In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of The Force Awakens, Star Wars has launched a comic mini-series about Han Solo’s hunt for the Millennium Falcon, a story that will directly tie in to the sequel trilogy.
The four-issue series, fittingly titled Han Solo: Hunt for the Falcon, is written by Rodney Barnes, and if the first issue is any indication, it will be an engaging – and emotional – story.
It begins on Malastare, where Han Solo and Lando Calrissian take in a speeder race, with the two of them owning racing teams. We have known from other stories that Han became very involved in the racing world. While he and Leia were still together Han oversaw the Five Sabres, a major annual racing competition in the galaxy. Han also owned a racing team, which is just further evidence of how deep into it he was. His reputation preceded him, and this was a way for him to still take to the stars – or at least have the thrill of racing – despite having settled down and become a family man.
Of course, this does bring up one minor question: what is Lando doing there? Their conversation makes it seem like he and Han meet there weekly to take in the races, and it seems that Lando has a team of his own. But this creates a few problems with the timeline. In The Rise of Skywalker, Lando says that after he and Luke pursued Ochi to Pasanna, Lando stayed there. He lived as a hermit on this desert planet. Except in the timeline, that almost certainly happened before this comic. The hunt for Ochi happened before Ben Solo turned to the dark side, and it sure seems like this comic is set after Ben’s turn. So what is Lando doing with his own racing team, and visiting the race with Han regularly? Does that mean he just lived on Pasanna but traveled around the galaxy? that would create a far different impression than the sequel trilogy gave us, but it could still work. It’s just strange. It’s something that I hope will be clarified at some point.
But Han is restless – something we soon learn is internal as much as anything. He grows frustrated with the person racing his speeder, and he takes over, jumping into the cockpit and driving it himself – to victory. That is, until he is disqualified because he wasn’t officially entered in the race as a pilot. Han is clearly grasping at glory from days gone by, something Lando points out in a later conversation, saying that Han’s not running around in the Millennium Falcon anymore.
At that, we are reminded: Han has lost the Falcon. “Can’t believe I let her slip out of my hands…” Han mutters, but the statement contains a double meaning for the reader: Han has let the Falcon slip out of his hands, yes, but so too Leia Organa. His wife. This series is set after Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side, a traumatic event so devastating that it drove Han and Leia apart, with both of them returning to what they knew best. Han’s life has fallen apart. As he walks into an apartment on Pixelito, he looks longingly at holographic images of Leia, of Han and Leia holding baby Ben, of Han with a grown Ben. As Han looks at these images, he tells himself that he is no good at a lot of things. This leads him to conclude that he wants the old Han Solo back, the one who was actually good at things – the scoundrel. What we’re seeing is Han retreating back to his old way of life, which is where he’s at when we meet him in The Force Awakens.
It’s heart-wrenching to see this, of the once-happy family now torn apart. We never got to see Ben Solo’s upbringing in the sequel trilogy, and that means we never got to see the Solo family happy. They were incredibly happy. These images are full of joy and pride. But those days are long gone. It’s heartbreaking. But it also gives added depth that is certainly implied by the films, that Han hasn’t moved on. Though he’s occupied his time with other hobbies, his heart is still with Leia and Ben. That’s the life he misses, the life he wants, the life he enjoyed but never felt good at. The life that is gone now.
But in some way, it seems that Han thinks if he could find the Falcon, he could find that old life, those glory days, that old happiness once more. His renewed pursuit of the Millennium Falcon becomes a symbol for something more: Han’s pursuit of a life that is long gone, but that he still wants.
So he sets off hitting up a number of spots in the galaxy’s underworld, looking for information on the whereabouts of his ship. Eventually, he gets the lead he was looking for: Ducain – who stole the ship from Han – has run into trouble, and the Falcon is being kept on Oskatoon until Ducain can pay up. Han infiltrates the facility on Oskatoon, feeling that the Falcon is surely there, but the guards are quite formidable and drive him away – which means Han knows he needs help.
That leads us to Kashyyyk, where Chewbacca and his son, Lumpawaroo, are hunting food, and have to fend off a Wyyyschokk spider on their way home. But return home they do, to Chewie’s wife Malla, with food. There is a juxtaposition in the issue: Han’s family has fallen apart, but Chewie’s family is extremely close. This serves to further highlight the heartbreaking tragedy of the Solo family by contrasting them with the idyllic family life Chewbacca has. Chewie has his ‘happily ever after’, but Han doesn’t. Han needs his friend’s help.
As Chewie and his family prepare for dinner, they have an unexpected guest: Han shows up, receiving a warm greeting from Chewie and his family. Han sticks around for dinner, hearing stories from Lumpawaroo about the day’s adventures. “Of course your dad saved the day”, Han tells him. “That’s what he does.” The statement is an admission of something that Han probably isn’t acutely aware of, but lurks under the surface: part of why he’s there isn’t just because he needs Chewbacca’s help getting the Falcon. Han also needs Chewbacca. Han needs Chewie to help save the day for him and his family, too.
And when Han tells Chewie he needs help getting the Falcon back, Chewie readily agrees. Malla and Lumpy watch as Han and Chewie fly away, “just like old times”. This moment is significant, showing the reunion between best friends. Those not invested in the books and comics might not realize it, but after Return of the Jedi Han and Chewie fought to liberate Kashyyyk from Imperial rule – something they did successfully, thanks to aid from Leia, Admiral Ackbar, Wedge Antilles, and others. But as Chewie was reunited with his family, Han told him to stay. To stay with Malla and Lumpy, and enjoy his family. After all, Han insisted, he had his own family to be with now anyway. “You be with your family,” Han told him. “I have to go start mine.” Of course, Chewbacca was a regular presence in Han’s life after that (“I’m gonna be a father and no way my kid won’t have you in his life”, Han told Chewie). They saw each other quite a bit. But Chewbacca settled down on Kashyyyk with his family, and Han settled down on Chandrila with his.
But by the time of The Force Awakens, Chewie was back with Han, traveling the galaxy. He left his family for another period to be with his best friend (after all, Wookiee life spans are far longer than that of humans), and now we know how it happened. I love stories like this one, which tell a new adventure but also help to fill in the gaps between what happens in the movies. Something as simple as seeing how Han and Chewie are reunited like this is made all the more special because of how it connects with the larger saga.
Overall, this is a strong start to the series, but it’s clear this is going to be quite emotional. Han’s life has fallen apart, and he’s trying to get it back. The search for the Millennium Falcon becomes a symbolic quest of this, and eventually, it will lead right into the events of the sequel trilogy.
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