan, who had overpowered Chewbacca using a dishonorable tactic, grabbed Solo around the neck and began choking him. Threepio, of all beings, confronted Krrsantan, urging him to release Solo and cease hostilities. Krrsantan did, and punched the golden droid. However, Threepio had lost both his arms to Triple-Zero, and when Krrsantan struck him, loose wiring protruding from the droid shocked the Wookiee and knocked him out.

Shortly thereafter, Solo and Artoo revived Threepio and informed him that he had, against all odds, "saved the day." Chewbacca also came to and pointed to an Imperial Lambda-class T-4a shuttle that was flying towards space. Solo had a bad feeling that Skywalker was aboard, and was overcome with guilt at realizing that he had let his friend get captured. Remarkably, the shuttle's engines blew, and it crashed back to the ground. Solo and the others rushed towards the crash site and brought the Rebel pilot back to the Falcon while Solo mused that Skywalker must have had a guardian angel, but Skywalker assured him as per usual, that the Force was with him—though Solo, as per usual, didn't believe it. Upon returning to his ship, Solo noticed that Krrsantan was nowhere to be seen, and that the hole that the bounty hunter had blown into the Falcons cockpit had curiously been patched up. In answer to Solo's wondering, Aphra appeared and informed the rebels that they were standing in a field of micro-mines, and she had her finger on the trigger to detonate the mines. With little choice, Solo dropped his blaster and listened to Aphra contact Vader via comlink that she had Skywalker, Solo, and the others at her mercy. The rebels were shocked that Aphra had actually thrown in with the Sith Lord and was working for him. Before Vader could arrive, however, Organa finally made it back, having escaped Vader herself due to the timely arrival of one of Vader's rivals, the Mon Calamari General Karbin, and struck Aphra across the jaw, thereby also saving the day. Solo was very pleased to have Organa back with them, and they carried Aphra's unconscious body aboard the Falcon and they together escaped Vader and Vrogas Vas.

Upon to returning to the Rebel Fleet with their new prisoner, Doctor Aphra, Solo and his friends went their separate ways; Organa, Artoo, and Threepio went to detain Aphra at an Alliance-controlled space station, Sunspot Prison, with the assistance of Sana Starros, whom Organa hired to transport them to the prison. On the other hand, Solo and Skywalker were dispatched to buy supplies for the rebellion in the meantime.

The rebel duo traveled back to of a planet, as Solo had decided to try and double the Rebellion's credits by cheating his way through a game of sabacc against a green-skinned Dowutin—and in doing so, he hoped to make enough credits to begin to pay restitution to Jabba. Part way through the game, due to the large amounts of credits Solo was betting in overconfidence, the Dowutin began to suspect Solo of cheating. The smuggler lied, insisting that he was not, and reassured Skywalker's misgivings in Solo possibly losing the Alliance's money. A very short time later, the Dowutin and his cronies discovered that Solo was, in fact, playing a dishonest game, so Solo fled with Skywalker just behind—not wanting to discover if the Dowutin really was going to cut off their fingers and tongues for their dishonesty. The rebel duo boarded the Falcon—which they had taken on their journey—and blasted away from the planet. Skywalker, angry with Solo's recklessness with credits that weren't theirs, voiced that they could get kicked out of the Rebellion for losing several thousand Rebel-owned credits. At Solo's retort that he needed to get the price off his head as soon as possible, Skywalker revealed that he, too, had an Imperial bounty of 60,000 credits on his head. Solo was distraught—Solo's bounty was a mere 50,000 credits. Solo intended to make back the rebels' credits and more the best way he knew how with Skywalker at his side: smuggling contraband.

With his new first mate, Solo traveled to Nar Shaddaa aboard the Falcon. However, due to Solo being banned for cheating at sabacc at where he intended to obtain something to smuggle—and Solo wanted to work on repairing his ship's ailing hyperdrive, let alone teach Skywalker the skills of a galactic smuggler—he sent the Jedi-in-training in his stead. Shortly thereafter, Skywalker returned to Solo and the Falcon and informed Solo that he had acquired a job from a —though at only 5,000 credits, it was half the credits Solo had hoped for. Solo had expected an easy shipment, but he got more than he bargained for when the cargo was revealed to be a herd of large, pungent nerfs—so many, in fact, that they filled up Solo's prized ship all the way into the cockpit, crowding the two rebels as they piloted the freighter towards their destination: the backwater planet Ibaar.

En route to Ibaar, the nerfs shed lots of fur and made "messes" around Solo's ship. Solo told Skywalker that for only managing half the credits they needed, and for the unruly cargo of nerfs, that Skywalker was "dead" to him. A minute later, a trio of Imperial TIE fighters appeared and ordered the Falcons crew to halt and allow the Imperials to board the ship because they believed the Corellian YT-1300 light freighter to be transporting illegal livestock that was on its way to an Imperial world that the Empire believed to be sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance. Infuriated, Solo refused, but with their hyperdrive out of commission, Solo worked his way through the situation—all the while urging Skywalker to control the un-space-worthy nerfs.

Skywalker then shot down the three pursuing Imperial fighters, allowing Solo to land safely on the mountainous Ibaar, where the herd of livestock was unloaded by a pair of nerf herders. While the shepherds did their work, Skywalker begged Solo to allow him to pilot the Falcon as a sort of right of passage for Solo's idea to make the Jedi farm boy into a smuggler. Solo refused and retorted that Skywalker had proven himself to be a poor smuggler by failing to make a profit on their cargo job to Ibaar, and told him that he was going to have to thoroughly clean the Falcon or Chewbacca would be angry with them both. But Skywalker threatened to inform Princess Organa that Solo had gambled with the Alliance's credits, and Solo begrudgingly let Skywalker fly his ship. While doing so, Skywalker quipped that he felt the Falcon was sluggish, which offended Solo, and he quickly took the controls back from Skywalker. After receiving a distress message from Sana Starros, Solo and Skywalker rushed to Sunspot Prison in order to rendezvous with Organa and Starros there.

Upon arriving at the prison space station, however, Eneb Ray, former Rebel spy and insurgent, covertly knocked the Solo and Skywalker out, tied them to the Falcons landing gear, placed bandoliers of thermal detonators around their necks and used them as hostages while he revealed his identity to Organa, Starros, and Aphra—who had made a temporary truce with the two other women in order to repel the attack by . Shortly thereafter, Organa, Starros, and Doctor Aphra—who had come to a temporary truce with the other women in order to repel Ray's attack—arrested Ray after disorienting him by disabling the prison's artificial gravity, which also awoke Solo and Skywalker. The two rebels were then freed and a portion of the Alliance fleet arrived and began the evacuation of Sunspot Prison. The smuggler then made sure Skywalker wouldn't tell Organa of his mishap with the Alliance's funds, and the rebels abandoned the space-bound prison.

Later, Han Solo assisted the Rebellion in stealing the Imperial Star Destroyer Harbinger as part of a mission to assist the people of Tureen VII. During the operation, he raced Leia Organa to decide who would be the captain of the stolen ship. As they raced, Task Force 99 infiltrated the Harbinger. He piloted the ship while the incursion took place, and later used a thermal detonator on the bridge so that he and Leia could escape. The two of the them, using breath masks, were able to board the Falcon and escape before the Harbinger crashed. Solo later rescued Leia from Skorii-Lei and gave her medical attention. He then dropped off Pash Davane back on Skorii-Lei. Days later, he refused to go rescue C-3PO from SCAR Squadron, though R2-D2 went anyway. R2 managed to rescue C-3PO on his own, and when Darth Vader was pursuing R2, Han saved them in the Falcon. Later, on Horox III, Han and crew found dozens of rebels killed and burned. After wondering who did it, they found that it was SCAR Squadron. Luke convinced them to bury the bodies, and they did so with great sadness.

At the Horox III rebel outpost, Solo was told by S4 that Luke went with Dr. Aphra. Solo, along with Chewbacca, Starros, Leia, and S4 took the Falcon to the Citadel of Ktath'atn. Upon their arrival at Ktath'atn, Solo and the others met 0-0-0 and BT-1. They then met up with Skywalker and Aphra at the Ark Angel II. Sol told her that the Ark Angels aft thruster was misaligned. He was then confronted by Varroa and several of the Queen's guards. Solo and the others then hid behind a door. Inside the door were Abersyn symbiotes. Solo attempted to confront the Queen but was hypnotized.

Solo was taken to the queen's chamber, where one of the symbiotes stung him in the neck. He was then forced to drink something that forced him to serve the queen. Solo was given armor and forced to track down Leia and Starros. Solo and the guards cornered Leia. He attempted to use a symbiote on her but was stopped when Starros and Aphra's droids arrived. Solo attempted to shoot Leia and Starros, but Leia was able to convince him and the guards to lower their weapons. Varroa attempted to reassert the hive's control over him, but Solo called in Black Krrsantan. Solo was able to take control of the other guards and killed Varroa. Solo was named King by the guards, but did not want to tell people what to do. He was able to disband the hive and free the people. Solo was then sedated by Triple-Zero. Solo, Starros, Skywalker, and Leia left Ktath'atn knowing that it was freed.

