Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars #12!

In the latest issue of Star Wars from Marvel Comics, Princess Leia reveals how Han Solo saved the entire Rebellion when they were still based on the ice planet of Hoth. Not only was this key event integral to the survival of the Rebellion in their war against the Empire, but it also served as the moment the smuggler revealed that he had truly begun to believe in the Rebel cause.

In recent issues of Star Wars from writer Charles Soule and artist Ramon Rosanas, the Rebellion has been scattered across the stars thanks to the Imperial assault on Hoth during the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Additionally, the Empire was able to crack the Rebels’ transmission codes, leaving the Alliance no way to communicate and regroup without the Empire knowing about it. However, Leia and Luke’s cell of Rebels were able to create new encryption codes, and they sent out the brand new Starlight Squadron to find the others cells and deliver them. Unfortunately, the Squadron came under fire from the Empire. While they managed to escape, Starlight Leader Shara Bey was trapped on board one of their Star Destroyers.

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Now, Star Wars #12 sees both Leia and Shara’s husband Kes Dameron reminiscing about their lost loves. Kes shares a story of how he met Shara, as well as a holo image of a young Poe Dameron, which prompts Leia to reflect on a story about Han from when they were still based on Hoth. On a night when Echo Base’s heating systems shut down, Han Solo and Chewbacca took parts from the Millennium Falcon and used them to attempt to repair the overloading reactor. While the rest of the base evacuated in case the reactor exploded, Han and Chewie stayed behind to try and fix it before that happened. Despite being swamped in thick smoke after a misjudged attempt to buy more time, Han was successful and he saved the Rebellion, which communicated volumes to Leia personally.

In spite of the freezing temperatures, Han Solo risked his life to save the base because he had finally started to believe in the Rebel Alliance, which is also how he finally started to get Leia to care about and eventually come to love him. It’s a pretty incredible feat of heroism for Han, especially since he’s the one who identifies the parts needed, and has an opportunity to bail on his mission when things get worse. In the present of the story, his choice to stay and join the Rebellion has resulted in his capture, as he was frozen in carbonite by the Empire so Boba Fett could deliver him to Jabba at the end of Empire Strikes Back.

It’s now Princess Leia’s turn to save Han, and while her personal reasons are obvious (she did just declare her love to him before he was frozen), this story confirms the Rebellion as a whole would be remiss not to at least attempt a rescue, given Solo’s heroism and sacrifices for them, of which saving Echo Base is a perfect example. While fans have questioned Princess Leia‘s decision to commit Rebellion resources to rescuing Han Solo, this issue makes it clear that he’s truly essential to the movement, and without his actions on Hoth, the Rebellion’s victory over the Empire in the Star Wars movies would have been impossible.

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Kevin Erdmann
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Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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