In Return of the Jedi, with Han Solo and Chewbacca leading the strike team on the forest moon of Endor, it was Lando Calrissian piloting the Millennium Falcon above the planet, leading an attack on the second Death Star.
His co-pilot in flying the ship was Nien Nunb, a Sullustan smuggler who joined the Rebellion as a pilot. He would go on to fly for the New Republic and later the Resistance, taking part in the Battle of Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker (in which he died in combat). But his first appearance in Star Wars was flying the franchise’s most iconic ship with Lando.
And, as is the case with virtually everything in the Star Wars franchise, there’s a backstory to it.
That story was recently told in Star Wars #36, the latest issue of Charles Soule’s main comic run. The issue begins with Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar mapping out a daring strike: sending the Rebellion’s best pilots to the heart of the Empire, Coruscant, to remind the galaxy of their presence and strength. Lando thinks it’s a bad idea, but volunteers to fly the Falcon alongside Chewbacca on the mission. Accompanying them are several key pilots, including Nien Nunb flying an A-Wing.
The small fleet stealthily infiltrates Coruscant space, but they’re ambushed upon entering the atmosphere. Most of the ships are immediately destroyed, and Nunb’s ship is shot down. He ejects from his ship and Chewbacca catches him at the Falcon‘s hatch to bring him on board. Nunb’s rather rough landing injures Chewie, however, and as the Falcon is frantically trying to escape the pursuing fighters through the city, Lando has Nunb take the co-pilot’s seat. The two of them fly the ship through the planet’s various levels, making their way to escape.
In the aftermath Lando thinks the mission was a complete failure, but Leia informs him that one of the shots hit its target and destroyed the huge statue of Emperor Palpatine in Monument Square, sparking mass conversation on the holonet about the Rebellion.
So there it is: the first time Nien Nunb piloted the Millennium Falcon, helping to explain why Lando would turn to him as his co-pilot for the fateful Battle of Endor. Together the two of them would become heroes of the Rebellion, firing the shot that destroyed the second Death Star.
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