As a teenager, Han was a petty thief who lived in Corellia’s sewers with the infamous White Worms gang. After one of Lady Proxima’s deals went bad, the White Worm matriarch prepared to punish Han. But the teenager was tired of the abuse and dared to fight back.

Han fled in a stolen landspeeder with his friend Qi’ra, evading Proxima’s enforcers and Imperial troops. Han’s plan was to bribe emigration officials with a vial of coaxium Han had tucked away during the botched deal, escape the White Worms and Corellia with Qi’ra, and seek a better life offworld.

Han made it through, but Qi’ra did not. Unable to help his friend, Han enlisted in the Imperial Navy, vowing to become the galaxy’s best pilot. A clerically inclined officer gave the ragamuffin kid a last name – Solo – and Han entered the Imperial Academy.

The Empire kicked him out of the academy and dumped him in the infantry, tossed into a grinding war on Mimban. Discarded as cannon fodder, the young mudtrooper looked desperately for a way out.

Han thought he’d found it when he caught Tobias Beckett and his gang of ship thieves casing the Empire’s operations on Mimban. Han tried to join them, but Beckett – who’d disguised himself as an Imperial officer -- didn’t trust outsiders. He claimed Han had been caught deserting, leaving the mudtrooper in Imperial custody.

Like the Navy, the Imperial Army had tired of Han’s rebellious ways. A lieutenant ordered him thrown into a makeshift prison with “the Beast” – a luckless Wookiee captive named Chewbacca. Han convinced Chewie that they could escape together, marking the beginning of their long friendship. They fled the prison and persuaded Beckett to give them a ride off Mimban in a stolen AT-hauler.

The next stop for Beckett’s gang was the frontier world Vandor. There, Beckett planned to steal from an Imperial conveyex, detaching a cargo car containing a valuable shipment of coaxium and using the stolen AT-hauler to fly away with it.

The gang managed to detach the car, but Enfys Nest’s Cloud-Riders fought them for control of it. Han wound up flying the stolen AT-hauler, and lost the cargo trying to help Beckett and Chewie. Beckett told Han he’d signed their death warrants: the gang had agreed to steal the coaxium for the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate.

Han, Chewie and Beckett headed for Fort Ypso to meet with Crimson Dawn kingpin Dryden Vos aboard his elegant yacht. To Han’s astonishment, he discovered Qi’ra was one of Vos’s lieutenants. Han had a proposal for Vos: he, Beckett and Chewie would steal unrefined coaxium from Kessel and deliver it to Crimson Dawn, cancelling their debt.

When Qi’ra vouched for Han, Vos agreed to the young Corellian’s plan. But he warned Beckett not to fail again, and insisted Qi’ra join the mission. Now the gang needed a ship. Qi’ra suggested the Millennium Falcon, owned by a ne’er-do-well gambler named Lando Calrissian. Han tried to win the Falcon in a game of sabacc, but Lando proved himself to be an effective cheater and prevailed.

Though claiming to be retired, Lando agreed to join the gang, giving them the ship they needed. Han, Chewie, Beckett and Qi’ra headed for Kessel aboard the Falcon with Lando and pilot droid L3-37. The mission would change Han Solo’s life, and establish his legend as a daredevil pilot and smuggler.

Han Solo comes from Corellia, a place known for its big ships and its starpilot aces. With Chewbacca the Wookiee at his side, Han became a smuggler for underworld gangsters such as Jabba the Hutt. His speedy freighter, the Millennium Falcon, allowed Han to make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs. The ship was Han's prized possession ever since he won it from his friend Lando Calrissian in a gambling match.

While running a shipment of spice for Jabba the Hutt, Han and Chewie dumped their cargo into space to prevent it from being seized by the Empire. Worried about paying Jabba back for the lost shipment, Han jumped at the chance to ferry desperate passengers from Tatooine to Alderaan for 17,000 credits. When Jabba's goon Greedo tried to claim the bounty on Han's head, Han's quick trigger finger put a permanent end to Greedo's career.

Carrying its new passengers, the Millennium Falcon broke the Imperial blockade around Tatooine and jumped to hyperspace. It emerged at the ruins of what was once Alderaan, before the Death Star had blasted the planet to rubble. Han tried to reverse the engines, but the Imperial battle station had already locked onto the Falcon with its tractor beams.

By hiding in smuggling compartments beneath the Falcon's deckplates, the group escaped Imperial detection. Han and Luke commandeered two sets of stormtrooper armor to use as disguises, and learned that Rebel Alliance leader Princess Leia was a prisoner in the Death Star's detention block. Lured by Luke's promise of unimaginable riches, Han agreed to stage a jailbreak.

Han, Luke, and Chewie freed the princess and escaped through a garbage compactor. With their cover completely blown they fought their way back to the Falcon. When Han ran into a patrol of stormtroopers, he chased them down a corridor using nothing but sheer bravado.