Solo was asked by Mothma to take Grakkus to Akiva for interrogation and imprisonment by the Alliance. En route to Akiva, Solo threatened to shoot Grakkus if he tried anything against him or Chewie. Grakkus tried to convince Solo to free him and return to his life as smuggler. As Solo thought about Grakkus' offer, the Falcon came under attack by three TIEs.

Solo realized that Grakkus had disabled the hyperdrive. Solo attempted to evade the TIE patrol to no avail. He decided to contact the TIEs and surrender to them. Solo landed the Falcon on a asteroid where the three TIE pilots boarded the ship and met Grakkus. After Grakkus killed on of the pilots, Sol finished off the last two after hiding in the Falcons secret compartments. Solo turned Grakkus' offer and decided to resume his voyage to Akiva. Upon hearing this, Grakkus grabbed Solo by the neck and demanded that Chewie take him to Teth, where his safe house was. Upon confirming it, Solo shocked Grakkus and sent the information to General Draven. Solo told Grakkus that it was all a setup to get his safe house's location. After X-wings arrived, Solo knocked Grakkus out and took him to prison.

Solo took Leia to Odona to see if it was a viable location for a new rebel base. However, they got lost in a series of caves for three days and were attacked by a creature. Unbeknownst to Solo or Leia, they were tracked and followed by Frax, Selt, and a droid. Solo came under fire and took Leia to cover. He then told Leia to get to the Falcon. Solo returned to the caves and was confronted by Frax, who wanted revenge against Solo for dropping him into the Cordaxian Sea to be captured by the Empire. Solo tried to run, but was stopped by Frax and bounty hunters. However, Leia was able to light the droid on fire and escape Frax.

As Solo and Leia made their way back to the Falcon, they were confronted by Frax, who attempted to shoot him despite Leia's threat to shoot him. Despite missing Frax, Leia was able to cause ice to come at him and freeze him to death. Solo and Leia were found by Chewie and taken to the Rebel fleet to recover.

Solo, along with Leia and Skywalker, went to Jedha. There, they met and rescued Chulco Gi and former Rebel Alliance Special Forces soldier and Partisan Ubin Des. After escaping the Imperial Snowtrooper Patrol, Solo took the Falcon to NaJedha so Leia could speak with Des about a meeting with the surviving Partisans. Solo allowed himself to be blindfolded and let Des and Gi fly the Falcon to the new Partisan base. Solo and the others were brought before Benthic. Solo told Benthic to either kill him or show them the Partisans' famous decisiveness. Benthic freed them and spoke with Leia, Solo, and Skywalker about destroying the Drill citadel.

As the partisans attacked the drill citadel. Solo and Leia flew the Falcon towards the drill. Solo was able to destroy the citadel and return to the Partisans' base. The Empire then deployed the Leviathan. Solo, Leia, and Benthic looked at the Leviathan and saw no explosive that could damage it. After Des' explosives failed to make a dent in the Leviathan, Solo flew an airspeeder with Leia as his gunner. Together they rescued Des and her team from the Leviathans tracks. Solo chastised Des for making a suicide run and told her not to do it unless there was no other choice. Solo was then informed Chewbacca was coming to help them finish off the Leviathan. Solo met up with Chewie at the base after Skywalker rescued him with information from Shu-Torun.

With the Patisans, Solo and the others made a plan to attack the Leviathan using the plans Chewie acquired. Solo agreed to fly the mission and keep an eye on the partisans. As the partisans boarded the Falcon, Solo and the others came under attack by stormtroopers. Benthic was wounded and Solo told partisans to get aboard the Falcon to escape. As the Falcon made its escape, Solo did not believe that Des should be leading the mission. Solo was reluctant to take the lead, but was convinced by Chewie to take charge since he was the Falcons captain. Solo saw that the Leviathans guns were down and led the partisans in attacking the stormtroopers stationed there.

Solo and the Partisans were able to make their way to the bridge. On the bridge, Solo, Leia, Des, and the partisans were able to pilot the Leviathan into Jedha City's crater. Solo ordered the Partisans to barricade the bridge to prevent the Empire from stopping their plans. Solo and the Partisans were able to return to the Falcon before it fell into the crater. Solo took the partisans back to NaJedha. Benthic told Solo that he and his fellow partisans would guard Jedha's ashes until it was gone. Before leaving, Solo awarded Des the Medal of Bravery for her actions, even though it was a copy.

From the captain's seat of the Millennium Falcon, Solo led the defense of the Rebel fleet from an attack by Imperial forces, buying time for the fleet to jump to Baraan-Fa. Shortly after, he accompanied Wedge Antilles, Leia, Luke, and Chewbacca on a mission to Crait, which the Alliance was considering as a location for its hidden base of operations. There they met Trusk Berinato, an old ally of Bail Organa who Leia thought would help the Alliance. Instead Trusk had forged environmental reports and summoned SCAR Squadron to eliminate the Rebels. Solo attempted to evacuate Leia while Luke and Wedge engaged SCAR Squadron, but Trusk shot him in the shoulder. Leia returned fire, incapacitating Trusk as the Rebels regrouped and left the system aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Solo took Admiral Gial Ackbar, Skywalker, and Leia to Mon Cala. There, they met with Mon Cala's Regent, Grand Admiral Dors Urtya. Ackbar and Leia asked Urtya for the Mon Cala Mercantile Fleet to become part of the Rebel Alliance's fleet. Solo spotted a patrol transport approaching their position and came under attack. The transport landed, and Solo approached the troopers. Solo was able to bribe the sergeant and toss a detonator into the transport. Solo called to Chewie to bring up the boat so they could escape. Solo drove the boat past several creatures. Unfortunately, Urtya refused to give the Alliance the fleet, and Solo took Leia and Ackbar back to the Mako-Ta Space Docks. There, he gave Skywalker a drink. In the mess hall, they met up with Wedge Antilles, "Hobbie" Klivian, and Zev Senesca. Together, they commemorated the fallen pilots of Red Squadron.

Leia arrived in the hall with a mission. With Skywalker and Chewie, Solo went with Leia to Dex Acquisitions Depot on Meor Ain. Together they broke into the depot's ultra-security brig and took the Clawdite Tunga Arpagion with them aboard the Falcon. Solo and the others were able to convince him to pose as Moff Tan Hubi while they used him to free King Lee-Char. With Skywalker, Solo and Chewie were able to infiltrate the Moncaladrome through the refresher. Posing as an attendant, Solo bluffed his way past a officer by allowing her to dry her hands on Chewie. Solo was then given a tip, much to Chewie's chagrin. They were able to take Moff Hubi and switch him with Tunga.

Solo flew a submarine to Strokill Prime to rescue Lee-Char. Chewie was able to use Hubi's bio-signature to get past Strokill Prime's defenses, in addition to codes provided by Queen Trios. Solo flew the submarine past a monstrous fish. Solo watched as Skywalker allowed the fish to swallow him. After Chewie rescued Skywalker from the fish, Solo took the submarine to the Imperial base and docked inside it. Solo and Leia stunned several of the guards. Unfortunately, they discovered that the king was on life-support and could not be moved.

Solo and Skywalker argued about their next move. Solo and Skywalker searched for recording droid so Leia could deliver Lee-Char's words to his people. Solo found one and recorded Lee-Char's speech. After the guards killed Lee-Char, Solo and the others returned to the submarine to escape. On Mon Cala, Solo and the others met up with 3PO and Tunga Arpagion. They were confronted by Grand Admiral Urtya and several of his people who demanded Lee-Char's recording. After Urtya stunned Leia, Solo allowed him to take Lee-Char's recording. As Solo flew the Falcon away from Mon Cala, they were joined by the Mercantile fleet and a pair of Star Destroyers.

As the Empire sent in bombers to destroy the Falcon and the Mercantile fleet, Solo was contacted by Urtya, who agreed to rebel against the Empire. They were then joined by the Rebel Alliance fleet under Ackbar, that would protect the fleet. Solo told Leia to get into one of the Falcons turrets and destroy the bombers. Solo saw that the Empire was targeting the Mon Calamari's escape pods and took the Falcon to stop several TIEs before they could destroy the pods. After the Aurora Flare blew up and destroyed one of the Star Destroyers, Solo had the Falcon jump into hyperspace and escape with both the Rebel Alliance fleet and the mercantile fleet. Solo dropped Tunga off at the Cosmatanic Steppes.

At the same time as a Rebel party to celebrate the expanded Rebel fleet at the Mako-Ta Space Docks, Solo, Chewie, and 3PO went to the Ring of Kafrene to meet with an Alaphani in a bar for a deal for a set of transponder codes. C-3PO translated the Alaphani language for Solo, and the deal went well. During the closing phases of the deal, Solo briefly joked about giving C-3PO to the Alaphani for 10 percent off. C-3PO was concerned by this, but Solo explained he was joking and that no Alaphani would accept that deal. Chewie then approached 3PO and Solo to alert them that two of Jabba the Hutt's bounty hunters were in the bar. After hearing this, Solo finished the deal, and the trio quickly left. The two bounty hunters followed, but Solo and Chewbacca hid behind their field of view to surprise them. Solo had C-3PO take the bounty hunters' weapons, and as the trio ran back to the Falcon, Solo yelled back and promised that Jabba would get his money.

