Star Wars: 5 Reasons Han Solo is the Best Pilot (And 5 Why It’s Vader)

There are a lot of great pilots in Star Wars; Lando Calrissian, Poe Dameron, Hera Syndulla, Wedge Antilles, and many others.

But none of them really come close to the two aces who also happen to be two of the main characters: Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. The two are seasoned pilots with a lot of impressive feats under their belts. So here’s a rundown of the two pilot’s pros and what makes them the cream of the crop.

10 Solo: He’s Not Using The Force

This entry is a bit up in the air, but whether Solo’s dumb luck is a small piece of the Force or not, he’s certainly not conscious of the Force’s influence in his skill. More likely than not, Solo is just a naturally gifted pilot who perfected his craft over years of experience. His mastery of flight without the help of the Force is very impressive, and that has to be taken into consideration when his competition was literally born of the Force, was a powerful user of it, and was the chosen one to bring it into balance.

9 Vader: He Could Podrace And Build His Own Craft At A Young Age

Little Ani Skywalker was a pretty gifted pilot as a kiddo. Despite his age, he was able to build and pilot podracers out of scrap pieces, as seen in The Phantom Menace. And yes, he was a slave, so he didn’t have ample time or resources to do this. Podracing is also pretty dangerous for humans to take part in, as the intense speed is hard for human reflexes to keep up with. But Anakin was able to do this and was essentially a child prodigy capable of the feats of a master at age 9.

8 Solo: Evaded And Tricked Several Star Destroyers

This entry is on here because Vader’s own flagship, the Executor, was involved in the feat. As Han Solo and company were fleeing the planet Hoth during Empire Strikes Back, Vader and his ships gave pursuit to the Millenium Falcon, which was unable to jump to lightspeed due to a damaged reactor.

He was able to outmaneuver several star destroyers and TIE fighters, and successfully maneuvered an asteroid field to make his escape. And later, he managed to hide by attaching the Millennium Falcon to a blindspot on a star destroyer and escape (mostly) undetected by the Empire.

7 Vader: Landed Half A Crashing Ship Successfully

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin managed to pilot Grevious’ heavily damaged flagship, the Invisible Hand, out of the crowded battlefield above Coruscant and land it on the densely populated planet without any casualties. He did this with the ship on fire, and with half of it breaking up before he was even in the planet’s atmosphere. The ship was absolutely massive and the crash landing Anakin pulled off may have been his best feat as a pilot for the Republic.

6 Solo: Got Rid Of Vader In The Death Star Assault

The new hope in A New Hope almost got snuffed out by Vader during the Death Star trench run. As Luke Skywalker was attempting to deliver the payload into the Death Star’s reactor, Vader gave pursuit and managed to wipe out Luke’s wingmen. However, he was caught off-guard by Solo, who managed to surprise Vader and save the day at the last minute. It’s hard to say that Vader had a fair chance, as one of his own escorts crashed into him, but he was still thwarted nonetheless, and at a big cost, at the hands of Han Solo.

5 Vader: He’s Pretty Handicapped

Vader lives in constant pain. His suit impedes his movement and is incredibly uncomfortable. And of course, he’s covered in burns and has missing limbs. He is surrounded by inept Imperials and has to overcome their stupidity constantly. He also works (and flies) alone most of the time, so he’s on his own with no one to watch his back.

Having to constantly deal with these problems and still overcome them is another consideration Vader should get when comparing him to Solo, who has a crew at all times and doesn’t need to worry about things like cape wedgies.

4 Solo: He’s Creative and Daring

In a pinch or stressful situation, Han Solo usually has a trick up his sleeve and can work around unexpected scenarios (such as when escaping the star destroyers). He’s pretty good at trying new avenues and situations, no matter how precarious.

In Force Awakens, Han gets through Starkiller Base’s shields via lightspeed and shuts it off on time and crash lands safety on the planet, in an extremely dangerous maneuver. And in Solo, he was able to escape a gravity well and a star destroyer with explosives on board, thanks to his clever ideas.

3 Vader: He’s Also Creative and Daring

It’d be unfair to say Han Solo was creative and that Vader wasn’t equally bold and innovative. After all, they’re telltale signs of a great pilot. For instance, in Attack of the Clones, a teenage Anakin is able to stay focused and find the escaping would-be assassin in the extremely crowded skies of Coruscant and is able to commandeer speeders in midair.

And in Rebels, he’s basically able to take down a rebel fleet on his own and is perfectly calm while doing so.

2 Solo: He’s Not a Fighter Pilot

Just imagine the sheer size and bulkiness that the Millenium Falcon presents. It’s a freighter ship, not exactly meant for flying in tight spaces or engaging in combat, and yet, Han is able to do just that all throughout his life. It’s a difficult ship to maneuver and requires a lot of skill to navigate, and on top of that, he has to bark orders to a crew in order to fly it at peak efficiency. He is in the “prey” position more often than not, and functions like a gazelle running from a cheetah…if a gazelle was the size of an elephant instead.

1 Vader: Vader Is A Perfect Fighter Pilot

If Han was the prey, Vader would be the predator. He’s a very aggressive and effective pilot and is constantly engaged in battle, with the enemy firing back. While his ship might be sleeker and more maneuverable, he’s probably engaged in precarious situations just as often as Han is, perhaps even more often, since Solo was an often undetectable smuggler, while Vader was leading ships into battle. While evading the enemy is impressive, engaging and evading them and coming out on top nearly every time is also incredible.

About The Author

Rafael Sarmiento
(90 Articles Published)

I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and am Spanish/Venezuelan-American. I graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in History, and in Film. I write for both ScreenRant and CBR, along with other projects on Medium, so feel free to stalk me. I love to read discussion, even when it’s totally awful, so leave comments all over my articles, folks.

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