Lit Han and Leia in the EU - A Discussion Thread (Life Debt spoilers must be tagged)

For those interested in discussing Han and Leia's relationship and them individually as characters in the new books and comics and also the old Legends.

The Legends EU did a great job with Han and Leia's marriage post NJO. They worked together as a team, were basically inseparable, and had lots of romantic moments. Leia was characterized well with her spirit and sass and got to kick ass as a Jedi and Han found that balance between being a rogue and respectable husband and father. Let's hope the new EU follows suit!

What do we know? We know Leia became an influential New Republic politician and Han became a racing pilot (Visual Dictionary). Pablo Hidalgo has confirmed they got married immediately after ROTJ and had Ben nine months after ROTJ, so it looks like he was a wedding night conception

We know Han and Leia are still together in Bloodline which takes place 6 years before TFA and that Bloodline has some good Han/Leia moments. Claudia Gray sounds like a big Han/Leia fan from her interviews and tweets, so I can't wait to read them!

We know they had about 24 years of happiness and then the Jedi Massacre and their split happened sometime between Bloodline and TFA.

What I'd love to see in the new books and comics is lots of moments of them working as a team together (maybe Han could be Leia's unofficial pilot when she has to travel for work?), lots of romantic moments, and them having a strong, loving marriage until the tragedy of what happens to Ben breaks them apart. I want to see their wedding and Leia finding out she's pregnant covered in a book or comic (pleasepleaseplease have Troy Denning do it, he was awesome at Han/Leia). I'd like to see moments of Han, Leia and Ben as a happy family before it all went wrong. And in the book that deals with their separation, I hope it's done in a respectful way that shows they still love each other (which they obviously do in TFA!) I also hope the books written during the time period that they're separated show how much they still love and miss the other (and if they try to something insane like pair Leia off with an Isolder equivalent, I will start a riot....)

What I don't want to see is a repeat of the old Bantam era books where they were split up for 95% of the book and acted like roommates when they did see each other. Del Rey did such a great job of showing them working together as a team and actually acting like a married couple, I hope the new EU follow suit.

All those interested in reading more about Han/Leia in the new EU, feel free to chime in!

 

I'm looking forward to this new crop of books and comics to see just how H/L got to where we saw them in TFA. And I so desperately want to see them in happier times, sharing family adventures together. I've always figured that Leia would continue to pursue a career in politics, but I interested in finding out how Han got into racing and how he and Leia merge the two diverse careers into their family life. First thing first, of course, and that is their wedding. Hopefully, we'll get at least a comic book series that covers this important event in their lives.

 

I think it's a good idea repost this here.

Bloodline, by Claudia Gray, will be focused on Leia.



http://clubjade.net/?p=68128

USA Today has our first look at Bloodline, the novel by Claudia Gray that we learn will focus on Leia Organa “some years” before The Force Awakens. (We heard 6 years when the book was first announced.)



Read between the lines:
Leia is professionally at a good place, as a senator and leader in a peaceful New Republic decades after the fall of Vader and the Emperor’s stranglehold on the galaxy. However, Gray says that a new generation doesn’t remember the lessons of the Rebellion or recognize the wrongs of the Empire, and Leia begins to see the cracks in the foundation that could lead to a dangerous future for the galaxy.
Family is a major theme overall in the Star Wars films and it plays a key role in one of the book’s most significant events, “one that has pretty far-reaching repercussions for several characters,” Gray says. “However, this novel isn’t fundamentally about Leia as a wife, sister or mom; this is about the role she’s created for herself since the fall of the Empire, and the one she takes up by the time of (The Force Awakens).”
Some The Force Awakens characters will appear in the book – Korr Sella gets a mention in the excerpt – but there will be some new ones as well, including Ransolm Casterfo, a young senator who “collects artifacts from the Empire.”
It’s nice to see a Leia-centric book set in a pivotal point in the new era – and it looks like this may clear up a few questions left about the timeline and political situation leading up to The Force Awakens. Gray’s Lost Stars got a lot of praise – let’s hope she has similar success with movie characters.
Bloodline is due out in hardcover and eBook May 3.