C-3PO put the bounty hunters' weapons on the table on board, and Solo assured Chewbacca that they were not missing the party. He then explained to his partner that he had a contact who would pay them week for the set of codes. As the Falcon Chewie reminded Solo that Luke Skywalker had a role at the party, as he and other X-wing pilots planned to do a flyby for the gathered rebel allies. Solo admitted he would have liked to see it as well, and the Falcon left for the Space Docks. Solo arrived at the docks and found the Rebel fleet under attack by the Empire's Death Squadron. Leia said that Queen Trios had betrayed them and disabled all the cruisers and their hangar bays. Leia told Solo to fly into a bay door in order to open it. Solo, despite his better judgment, took the Falcon close to Star Destroyer and several TIEs following him as he made a run towards one of the cruisers. The Falcon then came under attack by Lord Vader in his TIE Advanced.

Solo was able to evade Vader while Chewie tried to shoot him down. Solo flew the Falcon towards a cruiser as Vader fired several missiles at him. However, Vader was able to force the Falcon away from the cruiser's hangar doors. After Commander Lajaie's cruiser was destroyed, Solo decided to send a messenger to Leia by sending 3PO by escape pod. Solo flew the Falcon through the cruiser's debris, hoping Vader would not follow him. Chewie was able to launch 3PO to land on the Republic. Solo received helped from Skywalker's newly formed Rogue Squadron. Solo led the squadron in taking out the TIEs.

Solo was forced to land the Falcon on Ackbar's cruiser after taking heavy damage from Vader. He then took a Flight suit and took an X-wing and rejoined the fight. Solo and Skywalker came across a TIE that was acting weird and realized that an ally was aboard. Solo and Skywalker led the TIE back to the cruiser. There, they learned that Leia was the pilot and got her to the Republics bridge. The Republic was able to escape into hyperspace. Solo, Skywalker, and the rest of Rogue Squadron returned to help the surviving cruisers. Solo defended Leia and Skywalker's ship as they boarded the base to rescue Mothma and the other ambassadors. During the retreat, Solo and R2's X-wing was damaged but was rescued by a rebel Quasar Fire-class carrier.

As the carrier went into hyperspace, it engines were fried and cruiser had to land on Corosi 7. Solo was unable to contact Ackbar or Chewie due to the Rebel fleet being kept hidden throughout the Outer Rim. Despite that, Solo was then given a promotion to the rank of colonel by Mothma, though he refused it. Solo then came up with plan to find Chewie and the Falcon. Solo took Leia and Skywalker to Nar Shadaa to meet with Starros, who agreed to help them.

Starros was forced to drop them off on Hubin, where they were stranded for weeks. They eventually stole a shuttle when SCAR Squadron arrived. The team then hunted the remaining rebels and arrived at the Kaliida Nebula and met Home One.

Later, Organa came up with a plan to destabilize Shu-Torun's industry. She recruited her team, the tech Meorti, actor Tunga Arpagion, and the Partisans to pose as Queen Trios and disrupt the Spike.

Han, Leia, Luke, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, were sent by the Alliance to Restore the Republic to investigate the planet Lotho Minor for a new base. During the investigation, they ran into native droids and a male Duros named Akar Duel. Their actions drove Han and the rest from Lotho Minor knowing that the planet was not a good location for a new rebel base.

Over three years after the Death Star's destruction at Skywalker's hand at the Battle of Yavin, the Alliance established a new base in the Anoat sector on the ice planet Hoth, far from the Empire's reach. The base was aptly designated Echo Base, as it was carved into the rocky caverns of the Clabburn Range of mountains. Within months of the new base being established, Solo, Organa, Skywalker, and the others of Organa's team were deployed by Rebel High Command to Hoth aboard the Falcon. Solo and Skywalker scouted out the land around the base on regular recon missions as a part of their duties, using reptilian tauntauns as mounts to better traverse the freezing landscape.

Solo took well to mounting and riding the unruly tauntauns and was sent on a reconnaissance mission in order to locate a that had gone missing a month before during a snow storm. The deflector shield which protected Echo Base from attack had been damaged and made inoperative, and the equipment aboard the lost ship was needed to repair the shield's generator. At dawn, Solo, Organa, and the rebel veteran Twi'lek General Hera Syndulla ventured into the frigid mountains in search of the lost ship. Throughout the day, however, Solo and Syndulla mastered tauntaun riding, while Organa had trouble controlling her beast and—to Solo's amusement—was de-saddled. While Solo helped the Princess re-mount her tauntaun, he informed the search team that night was fast approaching and they would soon have to return to Echo Base empty-handed. For her part, Organa insisted they couldn't return without first finding the lost ship. As she spoke, Organa again lost control of her tauntaun and stumbled backwards and fell from a steep embankment into a pit. Panicked, Solo and Syndulla rushed to the cliff edge and were relieved to see the princess unharmed, having literally stumbled across the lost Rebel ship at the bottom of the pit. Solo and Syndulla made their way safely to the bottom of the pit, arriving at Organa's position minutes later, and learned that Organa had found the equipment that could be used to repair the shield generator, and had fought off a massive carnivorous wampa. The trio then returned to Echo Base victorious.

At some point, Solo and his allies ran into the bounty hunter Skorr on Ord Mantell. The encounter convinced him to leave and fulfill his debt to Jabba, so he began repairing the Falcon on Hoth. Believing himself to be leaving, he, after scouting around the frozen wastes of Hoth with Skywalker under the callsign Echo Seven, had a heated conversation with Leia, claiming that she had romantic feelings towards him. After this debate, Solo learned Luke had gone missing on patrol. Riding out on a tauntaun named Murra in the midst of snowstorm, Han found Luke had been attacked by a wampa. After Murra 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. A tunnel collapse cut off their way there, so Han, Chewie, Leia, and C-3PO escaped on the still-unrepaired Falcon.

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 shared a kiss before being interrupted by C-3PO.

Inside the cave, Leia saw something outside the ship, so she, Han, and Chewbacca went out to investigate. Discovering that mynocks were the cause, Chewbacca accidentally fired a shot into the cave, which caused a tremor. Solo realized something wasn't right; he fired his blaster into the ground, causing another tremor. The three returned to the Falcon, flying out of the cave, which they discovered was actually the inside of an exogorth slug named Sy-O. Although Sy-O attempted to keep them inside the internal ecosystem of itself by closing its mouth, the Falcon escaped, with Solo and the others never knowing Sy-O had loved them as friends despite their brief stay. Fleeing back towards the Imperials, Solo flew straight towards the bridge of the Star Destroyer Avenger, then hid on the back of the bridge. The ruse worked; the Imperials were unable to find the ship. Preparing to spread about the galaxy to search for the Falcon, the Imperial fleet dumped its 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, Boba Fett had also hidden his ship, the Slave I, among the Empire's trash, and followed them to Cloud City.

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 invited 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 led 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 decided 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 Fett and loaded onto Slave I. Despite a rescue attempt by Leia, Lando, and Chewie, Fett escaped Cloud City, taking the frozen form of Han Solo with him.

Due to the instability of the carbonite freezing process, Han began to melt aboard Slave I, forcing Fett to make an emergency landing on Nar Shaddaa. He met with Doc Ragon, a doctor with whom Fett had a history, and the Besalisk tasked Fett with killing Wyrmen Lictor in exchange for his help. As he fought against various pit warriors, Doc managed to halt the melting and keep Han alive. However, he was then killed by a group of assailants who took Han and left Nar Shaddaa. After securing Han, they arrived at the Vermillion, where he was delivered to the reformed Crimson Dawn and its new leader, Qi'ra, who intended to use Solo to lure together major galactic players for her own plans. With Han in her custody, Qi'ra sent out a message to various factions in the criminal underworld, inviting them to an auction on Jekara. After delivering the message, Qi'ra then explained to her associate Margo that Han was directly connected to almost every powerful faction in the galaxy. Thus, he would be useful to both her and Crimson Dawn. Still, Qi'ra fully intended for Solo to end up back with the Rebellion and ensured his location was leaked to agent Amilyn Holdo. She also placed a tracker on his carbonite slab.

Once the representatives of the various syndicates arrived, Qi'ra thanked them for coming as she introduced herself and officially announced Crimson Dawn's return. She then revealed Han to the crowd and started the bidding at one hundred thousand credits. After multiple bids from different parties, the present members of the Hutt Clan began to bid over one another with increasingly higher offers. But this soon ended when Jabba bid with one million credits. With no other bids, Qi'ra congratulated Jabba and told him that the smuggler was his. However, the auction was then interrupted by the arrival of Darth Vader. Guarded by death troopers, Vader declared that Han belonged to him, to which Qi'ra smiled and decided to see where this would go. After Jabba conceded his ownership of Han to the Sith Lord, Qi'ra briefly sparred with Vader before being knocked into Han and incapacitated. But before Vader could kill Qi'ra, he suddenly sensed Luke's presence through the Force. After establishing communication with Luke's X-wing, Vader informed him that he had Han in his possession. He then warned his son that if he did not come to him, then he would cut his friend in half. But Luke refused and told Vader to come to him instead. Vader conceded, ordering General Romodi to bring Han aboard his star destroyer and prepare his fighter. Han was then loaded onto an Imperial shuttle before it took off from Jekara.