With the Death Star's tractor beam disabled and Obi-Wan Kenobi covering their escape, the group sped away aboard the Millennium Falcon. A patrol of TIE fighters threatened to cut them off, but Han and Luke made short work of the enemy ships using the Falcon's quad-gun batteries.

Following the orders of Princess Leia, Han piloted the Falcon to the secret Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4. He received a hefty reward for returning the princess, but his self-preservation instincts were too strong and he refused to stick around as the Rebellion prepared to make its last stand against the Empire's superweapon. Han said his good-byes to Luke, and he and Chewie left in the Falcon.

But Han's conscience wouldn't let him abandon his new friends. The Millennium Falcon joined the battle at the last instant and sent Darth Vader's TIE fighter spinning into space. Now free to make the critical shot, Luke Skywalker used his X-wing's proton torpedoes to destroy the battle station's main reactor. Han and Luke received medals from Princess Leia for their heroism.

Han Solo remained with the Rebel Alliance as a freelance agent, and grew closer to Princess Leia. But Jabba the Hutt, enraged by Han's continued failure to pay off his debt, raised the bounty on Han's head. The death mark became a tempting prize, and Han survived a harrowing run-in with a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell. His narrow escape convinced him to abandon the Alliance and square his debts with Jabba.

As he prepared to leave the Rebel Alliance's frozen headquarters on Hoth, Han got sidetracked when Luke Skywalker failed to report in from patrol. Riding a tauntaun into a vicious Hoth blizzard, Han saved his friend from certain death.

Not long after Luke's recovery, Han and Chewie investigated a strange transmission coming from the Hoth snow fields. There they discovered an Imperial probe droid, a sure sign that the Empire now knew about the Alliance's secret headquarters. General Rieekan, commander of Echo Base, ordered its evacuation.

The Empire arrived before any of the Rebels could escape. As AT-AT walkers advanced on the Rebel command center, Han tried to take Princess Leia to safety aboard the Millennium Falcon. Darth Vader and a squad of Imperial snowtroopers nearly blocked their escape, but the Falcon rocketed into space. Unfortunately, eluding the Empire's Star Destroyers wasn't as easy.

Hoping to lose their Imperial pursuers in an asteroid field, Solo steered the Falcon through the gauntlet of deadly obstacles, finding temporary refuge within one of the larger rocks.

The relative calm of their hiding spot gave Han and Leia the time to get closer. After questioning Leia about the men in her life, Han leaned in for an intense kiss.

The Millennium Falcon's safe haven turned out to be the interior of a space slug's gullet! Han piloted his ship back into clear space before the slug could make them its dinner. Attacked by TIE fighters once again, Han executed a risky and desperate maneuver by attaching the Falcon to a Star Destroyer's conning tower. His move fooled the Empire, but not the bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Convinced they were in the clear, Han traveled to Bespin's Cloud City to visit his old friend Lando Calrissian. Though Lando greeted him warmly, his hospitality was a cover for Darth Vader's trap. Vader, alerted to the Falcon's location by Boba Fett, planned to use Han, Leia, and Chewbacca as bait to ensnare Luke Skywalker.

Han withstood torture from Darth Vader's stormtroopers, with his agony designed to alert Luke through the Force. Confident that his lure had worked, Vader agreed to test Cloud City's carbon-freezing facilities on Han to verify if the same technique could also be used to subdue Luke. Prior to his imprisonment in carbonite, Han said farewell to Princess Leia. "I love you," said a tearful Leia. "I know," answered Han.

The carbon-freeze machinery worked perfectly. Han, suspended in hibernation, became the prize of Boba Fett. The bounty hunter loaded Han's slab aboard his ship Slave I. Leia and Chewbacca, aided by a remorseful Lando, couldn't stop Fett from lifting off with his human cargo.

Han's friends made his rescue their top priority. As soon as they learned that Fett had delivered the carbonite slab to Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, the group set in motion an elaborate rescue. Lando went undercover as a guard in Jabba's court, while C-3PO and R2-D2 became gifts for Jabba. Leia disguised herself as the bounty hunter Boushh and delivered Chewbacca into Jabba's dungeons. Though Leia successfully unfroze Han, Jabba interrupted their escape.

Luke Skywalker tried to free Han, but hit a snag when Jabba threw him to his pet rancor. When Luke killed the monster, Jabba ordered a dual execution for Han and Luke at the Great Pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc. According to legend, the condemned would endure indescribable torment during a digestion process lasting a thousand years.

At the execution site, Luke's plan took hold as he retrieved his lightsaber from R2-D2 and attacked Jabba's henchmen. Han, almost completely blind from post-carbonite hibernation sickness, accidentally triggered Boba Fett's jet pack and sent the galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter on a one-way trip down the Sarlacc's throat.

After rejoining the Rebel fleet, Han Solo accepted a rank of general within the Alliance military. He also agreed to lead a squad of Rebel commandoes and infiltrate the forest moon of Endor to disable the shield generator protecting the second Death Star. Chewbacca, Leia, and Luke all took positions as members of General Solo's strike team.