Read an excerpt from Chapter 13 of 'Star Wars: Bloodline.'


http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...line-exclusive-excerpt-cover-reveal/79692922/

Spoiler

An entire generation has prospered during an era of peace. The New Republic, governed by the Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime, has held power for more than two decades. Yet conflict has begun to take shape within the Senate. As political gridlock threatens to cripple the fledgling democracy, the quarrels of the New Republic will soon radiate throughout the galaxy. . .

The conference building of the New Republic senatorial complex contained multiple rooms appropriate for every kind of auxiliary function imaginable, from memorial concerts to awards ceremonies. Leia Organa and Tai-Lin Garr headed toward one of the smallest banquet rooms. The breakfast meeting had been organized by VarishVicly, who couldn’t imagine a bad time for a party.

Varish came loping toward them now on all fours. “There you are! I was worried you’d be late.”

“We’re still early,” Leia protested as both she and Tai-Lin were wrapped in quick, long-limbed hugs.

“Yes, but I worry. You know how these guys get.”

“Now come along and be introduced to everyone,” Varish insisted. Soon Leia found herself shaking hands and paws, murmuring greetings; thanks to some review holos Korr Sella had prepared for her, she recognized each senator in attendance and could even ask a few pertinent questions about their families and worlds.

They entered the banquet hall together, the entire group walking two by two. Leia knew the seat at the far end of the table would be hers, guest of honor as counterpart to the host. So she walked the length of the room, attentive to the senator at her side, before glancing down at the arrangements — sumptuous even by Varish’s standards, with a velvet runner stretching along the table and delicate paper streamers lying across the tables, beneath elaborately folded napkins. Leia had to laugh. “Honestly, Varish. For breakfast?” In other words, Leia thought as she listened to someone cheerfully talk about his grandchildren, this is going wonderfully for everyone but me.

This won good-natured chuckles from the room; Varish Vicly’s lavish tastes were well known, a foible she herself joked about. Today, however, she shrugged. “I didn’t request this. Maybe the serving staff heard my name and assumed that meant to go all out.” Varish smiled as she took her seat. “If that’s my reputation . . . you know, I can live with it.”

Leia settled into her chair, picked up her napkin — and stopped.

Something was written on the paper streamer on her plate. Actual writing. Virtually nobody wrote any longer; it had been years since Leia had seen actual words handwritten in ink on anything but historical documents.

But today, someone had left this message on her plate, only one word long:

RUN.

Leia shoved her chair back, instantly leaping to her feet. “We have to get out of here,” she said to the startled senators at the table. “Now. Go!”

But they didn’t move, even as she dashed toward the door. Varish said, “Leia? What in the world's —”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Damn fools who had never been in the war, who didn’t know an urgent warning when they got one. Leia held up the paper so they could see it. “Run! Everyone get up and run!”

With that, she took off, running as fast as she could, finally hearing the others stir behind her. Maybe they thought the note was only a prank, but Leia knew better. The inchoate dread that had swirled inside her all morning had solidified; this was what her feelings had been warning her about.

As they dashed through the hallways of the conference building, Leia glimpsed an alert box and swerved sideways to hit it. A robotic voice said, “No detected hazards at this — ”

“Override! Evacuation alert now!” Leia resumed running just as the warning lights began to blink and the siren’s wail sounded. Immediately people began filing out of various other rooms, mostly grumbling but at least moving toward the exits — and when they saw her, they, too, started to run. The sense of urgency built behind her like a wave cresting, preparing to crash.

Leia’s breath caught in her throat as she pushed herself harder, running full out toward the doors, so fast they almost didn’t have time to open for her. In the square beyond, security droids had begun herding people away from the building, but too many continued to mill around, staring in consternation at the scene. The others evacuating flooded through the doors behind and around her, but once they were clear of the structure, half of them stopped, remaining stupidly within range.

Within range of what? She still didn’t know. But every instinct within her told her disaster was near.