After being brought aboard the Executor, Han was transported to the ship's detention level under heavy guard. However, a surprise attack from the Hutt fleet allowed Leia, Lando and Chewbacca to infiltrate Vader's flagship and eliminate the stormtroopers guarding Han. But before they could escape with him, they were once again intercepted by Fett. One of the Hutt ships then blasted a hole in the room they were in, causing Han to be sucked out into space. Utilizing his jetpack, Fett pursued Han all the way down to the surface of Jekara. He then fished Han up before he hit the sea and returned him to Slave I before flying him to Tatooine, fighting off IG-88 and finally turning him in to Jabba. Though Fett suggested dumping Han into the Great Pit of Carkoon, Jabba ultimately decided to put the smuggler on display in his palace.

Through her tracker, Qi'a learned that Solo had been brought to Jabba's Palace and discovered he had been placed on the Hutt's wall as a decoration. Traveling to the Millennium Falcon, where everyone aboard believed Solo had died in the fall to Jekara, Qi'ra revealed Solo's survival and imprisonment in Jabba's Palace. Organa agreed to wait for Qi'ra to confirm the time was right to launch a rescue operation, knowing she was needed with the Alliance and could not spend time on a rescue mission at the moment. Qi'ra promised to reach out, even arguing that Solo would be safe in Jabba's Palace while the rebels waged their war with the Empire, but Crimson Dawn would be destroyed in the Battle at the Amaxine Station.

Later, the Rebel Alliance began preparations for the mission. Leia, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 sought the help of Maz Kanata, but were forced into a brief skirmish with the Ubese bounty hunter Boushh. After quickly overpowering him, Leia took his clothes, helmet, and thermal detonator as a disguise to sneak into Jabba's palace.

After almost a full year in captivity, Solo was released from the carbonite by Leia, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh. Due to hibernation sickness, Solo was temporarily 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 Wookiee to be fed to the sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon.

At the pit, Jabba offered the prisoners one last chance to plead 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; Luke caught it and began a battle. In the ensuing struggle, Han was still mostly blind, rendering 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 the skiff they were on, Han lowered the axe 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 then the rebels escaped.

After being rescued, Han joined the Alliance and was given the rank of General. 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 Rebel strike team to the forest moon of Endor to disable the shields protecting the superweapon. Shortly after landing on the forest moon, the 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, the group was captured by Ewoks. The furry tribesmen believed C-3PO to be a god, and attempted to cook 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, 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. But 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 while attempting to open it, Han unsuccessfully tried to hotwire the door open. 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.

Following the battle, Solo, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 were sent by Organa to General Syndulla's camp to obtain food rations for the Ewoks as a means to keep the furry creatures from making a meal out of the captured stormtroopers. While at Syndulla's camp, Syndulla forced Solo to admit that her ship the Ghost was superior to the Falcon in order to get the rations.

The morning after the Battle of Endor, Solo led the Pathfinders on an assault on an Imperial outpost on the far side of Endor. Knowing that the Imperial outpost was preparing for a counterattack, the rebel commanders dispatched Han Solo on a mission to destroy the base. Han outlined a plan for the Pathfinders and their Ewok allies to strike the outpost with limited air cover. During the assault, the rebel pilot Lieutenant Shara Bey served as the transport's pilot. The Pathfinders quickly wiped out the garrison, and Solo uncovered a lot of data in the outpost's computers, which led him to conclude that the war was not over.

Two days after the Battle of Endor, Solo proposed to Organa, who accepted the marriage proposal. While in the Bright Tree Village, Han and Leia were then married; their ceremony was attended by only people they trusted. Solo and Organa departed Endor to have their honeymoon on the luxury Star Cruiser known as the Halcyon, where they an Imperial force. She also told him she had met Qi'ra, much to his surprise. As a wedding gift to his wife, Solo reconfigured some of the crew quarters on the Falcon to include a galley.

Before the formal establishment of the New Republic, Solo, C-3PO, and the Pathfinders participated in a raid on an ISB black site at the Wretch of Tayron. During the assault, the Pathfinders managed to down an AT-ST walker, which caused a breach in the facility's hall. This allowed Solo and his men to enter the base and secure the computers before the base commander could initiate a purge of the computers. With the aid of C-3PO, the Pathfinders were able to hack into the Imperial data files and discovered that the Empire had begun to execute Operation: Cinder, a posthumous order issued by the Emperor to devastate several worlds including Naboo as retribution for his demise. The Pathfinders' actions enabled the Rebel Alliance to deploy forces to halt Operation: Cinder, saving many lives and worlds.

Several months after the Battle of Endor, Han arrived at Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana to rendezvous with an Imperial defector named Ralsius Paldora, who had stolen intelligence crucial to the liberation of Kashyyyk. The Empire had quickly discovered his treachery and followed him. Recovering the data cubes and fighting their way back to the Falcon, Han and Ralsius were saved by the arrival of Inferno Squad, buying them time to escape the planet.

Some time later, Han and Chewbacca received additional intelligence from the smuggler Imra that the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk would have a decreased Imperial presence. Against the advice of his wife, Leia, the two friends gathered several fellow smugglers and people who owed them favors for a hastily planned campaign to liberate the planet. However, this turned out to be disinformation from the Empire to lure Han and his companions into a trap.

While Chewie attempted to board a gunship captained by the Wookiee pirate Kirratha, they were attacked by two Star Destroyers and several TIE fighters. The Imperials disabled Kirratha's engines, leaving Chewie and Kirratha stranded in space. Han managed to escape, but Chewbacca was captured and locked in an Imperial prison called Ashmead's Lock. While traveling through the edge of Wild Space, Han contacted his wife to discuss the recent developments. However, he came under attack from Imperial forces and lost communication with Leia.

Princess Leia was unable to get help from the New Republic since they were preoccupied with fighting against the Galactic Empire. Since Han had resigned his commission as general in the New Republic Defense Force, he was low on their list of priorities. Desperate, Leia turned to the New Republic starfighter pilot Norra Wexley for help. Norra and Captain Wedge Antilles traveled to Solo's last known coordinates in Wild Space but found themselves under attack by Imperial forces. After being rescued by the New Republic Starfleet, Norra resigned her commission in the Starfleet to find Solo out of respect for Princess Leia.

Norra, her son Temmin Wexley, his battle droid Mister Bones, the Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, and the New Republic soldier Jom Barell traveled to the planet Irudiru after learning that Solo had last been sighted at Warrin Station. There, they found Solo while scouting the compound of the Siniteen prison designer Golas Aram. At a nearby cantina, Solo informed his allies that he had discovered that Chewbacca was being held at Ashmead's Lock and that Aram was responsible for designing the prison. During their initial encounter, Solo was accosted by Mister Bones, who mistook him for a threat.

Working together, Solo and Norra's team managed to breach the compound and capture Aram. Under duress, Aram told the rebels how to enter Ashmead's Lock. However, he omitted the password that would allow them unhindered passage inside the prison. Traveling to the Kashyyyk system in the Millennium Falcon and Emari's ship Halo, Solo and Norra's team gained clearance to land at Ashmead's Lock by claiming to be a repair team. Upon entering the prison, Han and the rebels were accosted by the prison's computer security system SOL-GDA, which dispatched to integrate them.

Temmin discovered that the prison was being powered by the prisoners who were being housed inside stasis cells. Using this information, Han and Norra managed to disable the power generator. As a result, Han and Norra's team were able to free Chewbacca and a hundred other prisoners including Norra's husband and Temmin's father Brentin Lore Wexley. While Norra, Temmin, and Mister Bones took the liberated prisoners back to Chandrila on the Falcon, Han stayed behind with Chewbacca, Jas, Sinjir, and Jom to complete their mission to liberate the Wookiees. Unknown to Han and his allies, the Imperial Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax had inserted inorganic bio-chip implants inside the prisoners as part of a plot to assassinate the New Republic leadership.

Han and his team learned that Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck had fitted all of the Wookiees on Kashyyyk with inhibitor chips. Tolruck controlled these inhibitor chips with a control module which he kept on his person. For the next month, Han and his team spent their time searching for Tolruck's island fortress and gathering Wookiee exiles and smugglers for a mass uprising. On one mission, Jom Barell was captured by Tolruck's forces and imprisoned at his island fortress. While Sinjir entered the island fortress to free Jom and disabled Tolruck's control module, Han and his team disabled the deflector shield generator at Camp Sardo. Despite being attacked by Imperial forces, Jas managed to take out the shield generator.

After Sinjir disabled Tolruck's control module, a mass planetwide Wookiee uprising broke out. The Wookiees and their rebel allies quickly overwhelmed the outnumbered Imperial garrison. When the orbiting Imperial Star Destroyers began bombarding Kashyyyk, Han, Chewbacca, and their fellow rebels managed to evacuate the civilians underground. They then took a ship loaded with webweaver spiders aboard the Star Destroyer Dominion and fought their way through the ship's corridors. However, they were captured by stormtroopers who brought them before Vice Admiral Domm Korgale.

