Han Solo is the kind of complex protagonist that people identify with more than a perfect hero. Hopeful, enthusiastic Luke Skywalker acts as a foil to this gritty and jaded smuggler, who finds his inner hero as a valued member of a rebellion against a cruel and oppressive empire.
The Skywalker Saga, the current term for the nine movies that make up the original Star Wars trilogy, the prequels, and the most recent Disney sequels, is where audiences saw Han Solo for the first time. The character was the subject of his own standalone movie in 2018 entitled Solo: A Star Wars Story. There's a whole world of books, games, and TV shows beyond the movies and Han Solo did some pretty awesome things out there.
6 He Gave His Love A Planet...
Han Solo might look rough, but when it comes to wedding presents, he knows how to shop. In the novel The Courtship Of Princess Leia, Han learns that he has to do something awesome to win the hand of a member of the royal family. Prince Isolder shows up on Coruscant to ask for Leia's hand in marriage and sends some impressive gifts in order to do it.
Desperate to find a gift to outdo his competition, Han Solo acquires a whole planet using his gambling skills, an isolated but lovely place called Dathomir. He's so enthusiastic about giving Leia a whole planet to replace the one she lost that he misses a small detail; that Dathomir was under the control of a fierce Warlord named Zsinj.
5 ...And Destroyed Warlord Zsinj's Empire
The funny part is that Han never intended to do this. All he wanted to do was give his bride a shiny new planet to replace the one their mutual enemy had blown up, and destroying a pesky intergalactic Warlord was just the side quest to reach the ultimate goal.
Not to give it away completely, but he plays a clever trick on the Warlord using the Millennium Falcon's tractor beam and manages to destroy his most powerful ship, causing the rest of his forces to crumble. The planet is free to be New Alderaan, and there's also some ancient Jedi stuff on the planet that might be useful to someone.
4 Got Kicked Out Of The Imperial Navy
It doesn't sound awesome, but after learning the reason why, it is. In the lore of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Han's family had a distinguished history of military service and even some royal connections but had fallen on hard times. Han joined the Imperial Navy out of obligation, and when he gets an order to kill a Wookie for the crime of trying to steal a ship, he refuses.
That's awesome anyway, but it's not just the gruesome prospect of this harsh punishment that puts Han off. The ship is carrying a group of Wookie children who had been kidnapped and destined for a slave market. The Wookie introduces himself as Chewbacca and pledges to protect Han with his life, and their mutual disgust of slavery was one of the things that would keep both of these smugglers from crossing the line into hardened criminals.
3 Helped Bust Some Human Traffickers
Every so often, Han and Chewie would get low on funds and take a questionable job, and that's what happens in Han Solo's Revenge, the second book of the Han Solo At Stars' End trilogy. When Han and Chewie reach the pickup point, they find out that the cargo is slaves, and we already know that these dudes do not abide.
The plot has some twists and turns, and in the end, our hero manages to outwit the authorities, free the slaves, and get paid for a delivery that he never made. Pretty awesome plan for a character that everyone calls a lovable meathead.
2 Discovered The Lost Treasure Of Xim The Despot
A smuggler is a kind of pirate, and Han Solo always owned his staunch materialist values, so of course, there's a story that involves him and Chewie looking for a lost treasure ship. This is the third story in the Han Solo At Stars' End series.
This is one of the few times that Han takes a legit job and it goes sour through no fault of his own. When an old friend approaches him with what seems like an easy hunt for the Queen of Rangoon, the lost treasure ship of Xim The Despot, Han is reluctant but can't really find a good reason to say no. On the way, they are assailed by cultists and competing treasure hunters, only to find out that the treasure isn't exactly what they bargained for. A failure, but they can still take credit for finding it, which is pretty awesome.
1 He Made The Kessel Run (In Two Different Continuities)
Every so often, Han and Chewie would get desperate for work, and this would lead to their trust threshold coming down somewhat. When Han is approached by a gruff old man in a bar about some shady deal that involves something like human trafficking, the hotshot pilot tries to sell his smuggling talents by bragging about making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
This may not sound like a big deal, but a parsec is a measure of distance, not time, as this brag would suggest. In order to do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, Han Solo would have had to break the laws of space and time. And that's exactly what he did.
The Kessel Run is a total of 20 parsecs, and it's dotted with black holes. Pilots that know what they're doing can pass closer to the black holes and cut down on the total distance they have to travel, and Han is one of those pilots. When Han made this boast to Obi-Wan, he was referring to his smuggling abilities, not the speed of his ship.
Viewers witness Han Solo make the infamous Kessel Run in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which is considered official canon. However, Han and Chewie also pull off this famous stunt in TheHan Solo Trilogy of novels while doing a job for Jabba the Hutt and even travels the route multiple times. This version is now considered part of the Legends continuity.