Han's team touched down in Endor's forests. A patrol of Imperial biker scouts spotted them, but Luke and Leia eliminated them during a high-speed chase. When Leia didn't return, Han led a search party and stumbled into a trap set by the native Ewoks. At first Han didn't think much of the furry warriors, but he welcomed their help after Leia helped save the Rebel captives from being roasted over a cooking fire.

Attempting to destroy the Imperial bunker leading to the orbiting Death Star's shield generator, Han and his team are ambushed by stormtroopers. This ignites a large forest battle pitting the Rebels and Ewoks against the Imperials.

The Ewoks used their knowledge of Endor's forests to provide the edge in battle. Using the comm system of a captured scout walker, Han posed as the AT-ST's driver and tricked the Imperial commander into opening the bunker doors. The Rebel commandos set their explosive charges, and the shield generator dish vanished in a fiery blast.

With the shield down, the Rebel starfighters penetrated the Death Star and overloaded its core. The Empire's superweapon exploded, bringing an end to the reign of Emperor Palpatine. Back on Endor, Han took in news that Luke was Leia's brother, and therefore not a rival for Leia's affections. Han and Leia shared a celebratory kiss.

That night, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, and the other heroes of the Rebellion joined the Ewoks for a treetop celebration. Across the galaxy, planets erupted in cheers at the news of the Empire's defeat.

After the Battle of Endor, Han heroically served the New Republic, and he and Leia became the parents of a son, Ben. But Ben Solo fell prey to the dark side of the Force, leaving his parents estranged. Han and Chewie also lost the Millennium Falcon, and searched endlessly for the freighter while pursuing questionable business deals in other ships. When Han finally located the Falcon, he exulted at being home.

Han quickly concluded the young stowaways aboard the Falcon were harmless. But he and Chewie soon had bigger problems: both the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub’s thugs had located their bulk freighter, the Eravana, and were determined to collect on debts Han owed them.

Han tried to talk his way out of the trouble, but the gangs were after vengeance, not explanations. He and Chewie were saved when Rey released all the doors aboard their bulk freighter, the Eravana, but matters had gone from bad to worse. Han was transporting rathtars intended for the menagerie of King Prana, and the deadly beasts were now loose on the ship.

Amid the chaos, Han and Chewie fled with Finn, Rey and BB-8, escaping the embattled Eravana aboard the Falcon. As the Falcon raced for Takodana, the site of Maz Kanata’s castle, Han told Finn and Rey that Luke Skywalker vanished after an apprentice turned against him and destroyed his new Jedi Order.

On Takodana, Han asked Maz Kanata to get BB-8 to the Resistance, but the ancient smuggler queen replied that the journey wasn’t hers to take. Knowing what she meant, Han countered that Leia didn’t want to see him.

Han witnessed the destruction of the New Republic capital of Hosnian Prime by the First Order’s superweapon, but there was little time for remorse: stormtroopers attacked Maz’s castle. While fighting the troops, Han spotted Kylo Ren – who departed when Resistance starfighters counter-attacked.

Leia led the Resistance forces. Han hugged her for the first time in years, and told her he’d seen their son. He then agreed to lead the dangerous mission to infiltrate the First Order’s Starkiller Base.

As Han and Chewie prepared for departure, he had a few more moments with Leia. She still believed Ben could be saved and freed of the dark side’s grip. When Han expressed doubt, noting that Luke had failed despite all his skills, Leia countered that Luke was a Jedi, but Han was Ben’s father.

Han used a dangerous navigational trick to get through Starkiller Base’s planetary shield. He, Finn, and Chewie then infiltrated Starkiller Base. Their mission: bring down the facility’s shields to leave the Starkiller vulnerable to attack by Resistance starfighters.

Han and his infiltrators managed to bring down the shields, but realized Starkiller Base’s defenses were too strong for the starfighters to penetrate. The base would have to be destroyed from within. Fortunately, they were carrying explosives – and Rey and Finn knew the complex’s weak points.

The work was interrupted by Kylo, who confronted his father. Han tried to appeal to his son, telling him to take off his mask and come home. Kylo was clearly conflicted, and it seemed like Han might be able to reach the boy he’d named Ben Solo.

But it was not to be. Kylo rammed his lightsaber blade through his father’s body, leaving him mortally wounded. Before he died, Han reached up to touch his son’s face, a tender gesture despite Kylo’s monstrous act.

Kylo thought killing Han would also kill his past, freeing him to embrace the dark side. But he was wrong – the murder of his father left him more haunted than ever. After dueling Rey on Kef Bir, he had a vision of his father – a memory given life by the Force, perhaps. Kylo told Han his son was dead, but Han gently corrected him: Kylo Ren was dead. His son was alive. His father’s faith and forgiveness let Ben Solo reclaim his identity, leaving Kylo Ren behind and returning to the light.