Before the admiral could eliminate Han and his team, New Republic reinforcements arrived in the Kashyyyk system in the form of Leia and the Millennium Falcon, Antilles' Phantom Squadron, and Admiral Ackbar's flagship, Home One. Han and Chewbacca managed to break free of their captors and seize control of the Dominion. Han and his team then turned the ship's guns on the Star Destroyer Vitiator. As a result, the remaining Star Destroyer Neutralizer surrendered to Admiral Ackbar.

Following the battle, Han and Leia experienced an emotional reunion aboard the Dominion. Returning to Kashyyyk, Han, Chewbacca, and Leia learned about the Liberation Day attacks on Chandrila. With the Wookiees undertaking mop-up operations against the remaining Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk, Han insisted that Chewbacca stay behind and reunite with his family. However, he told Chewbacca that he would return if he ever needed help. Han then left Kashyyyk aboard the Falcon with Leia and their unborn child, Ben Solo.

Over the next several months leading to the Battle of Jakku, Han Solo and Princess Leia prepared for the coming of their child. With Leia approaching labor, Solo hired a protocol droid named T-2LC (or "Elsie") as a nanny. One day, Solo bought his wife a sack of jogan fruits. Leia was annoyed with Solo for overdoing it and reminded him that Dr. Harter Kalonia had said to incorporate jogan into her diet and not to replace everything with it. While chatting with his wife about the liberation of Kashyyyk and galactic politics, Han and Leia were contacted on hologram by the New Republic operative Norra Wexley. Norra said that she was traveling to the Inner Rim world of Jakku to hunt down Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, the purported instigator behind the Liberation Day attacks on Chandrila.

Norra Wexley's team subsequently discovered that most of the Galactic Empire had retreated to Jakku. While Norra, the bounty hunter Jas Emari, and the battle droid Mister Bones infiltrated Jakku, Temmin and Sinjir returned to Chandrila with news about the Imperial presence. They visited Leia's domicile and warned Princess Leia and Han Solo about the Empire. Temmin tried to convince Solo to lend him his famous freighter, the Millennium Falcon. However, Solo thought that the mission was too risky and was unwilling to risk his ship.

Before the argument could escalate, Chancellor Mon Mothma entered the domicile and asked Temmin and Sinjir about the Imperial presence on Jakku. Following the meeting, Temmin and Sinjir managed to convince Han and Leia to lend them the Millennium Falcon. However, the two were stopped from leaving Chandrila by Senate Guards who had been dispatched by Senator Tolwar Wartol, a rival of Chancellor Mothma. Wartol had secretly installed a listening device inside T-2LC. In an attempt to discredit Chancellor Mothma, Wartol leaked news about the Imperial presence to HoloNet News. Solo and Leia learned about the leak while watching the morning news.

Han and Leia were later confronted by an angry Sinjir, who believed that they had double-crossed him and Temmin. Han and Leia managed to set the record straight. They then realized that Senator Wartol's leak and the Senate guards stopping Sinjir and Temmin were linked. When Sinjir voiced his suspicion that there was a spy bug in Leia's domicile, Han did not believe it, but Leia shared Sinjir's suspicion. Sinjir brought his former lover Conder Kyl, a slicer, to Leia's domicile. Conder found that the listening device was inside T-2LC. Following the discovery, Han told Elsie to hold still and warned that it was going to sting a little.

After removing the listening device and handing it to Chancellor Mothma, Han led a team consisting of Sinjir, Temmin, Conder, and Jom Barell to the New Republic's new capital of Nakadia. Their mission was to investigate the five senators who had opposed Chancellor Mothma's resolution to send military forces to Jakku: Ashmin Ek, Rethalow, Dor Wieedo, Grelka Sorka, and Nim Tar. While Sinjir and the others trailed four of the senators at a restaurant called Izzik's in Nakadia's capital Quarrow, Han went to spy on Senator Dor Wieedo. The Rodian senator was aboard his ship at the northernmost spaceport outside Quarrow.

After several hours had passed, Solo witnessed two Nikto and a Klatooinian approach Wieedo's ship. Unknown to Solo, these aliens were members of the Red Key Raiders, a crime syndicate that was plotting with Black Sun to prolong the war. Solo managed to warn his comrades. However, the criminals discovered his presence and locked him in a rubbish bin. Meanwhile, Conder was kidnapped by other Red Key gangsters. Sinjir and Temmin found Solo and returned to the Falcon. Despite their setbacks, Jom managed to kidnap Senator Rethalow, who confessed to his dealings with Red Key and Black Sun.

Before they could spirit Rethalow away into hiding, Han and his team members decided to rescue Conder, Nim Tar's child, and Sorka's pet jerba. Conder used his transceiver tooth to transmit his coordinates to Sinjir. Han and his team flew the Millennium Falcon through a red warehouse roof, which turned out to be the Red Key's base. After subduing the gangsters, they rescued Conder and Nim Tar's child. Posing as an adviser to the Chancellor, Sinjir transmitted a missive offering the five senators pardons and other political favors if they changed their votes during the re-vote scheduled to be held at the Quarrow Senate house. As a result, Mothma's resolution passed, and the New Republic was able to dispatch military forces to Jakku.

Following the events on Nakadia, Han returned home and reunited with his wife. When Leia praised him for "making things right", Solo told her that the Battle of Jakku was happening. He predicted that it would be a big battle. In private, Han confided that it felt strange that he, Leia, Luke, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 were not part of the final battle. Leia reassured him that they had their own adventure. Han responded that it was the end of an era while Leia replied that it was the start of a new one.

The Battle of Jakku turned out to be a decisive victory for the New Republic. Facing imminent defeat, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda on Coruscant sent peace overtures to Chancellor Mothma. Han and his wife attended the peace talks where Chancellor Mothma and Grand Vizier Amedda signed the Imperial Instruments of Surrender and the Galactic Concordance. The signing occurred during the third hour of Leia's labor, but she only told her husband after the ceremony was complete. Solo rushed her to the birthing chamber in the heart of Hanna City.

Leia gave birth to a son named Ben Solo. Following a gathering of family and friends, Han stared into his son's eyes and pondered how he had become a father. While Leia was showering in the next room, Solo told his son that while the whole galaxy was against them, they would still make it through okay. Though Solo confided that he might not make a good father, he promised to keep them pointed in the right direction. Solo also gave Ben his first lesson: sometimes doing the right thing doesn't mean following a straight line. Solo told his baby son not to tell his mother.

When Ben cried, Han tried to comfort him with a small tooka doll, but this failed to pacify the baby. Leia then heard her son crying. When Han said that it was not his fault, Leia reassured him that babies cried. Han sensed that Leia had a connection through the Force that he could never have with Ben. Han suggested using the Force, but Leia advised him to pick up their son and snuggle him. Han reluctantly snuggled his son and Ben stopped crying. When Han sighed that he could never have the same Force connection, Leia told him that fathers had a special connection with their offspring.

Around 9 ABY, during the search for Grand Admiral Thrawn, the former Jedi Knight and General turned mercenary Baylan Skoll listed Solo's name in a device on his gauntlet, as well as the names of other key members of the Heroes of Yavin.

Finding himself husband of an important politician, Han passed the time by becoming a successful racing pilot. On one occasion he returned to Corellia to compete in The Gauntlet, where he raced against Greer Sonnel and offered her a spot on his team for the Five Sabers race.

In the years after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Solo became the owner of a shipping company and developed a reputation for being a vigilant and responsible owner. Outside of his work, Han often raced for charity and sponsored several piloting matches. Due to his work, Solo found himself traveling through different systems, working on ships.

Their son, Ben, proved to be Force-sensitive and was sent to be trained by his uncle Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Meanwhile, his wife Leia served as a prominent Senator in the Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime, the capital of the New Republic. Han and his family lived separate lives but he kept in touch with his wife via hologram.

Twenty-four years after the Battle of Endor, Han Solo traveled to the planet Theron to manage a prestigious racing championship called the Five Sabers. While staying in temporary quarters, he corresponded with Leia, who told her husband about the fractured state of the Galactic Senate. When Leia told Han about her desire to resign from the Senate, Han expressed puzzlement, since his wife had devoted much of her adult life to politics. Sensing Leia's frustration, Solo invited his wife to take a break and travel around the galaxy with him for three months. Despite their different personalities, Leia agreed that she needed a break from her senatorial career.

However, Leia was forced to suspend her vacation plans after her faction, the Populists, convinced her to stand for the position of First Senator. The rival Centrist faction, which supported a stronger central government, had successfully passed a motion calling for the creation of First Senator in order to end the deadlock plaguing the Republic. Despite their initial opposition, the Populists, who preferred a more decentralized government, had decided to change tactics in order to prevent a Centrist from holding that office. Due to her prestige as a prominent former rebel leader, Leia had reluctantly agreed to allow an exploratory committee to explore her suitability for First Senator.

While Han was repairing the rear engines of a starship, he was contacted by his wife. Solo was mildly disappointed with his wife's change of plans but agreed that a Populist should serve as First Senator. Solo also informed his wife that he was supervising the lunar relays of the Five Sabers. Due to the complicated nature of the repairs, Han remarked that he wished that Greer Sonnel, a former racer and Junior Sabers champion who was serving as Leia's pilot, was still on his team. When Leia apologized for delaying their planned holiday, Han reassured her that she was doing the right thing by putting duty to the New Republic first. Leia promised to take a break with her husband "someday."

