When Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012, we knew that they were going to expand the Star Wars universe, shine a light on heretofore hidden corners, and make some big changes. And holy crap, they just dropped a game changer regarding Han Solo’s history via their fresh run of Marvel comics. Not only does he have a wife, the Star Wars universe now has its first black female character.
Just a heads up, there are some SPOILERS beyond this point.
At the tail end of the Jason Aaron-scripted Star Wars #6, which just hit comic book stores and pointed out by Comic Book Resources, the hooded, masked figure we saw tracking Han Solo since issue #4, reveals herself as Sana Solo, Han’s wife. As this happens at the conclusion of the issue, where she points a gun at Han and Leia, we don’t know much else about the situation, but this is pretty damn huge. And remember, this is all official canon, so this could have a massive impact moving forward.
It’s going to be interesting to learn more about this presumably, and hopefully, next time, because this is an issue that needs exploring. The action in this thread of the new Marvel comics takes place after A New Hope but before The Empire Strikes Back. At this point, Luke, Han, and Leia are a team and have worked together a number of times on missions against the Empire. Still, somehow the subject of Han being married never came up.
There are a number of reasons this could have happened. Perhaps Han and Sana aren’t together anymore—I don’t know what kind of divorce laws they have in this far, far away galaxy. At this stage of the game, Han was still a serious rogue, so perhaps he used her as part of a scam or con. If he exploited her and threw her aside, which would certainly explain why she might track him across deep space. Maybe she’s the daughter of some gangster Han owed money and he married her to pay off his debt. And of course there’s the possibility that he is simply trying to make time with Leia, either with the real feelings we see develop later or just trying to get in her pants, and he though having a wife might hurt his chances in that arena. Hell, maybe he even has kids out there somewhere. That would really throw things for a loop.
There has to be something more going on. We know how Han and Leia’s relationship develops and where it goes, but you can’t imagine Leia being cool knowing that she is the other woman. Or maybe their connection is just so overwhelming she can’t help herself even though she knows better, though her initial reaction says otherwise. She is very taken aback when Sana reveals she’s Han’s wife.
Because the comics are part of the official canon, and because we just heard that the formerly Josh Trank-directed standalone movie may involve a young Han Solo (and Boba Fett), it’s entirely possible this won’t be the only time we see Sana. It’s possible, maybe even probable, that she could appear on screen at some point and potentially play a major role. She’s obviously fairly handy with a blaster, which would certainly come in handy in Han’s earlier line of work.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Star Wars universe has been its lack of diversity. For all the strange alien races, it’s almost exclusively white people who populate this corner of the galaxy. There have been two important black characters in the saga, Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu, but that’s about it. And their track record of including women isn’t much better. The Force Awakens looks like it’s going to change that somewhat, and if Sana Solo sticks around, that’s another step in the right direction.
