Han Solo – Star Wars
While trying to describe Han Solo must be one of the last remaining times at which it is still acceptable to use the word cool. As unoriginal and hackneyed as it may be, it applies to Han because he has essentially defined it from the moment he first he appeared. Handsome, laid-back, quick-witted, nonchalant and a bit of a loner, everyone from school yard children to the astronauts in Armageddon have fought over who gets to be Han Solo.
With the world having known and loved Han for so long, it’s difficult to imagine how he could improve his cred any further. Until we remember that Luke and Obi Wan found him in a place that Obi Wan describes as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” After that, he may as well be a god.
Before being picked up by the Rebel Alliance in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine, Han Solo was leading a less than savoury life. A drug smuggler and a mercenary, he worked for Jabba the Hut but clearly with some of his own terms in operation. There was also a theory that he was a human trafficker, which many fans decried. Although, another fan-theory was that E.T was actually recognizing Yoda when he saw the Halloween costume version in E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial – something that was also widely disputed until E.T. and two of his mates popped up in Star Wars Episode I:The Phantom Menace, and everyone’s minds were blown forever (well played Lucas and Spielberg). So who knows.
But most importantly of all, of course, is the fact that Han Shot First. Or, for those who aren’t familiar with such phrases that sum up entire decades worth of fandom debate (and congratulations to you, by the way, for spending your life wisely), this means that Han Solo was originally a murderer. In the 1977 version of Star Wars, Han shoots bounty hunter Greedo during a meeting, and kills him. George Lucas wasn’t happy with this, however, believing the scene to make Han out to be more cold-blooded than Lucas had intended. Apparently 20 years of no-one else caring hadn’t been enough to convince Lucas that this wasn’t actually a problem and for the anniversary re-release in 1997 he included an edit that clearly showed Greedo shooting at Han first, causing Han simply to shoot in self-defence.
Fans were horrified at the change (again – 20 years Lucas had to work out that was going to happen). Han Solo may have taken some convincing to fight for the Rebels, but he redeemed himself the moment he appeared to help Luke destroy the Death Star, and eventually went on to become a Captain and finally a General of the Rebel Alliance (at which point his worst move was deciding not to come between Luke and Leia – concrete proof that being an entirely good guy doesn’t always lead to the best results). Han Solo didn’t become a hero because he had always been a particular type of person – he became a hero despite the fact that he hadn’t.
Let’s end with a couple of words from the man himself. In response to being asked during an interview in 2014 ‘who shot first?’ Harrison Ford simply replied “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” And neither, it is safe to say, did anyone else.