In addition to the First Senatorship, Leia was involved in a sensitive Senate investigation into the Nikto crime lord Rinnrivin Di's cartel, a new criminal outfit that was choking the economy of the Gaulus sector. Leia was assisted in this investigation by an unlikely ally, the idealistic Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo. Over the course of their investigation, the two discovered that Rinnrivin was linked to a paramilitary faction called the Amaxine warriors. In an attempt to sow discord, Arliz Hadrassian, a former TIE fighter pilot who had become the Amaxines' leader, bombed the New Republic senatorial complex's conference building. Leia survived the bombing and transmitted a voice-message telling her husband that she was safe and that he did not need to come to Hosnian Prime. While on Theron, Solo received news about the Senate bombing and saw footage of the damage. Later, Solo contacted Leia to send his wife a goodwill message and to keep in touch.

While Leia was visiting Ryloth as part of her investigation, Han Solo sent a holomessage expressing hope that his wife's side project was going well. He informed her that the Five Sabers was heading to the fourth stage of the Sabers. Due to the sublight relay round, Han told her that he would be out of comm range for a while. He also told her to take care of herself and complimented her.

Han and Leia would cross paths again due to unforeseen circumstances. Later, the Centrist Senator Lady Carise Sindian, a secret agent of an Imperial remnant known as the First Order, discovered information about Leia's true parentage as the daughter of Darth Vader on Birren. Alarmed at the friendship between Ransolm Casterfo and Leia, Lady Carise shared this information with him, knowing Ransolm's hatred for Vader. Feeling betrayed, Casterfo upstaged the Senate hearing into Leia's nomination for First Senator by revealing Leia's parentage to the assembled senators. This revelation destroyed Leia's credibility and forced her to withdraw her nomination.

Still determined to continue her investigation into Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxines, Leia and her team took leave to travel to Sibensko, where the two groups were hiding. There, Leia discovered that the Amaxines were funding Rinnrivin's cartel and were also marshaling troops, weapons, and starships for an attack on the New Republic. During her mission, Leia was pursued by the Amaxine warriors and fled up a landing platform, where she was corned by two Amaxine starfighters. Han arrived on a racer and rescued his wife. Together, the couple shot down the enemy fighters. One of the fighters, a B-wing, collided with the underwater base's ammunition depot, triggering a massive explosion that destroyed the underwater city and the Amaxine army.

Following the Sibensko mission, Han and his wife returned to Leia's apartment in Hosnian Prime. When Leia expressed despair that many of her former colleagues and comrades were shunning her for simply being Vader's daughter, Solo reassured her that this storm would pass and that people would remember her for who she was. Han counseled his wife to remember those friends who stuck by her and to ignore the rest of the galaxy. When Han criticized Casterfo, Leia sprung to her former friend's defense by pointing out that he was a decent man who hated Vader. Han then advised his wife to forget Casterfo and to use the political scandal as an opportunity to retire from politics for good.

However, Leia still had one piece of unfinished business left: the findings of her investigation into Rinnrivin Di's cartel and the Amaxines. Leia wanted to address the Senate, but she needed to gain a quorum from a majority of senators. While Han thought that no more threats to the Republic existed with the demise of Rinnrivin and the Amaxines, Leia suspected that there were other like-minded groups seeking to overthrow the Republic. Han counseled his wife to rest for the night, and the couple expressed their love for each other.

The following morning, the sports channels reported that Han Solo had left the Theron system after the end of the last Sabers round. There was also speculation on whether he would return for the final championship race. Later that evening, Han bought his wife Bilbringi cheesy meat pies for dinner. While eating, the couple received news that Leia had received a quorum to address the Senate due to Casterfo's favorable vote. Han then told his wife that things would improve and that he would stay with her for as long as she needed him. Leia reassured her husband that she would be able to handle the hearing on her own and told him that he could return to the Sabers championship. Shortly, Solo returned to the Five Sabers race.

At some point after the public revelations about Leia and Ben's relationship to Darth Vader, Han's son, Ben Solo, was seduced by Supreme Leader Snoke and eventually succumbed to the dark side, killing the Jedi Luke was training. Taking the blame for Ben's fall, Luke exiled himself. Unable to cope with the loss of their son, Han and Leia separated.

Han and Chewbacca went back to being smugglers, which Han claimed was "the only thing he was ever good at." Meanwhile, Leia became the leader of the Resistance, a paramilitary organization aimed at fighting the First Order, which had begun to pose a threat to the New Republic. Han then got himself into a lot of debt with various creditors including the notorious Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub.

In 31 ABY Solo traveled to Maz's castle, where he spoke with Kanata about Chewbacca being unable to do a job with him. Gannis Ducain, who worked for Kanata, overheard and suggested he help on the job. The job was to deliver cargo to Christophsis. When Han and Ducain arrived, Han left Ducain to guard the Millennium Falcon whilst he met with his contact. Ducain, however, stole Falcon. Ducain became a rich gunrunner. One day the Irving Boys stole the Falcon from him.

After losing the Falcon, Han and Chewbacca obtained a Baleen-class heavy freighter named the Eravana that they used for their smuggling operations and even assembled a crew to assist them. Han spent the majority of his free time trying to track down the Falcon.

Sometime later, Solo and Chewbacca went to the Serendipity, a yacht that was owned by Leighton. There, Solo engaged a trio of bounty hunters—Strater, Hove, and Rigger—sent to capture him on the Serendipity cantina, and told them about their mission to Cyrkon before they realized who he was. Once they were aware of Solo's identity, Chewbacca snuck behind them and took hold of Rigger, only to send him flying to the Serendipitys door and knock Strater out with a punch, while Solo disarmed Bobbie. Then, the Corellian told them to warn their possible employers (Ducain, the Irving Boys, the Guavians, etc.) that they were not afraid of them, before saying goodbye to Leighton and leaving the bar together.

Solo and Chewbacca stole a Xi-class light shuttle from the shipyard of the Fluzhi Clan. They escaped from the shipyard and planned to use codes from Finwej to steal a weapons archive from Mek Nu'Tiv. Solo hoped to use the archive to get several people they owed money to off their backs. Solo, posing as a First Order officer, boarded Mek Nu'Tiv's cruiser and spoke with her and her crew. Nu'Tiv, however, realized that Solo had used Finwej to get credits and had her crew hold him at gunpoint.

In 31 ABY while transporting a cargo of three Rathtars aboard the Eravana for the King Prana, 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 who 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 to the location of Solo's old friend Luke Skywalker, Han and Chewie agreed to help them.

Solo rediscovered the Smuggler's Guide that was previously owned by Unkar Plutt aboard the ship, thinking it was a bad omen that this thing keeps resurfacing. However, Chewbacca thought it was a good luck that it keeps coming back and was happy to see the logbook and kept opening different pages. Han thought if that was true his life would have turned out differently. These reflections were recorded in the logbook.

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 freighter while he and Chewie went to meet with the criminals, with BB-8 accompanying 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 Millennium 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.

Han explained that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order, but an apprentice of his turned to the dark side and became Kylo Ren, destroying all that Luke had built, including the other Padawans that Luke had trained. Feeling responsible and blaming himself for the failure, Luke went into exile.

En route to Takodana, Han reminisced about the Falcon, her corridors, fresh smell of thread grease, stale funk of the couch fabric. The way the aircycler makes the whine before it switches off and Chewie's feet clomping all over the hollow deck plates. He thought about dropping the logbook off with Maz, but changed his mind. His thoughts were recorded in the Smuggler's Guide. Later on the same route, the Falcons hyperdrive cut out. Rey, Finn, and Chewbacca investigated and found a tracker near the sensor pulse generator. Finn removed the tracker, only to discover that it was rigged with explosives. Rey and Chewie jettisoned the tracker bomb out the airlock, while Finn informed Han of the situation and the Falcon jumped back into hyperspace.

Solo handed Rey an NN-14 blaster pistol, knowing she would be able to defend herself with it, and asked Rey what her name was. With the two formally introduced, Solo said he was considering bringing on a new crew member. Impressed with Rey's piloting and repair abilities, he said he would consider offering her a job as a second mate aboard the Falcon. Rey was flattered by the offer and briefly excited by the prospect, but she turned it down because she had to return to Jakku to wait for her family, claiming that she'd already been away for too long already.

Solo took Rey and Finn to meet his old friend Kanata at her castle. There, he learned that Kanata had found and kept the old lightsaber that once belonged to Luke, and he asked where Kanata got the weapon, but Kanata dismissed him, saying it was a story for another time. 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. 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.

It is revealed that Han and Leia are aware that their son is Kylo Ren, and that their son's fall to the dark side caused them to separate, with Han returning to his smuggling business, and Leia spearheading the activities of the New Republic and the Resistance. As Starkiller Base prepared to wipe out the world of D'Qar, the site of the Resistance's headquarters, the Resistance planned an attack of their own. Finn had given them the Base's blueprints, which revealed that the base drained the energy of the sun in order to charge its superweapon, and that it required a thermal oscillator, which sustained the energy on the planet, that, if destroyed, would destabilize the planet's core and implode the Base. However, they would need to do it before the Base fully charged its weapon. Having experience in taking down superweapons' shield generators, Solo and Chewbacca volunteered to disable the shield. Before he left, Leia told Han to find their son, and convince him to reject the dark side and return to the light.

Solo, Finn, and Chewie took the Millennium Falcon to Starkiller Base, exiting hyperspace inside the planet's shield just above the surface and landing just at the side of a high cliff. When Finn revealed his stationing had previously been in "sanitation" and that the real reason he had come along was to rescue Rey from the First Order, Solo and Chewbacca agreed to help him with a bit of annoyance. While inside the base, they captured Captain Phasma and forced her to lower the shields, after which Solo claimed that they would not leave the base without Rey.

After finding Rey, the group headed to Starkiller Base's thermal oscillator to assist the Resistance pilots above in its destruction. While planting explosives with Chewbacca, Solo spotted Ren and confronted him on a long walkway positioned above a massive pit, where he attempted to convince his son to leave the First Order and come back with him. Ren handed his lightsaber to Solo, saying he was being "torn apart" and had one last thing to do. After a brief moment of emotional struggle, Ben activated the weapon and it passed through his own father's torso. As Rey, Finn, and Chewbacca watched in horror, Solo stroked his son's face for the last time before dying, his corpse falling over the side of the bridge and into the pit below. Leia sensed her husband's death through the Force and wept for his loss. Solo's death was later mourned by Organa, Chewbacca, and Rey when they returned to the Resistance Base from Starkiller Base after its destruction. The dwarf star it exploded into was dubbed "Solo" in his honor.

Shortly after the battle, Leia asked Rey to tell her about how Solo died, as she only had sensed it. Rey told her that while she didn't hear what Solo told Ben, he didn't fight nor call out, to which Leia assured her that he always knew when to run and when to make a stand. Sometime afterwards, a funeral was held for Solo. During the evacuation of the D'Qar base, one of the proton bombs carried by Paige Tico's bomber, Cobalt Hammer, succeeded in destroying Captain Moden Canady's Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix. The ordnance crew had a message inscribed on the bomb in Aurebesh, stating "Han says hi."

After Solo's death, Rey, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 flew in the Millennium Falcon to the planet Ahch-To to recruit Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to the Resistance's cause while Kylo Ren recovered from the injuries he sustained during the Battle of Starkiller Base. As Skywalker cut himself off from the Force since he went into exile, he was unaware of what was happening in the galaxy, so he didn't feel Solo's death, leading him to ask Rey and Chewie what had happened to his brother-in-law. Upon becoming aware of Solo's fate, Skywalker regretted not having sensed it, leading Chewbacca to hug him before Rey asked him to train her.

To the mutual surprise of both Rey and Kylo, a Force-bond had developed between them, psychically linking their minds across the galaxy. The bond enabled them to both see and hear each other through a series of shared Force visions, despite being in two separate locations. At first, Rey swore to make Ren answer for his patricidal actions, although Ren was more intrigued by the connection they shared than Rey's threats. Unable to understand the act of killing one's own father, Rey assumed that Ren hated his father, but the dark-side warrior insisted that he did not hate Solo, causing Rey to beseech him for an explanation. He then revealed to the Jedi aspirant his desire to completely sever himself from the past, believing it was the only way to move forward and achieve his destiny.

It was ultimately through their bond that Rey gained new insights into Ren, making her aware of the conflict between the dark side and the light within him. Unable to persuade Skywalker to end his self-imposed exile, she concluded that the son of Han Solo was the last hope of the galaxy, and therefore went directly to Ren in the hope of helping him find redemption in the light. Her arrival on the First Order Navy flagship Supremacy provided Ren with an opportunity to assassinate his dark-side mentor, Supreme Leader Snoke. Although they worked together to kill Snoke's Praetorian Guards, Rey was dismayed to see that Ren did not intend to forsake his allegiance to the dark side. Instead, he invited her to rule the galaxy with him, bringing a new order to the galaxy. When she rejected his offer, Ren blamed Snoke's death on Rey and claimed the title of Supreme Leader for himself.

When Skywalker later projected to the planet Crait from Ahch-To in order to confront Ren, he mentioned that Han would always be with him. Before succumbing to his projection, Skywalker's last words to Kylo were, "See you around, kid," remembering Solo even in the last seconds of his life. After escaping from the First Order aboard the Millennium Falcon, both Organa and Chewbacca sat in the cockpit, where Organa remembered a young Solo sitting in the captain's seat, asking her what she was thinking. She then replied to Chewie that it was just echoes. Shortly afterwards, as BB-8 told R2-D2 his experiences at Starkiller Base, they discussed Solo's flying tactics, assuring that he was great. Later, when Leia tried to convince the Mon Calamari to join their side as the First Order prepared to make an example of Mon Cala, Leia acknowledged that what she was asking them would require a kind of sacrifice as she had done several times over the years, silently remembering when she asked Han to go to Starkiller Base and meet their son only to be killed by Kylo in return.

One year later, following Leia's death and his own near death at the ruins of the second Death Star, Kylo experienced a Force vision that was a memory of Han on Kef Bir, who told his son that Kylo Ren was dead and that Ben Solo was alive. Kylo called Han just a memory, but Han told his son that he was his memory and urged Kylo to come home. Kylo felt it was too late as Leia was gone, but Han stated that while Leia was gone, what she stood for and fought for wasn't. Recalling their final interaction, Kylo admitted that he knew what he had to do but didn't know if he had the strength to do it. Han touched his son's face as he did after Kylo fatally stabbed him and assured his son that he did have the strength. Kylo once more drew his lightsaber, but after a moment turned around and threw it away, becoming Ben Solo once more. When Ben turned back around, Han had disappeared.

Shortly afterwards, while Poe was mourning Leia's death, he said that he wasn't ready to become the new leader of the Resistance. Lando, appeared and said that Luke, Han, Leia, and himself also weren't ready. When Poe asked how they defeated the Empire with nothing, he replied that they won because they had each other.

Later on, when Rey gave Ben the lightsaber that had once belonged to his grandfather, Ben saw that the Knights of Ren were shocked and made the same gesture his father had made at the Battle of Endor: shrugging his shoulders.

Han Solo was a human male who stood at a height of 5 feet and 9 inches as a young adult, though eventually grew to a peak height of 6 feet and 1 inch, before shrinking down to 5 feet and 11 inches tall during his later years. He had light skin, brown hair, and weighed 80 kilograms. Han was initially 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. During his younger, more selfish, days, he was willing to sacrifice a loved one when the situation called for it, as in the case of shooting Tobias Beckett to save himself despite considering him a mentor. However, he came to change as he met Luke Skywalker and the Rebellion. After Han demonstrated his bravery on the Death Star and proved his loyalty, they became genuine friends, and soon after, Han became loyal to the Rebellion. Aside from his seemingly self-centered ways, Han was actually very loyal to his friends, and a good man. Having endured a difficult childhood as an impoverished orphan with no identity, Han instantly related to the Jakku scavenger Rey, who shared some of his skills.

Solo enjoyed a good Rodian Splice, a drink typically ordered by, as described by the cook Strono Tuggs, "desperate" smugglers who wanted to prove something. To Solo's annoyance, he found it hard to find an establishment that served a Rodian Splice that met his standards, which was complicated by how, if not brewed correctly, the drink would end up toxic. Forced to quickly flee a cantina during the Galactic Civil War, Solo expressed his annoyance at needing to leave without drinking a Rodian Splice that met his standards and sarcastically said they all could laugh about it later. Han's wife, Leia, described him as someone who had no patience for speeches or memorials, and was allergic to politics and suspicious of causes. However, according to Leia, he also hated bullies and could never stand down when confronted with them, and when he took on a difficult mission, he was never interested in knowing the odds of success. As Leia recognized, Han's first instinct was always to run when things got hard, but that he never ran far and always came back and stepped up again, knowing that there was a time to run and a time to make a stand.

Following the Battle of Endor, Han endeavored to honor Chewie's life debt to him by liberating the enslaved Wookiee homeworld from Imperial occupation. Despite several setbacks, Han persisted with his mission. Together, Han and Chewie led a combined force of Wookiees, rebels, and mercenaries to spark a successful Wookiee uprising against the Empire. During the campaign, Han displayed resourcefulness and proved a cunning and effective commander. After the liberation of Kashyyyk, Han freed Chewbacca of his life debt so that he could reunite with his family.

Han Solo initially found the task of fatherhood challenging. While he envied Leia's Force connection to their son, Ben Solo, Han found that he had a special bond as a father. Due to their different interests and personalities, Solo and his wife lived separate lives. While she served as a New Republic senator, Solo managed a shipping company and organized starship races. Still, Solo kept in regular contact with his wife. On one occasion, he rescued Leia from a pro-Imperial militia known as the Amaxine warriors.

Ben Solo's fall to the dark side of the Force had a profound impact on Han and Leia. Their marriage collapsed, and the two separated. With his shipping business floundering, Han resumed smuggling and incurred large debts with the criminal gangs Kanjiklub and the Guavian Death Gang. Solo regained his purpose when the scavenger Rey and the former stormtrooper Finn sought his help in smuggling the droid BB-8, who was carrying a Map to Skywalker, to the Resistance. After reconciling with his wife, General Leia, Solo decided to try to bring his son back. Despite an emotional reunion between father and son, Kylo Ren killed his father. Han's death devastated Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey, who had come to view him as a father figure. BB-8 would then remember Solo as a "maniac", to which R2-D2 clarified that Solo was "one of the best maniacs." Kylo himself would admit to being devastated by Han's death, telling Rey that he still loved his father. After nearly dying, it would be a vision of Han that ultimately drove Ben back to the light side.

Solo met Qi'ra when they were scrumrats of the White Worms. During one of their jobs, Solo and Qi'ra were forced to partner up. After Qi'ra was named Head, Solo and Qi'ra had dinner, which Solo believed was their first date. Solo eventually fell in love with Qi'ra. The two made plans to buy a ship and run away together, although they never had the financial resources to do so until Solo stole unrefined coaxium from the White Worms. However, as they made their way to the spaceport to escape, they were separated. Despite Solo promising to come back for her, Qi'ra eventually joined Crimson Dawn. When the two reunited on the First Light, they rekindled their love for each other. Despite their feelings for each other, Qi'ra chose to stay in Crimson Dawn and leave Solo.

When Solo and Organa first met, they got off to rough start, with Solo not responding well to Organa's attempts to order him around. The two of them eventually fell in love with each other during the Galactic Civil War and shared their first kiss following the Battle of Hoth. The two married after the war and had a son, Ben Solo.

When Ben joined the First Order and became Kylo Ren, Solo and Organa, though married, separated to cope with their grief. When Han found himself pulled back into the fight, the two of them reunited briefly. Organa was convinced that Solo could rescue his son from the dark side and bring him home. When Solo was killed by their son, Organa sensed his death and cried for him. Organa continued to remember Solo and still believed he was the greatest pilot.

Since his earliest days of running scams on the streets of Corellia, Han had already exhibited traits that would later serve to solidify his prodigious piloting skills. Solo's apparent proficiency of getting out of difficult situations served the smuggler well, a trait notably exhibited during Solo's famed Kessel Run, which the young spacer completed in just over twelve parsecs. In an unprecedented display of expert flying, Han had navigated through the notoriously treacherous Akkadese Maelstrom, reviled for its reputation of representing certain doom for ill-fated starships that dared to tempt fate. Solo's innate instinct for piloting propelled the up-and-coming outlaw into the forefront of the criminal underworld, eventually catching the eye of the infamous gangster Jabba the Hutt, who employed the young Han as his premier spice smuggler. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, Jabba's criminal syndicate flourished, thanks in large part to Millennium Falcons speed and capable crew. Solo and his loyal first mate Chewbacca performed several smuggling runs under the employ of Jabba, proving time and time again that the duo carried enormous financial potential.

Shortly after his fateful encounter with the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and young farmhand Luke Skywalker, Solo rose to become a prominent member of the Rebel Alliance. Solo displayed his natural leadership acumen in several missions, eventually convincing the Alliance to offer the former smuggler a commission within the Rebellion's military. In time, Solo came to accept the commission. To that end, Captain Han Solo spearheaded several Alliance operations, utilizing the Millennium Falcons speed and firepower to great effect in the ongoing plight against the Empire. By the time of the Battle of Endor, Solo had elevated to the rank of General within the Rebel Army, further demonstrating his leadership skills on the forested moon of Endor. Solo led the successful ground assault on the land-based shield generator of the second Death Star, during which he and Rebel Pathfinders detonate several detonite charges which disabled the deflector shield surrounding the battle station, thus allowing the Rebel fleet to commence its attack on the Death Star's main reactor.

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 Warss original trilogy, has described Solo as the smart-ass to Skywalker's callow youth, with each character having had a clear section of turf to explore.

Michael Arndt developed Kylo Ren as a convincing means to have Han and Leia separate after Return of the Jedi. However, it was not decided to kill off the character until J.J. Abrams felt, "What is Han doing in this movie?' If we're not going to have something important and irreversible happen to him, then he kind of feels like luggage. He feels like this great, sexy piece of luggage you have in your movie. But he's not really evolving. He's not really pushing the story forward." Abrams decided killing off Han meant the character's son had a chance of becoming a worthy successor to Darth Vader.

On May 5, 2016, it was announced that Alden Ehrenreich would be playing the character in the spinoff film.

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 Warss 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 Warss 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," Kershner 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.

In the animated microseries Star Wars Forces of Destiny, the younger and older Han Solo are respectively voiced by AJ LoCascio and Kiff VandenHeuvel. Voice actor Lex Lang voiced Han Solo for the game Battlefront II, having voiced Solo as well in a previous game.

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." George Lucas placed off-limits the possibility of using Han Solo in The Clone Wars when writer Henry Gilroy was writing the show bible, a restriction that was maintained until the show's cancellation.

While developing the story of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, after director J.J. Abrams decided to kill off Solo in the film's climax, it was discussed how to show Kylo Ren stabbing Solo with his lightsaber. One proposal was to show Kylo stabbing Solo in front of the abyss just when he was getting his blaster from its holster, falling to his demise like in the finished version of the film. This idea, however, was ultimately cut.

In the Star Wars Resistance episode "The Platform Classic," Han Solo was originally scripted to appear in the episode, but the creators decided to focus on Jarek Yeager's character instead so Marcus Speedstar replaced Han in the episode.

Before reprising the role for Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, Ford indicated that he was unlikely to portray Solo again. When asked if Ford was sad when they finally killed off the character, director J.J. Abrams replied, "Nah, he was fine." Describing filming the scene, he said, "It was really chilling. Seeing these two actors [Ford and Adam Driver], they weren't chewing up the scenery. They were just doing this thing in a way that, frankly, was disturbing. To see Harrison reach out and touch Adam. I know this sounds stupid, but literally watching it, I forgot — I forgot that he wasn't his son. He did it so beautifully."

Despite the character's death, Ford commented, "I'm finished with Star Wars if Star Wars is finished with me. [...] I can't imagine [being asked back]. But it is science fiction."

Nevertheless, Ford reprised the role as a Force vision in the 2019 film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, although he was uncredited. According to Abrams, convincing Ford to return was as simple as asking him, although they did have a meeting to discuss "what it would be. Harrison, who is one of the great people ever, and incredibly thoughtful about everything that he does, all he ever wants is to understand the utility of the character. 'What is my role?' It was about sitting with him and explaining what our intention was. We talked about it for quite a while, I sent him the pages. He got it, and of course, as you can see, he was wonderful."

In 2005, Solo placed #14 on the list of greatest film heroes composed by the American Film Institute. The criteria involved in the list'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 #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 Guys Star Wars–themed episodes "Blue Harvest," "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side," and "It's a Trap!," the character Peter Griffin plays the role of Solo., Mel Brooks' 1987 Star Wars spoof Spaceballs features a protagonist named Lone Starr, 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."

Readers of Empire magazine voted Han Solo the greatest Star Wars character in 2018.

In the 2015 novel Battlefront: Twilight Company, there is a scene where the rebel soldier Hazram Namir encounters an unnamed captain making repairs to his ship in Echo Base. The book's author, Alexander Freed, later strongly implied on Twitter that the captain was intended to be Han Solo. The scene plays out as follows:

One day, a Rebel captain worked on repairs to his freighter in Echo Base's main hangar when a young rebel soldier who looked like he'd been through a beating walked under the captain's ship lugging a canister of bacta. Curious, he asked the rebel what had happened to him. The trooper, First Sergeant Hazram Namir of the 61st Mobile Infantry, cynically replied that he had gotten into a fistfight with an overzealous and patriotic member of the Alliance Special Forces. The captain just smiled and went back to his work. Later that evening, Namir—though the captain never got the man's name, and he never gave his—boarded the Falcon with a bin of mechanical parts with orders to give them to the captain on behalf of the Alliance deck crew. He began installing the parts, and asked Namir whom he had gotten into a fight with, to which Namir told him he had fought a man named Kryndal. Namir assisted the captain in repairing the ship for over thirty minutes, and when the captain finished—or maybe just gave up—he produced a bottle of Corellian whiskey, and the two shared several drinks while Namir explained how he had ended up on cargo duty, and the captain how his freighter had been damaged. He identified with Namir, so he admitted that he was something like a mercenary, and hadn't joined the Rebellion because he believed in their cause. Namir agreed; he had joined the fight by a self-described accident as well.

Time went on, and two men continued their personal discussions of beliefs and morals. The captain expressed his worry with the future state of galactic government—if the Alliance eventually conquered the Empire as they so hoped, men like him and Namir, who didn't believe in the Rebellion's cause, would be shunted once smugglers and mercenaries weren't required for the Alliance to operate. Namir wholeheartedly agreed, and secretly hoped the Galactic Civil War would go on forever. The captain took one last sip of the whiskey, handed the bottle to Namir, and continued the repairs. Namir, too, went back on his business.

• "A New Take on A New Hope" — Star Wars Insider 152
• LEGO Star Wars: Choose Your Side: Doodle Activity Book
• The Art of Star Wars: Visions