Leia didn’t stop. She kept running as hard as she could, never looking back, until . . .

Brilliant light. A roar so loud it resonated in her skull. And hot air and debris slamming into her, knocking her down, rolling her over, erasing the world.

 

Since a story that covers their wedding and Han and Leia finding out she's pregnant would be pretty warm and fuzzy, I feel like it might be better covered in a comic than a full book. Something like Union in the old Legends EU. They're doing a great job with Han/Leia art in the recent comics.

EDIT: I just bought the Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy and there are a few cute Han/Leia bits.

Some foreshadowing when Han has a girl on his lap (he's thinking about the two other girls he's got in other space ports, and can't remember this girl's name, haha): Han, to Chewie: "Hey, you're the married one. Find me a human girl with Malla's brains and silky hair and maybe I'll consider it."

When Han first meets Leia: "It wasn't often that Han found himself caught off guard. But standing in front of him, big brown eyes blazing, face bright from the short run she'd just taken, dark hair falling out of ridiculous coils arond her ears, was one of the loveliest women Han had ever seen. That fact - where had he seen that face?"

In the garbage compactor: "Leia reached out blindly with her hand, and Han seized it. Hey, if he was going to die, at least it would be next to a beautiful girl"


Interesting that Han appears to have seen Leia before. Maybe they meet in the Young Han Solo movie?

 

I absolutely love Han and Leia and can't wait to see more of them in the future. I've been writing a lot of fanfics of them, I found they're storyline heartbreaking.

Sent from my LGL33L using Tapatalk

 

If they get married the night of the Endor celebration or the next day as has been suggested, then, yes, it would probably be better handled in a comic book. However, if they wait even a week or two, with all the mopping up to be done, then maybe their wedding could be included in a novel. Either way, I'll be happy.

I've read The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy and I totally forgot about those scenes you mentioned, although, for some reason, I do remember him thinking he'd seen Leia somewhere before. I'm going to have to go back and reread it. I wouldn't exactly call Han a womanizer per se, but he was at a point in his life where he was footloose and fancy free. He wasn't looking for anything serious, so it makes a little sense that he'd have a girl in every port. I'm sure he did enjoy a little female companionship . It's kind of funny he couldn't keep their names straight, though. Just goes to show how little they meant to him. Leia, on the other hand, was unlike any of these other girls and I think that intrigued him. Little did he know how much meeting her would change his life.

 

The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy is the best of the new novelizations of the OT, and Moving Target is one of the best Journay to the Force Awakens books.

 

I really enjoyed The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy too so how I seemed to forget much of it is beyond me. Even though I have Moving Target I haven't gotten it read yet. Instead I've been reading So You Want to Be a Jedi which I find to be really humorous. I was a little disappointed, though, when the author said he left out all the mushy stuff.

 

unicorn

Thank you for starting this thread! Now maybe the mods can stop scolding us for getting off topic.

I haven't read The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy, but it sounds like I should pick that one up. I hadn't read any of the new novelization for the OT because I guess I got scared off by the comment about the omission of mushy stuff.

I read and enjoyed Smuggler's Run and Moving Target.

Han and Leia banter can be so much fun when written right. I look forward to seeing more of it in the upcoming books. I also hope that we get some of that mushy stuff as well.

 

What does Han do that makes her so mad she kicks him? Han and Leia ANH-ESB has always been one of my favourite time periods for them. The old EU had a great comic ICE that was about them developing their feelings for each other but both still in denial over it.

Han's definitely portrayed as the womanizer type in the Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy. In the old EU Legends though, it's said pretty clearly that he wasn't with any women inbetween ANH and ESB because of his feelings for Leia. Not sure if the new EU will follow this - though since there only appears to be like one other women in the Rebellion, maybe there wasn't the opportunity It'll be interesting to see how the new Young Han Solo movie shows him.

Han also recognizes Leia's name when Luke mentions her in the ANH novelization. It definitely sounds like they're hinting there was a previous meeting between the two, or maybe Han just recognized her from TV (whatever the GFFA equivalent is) as a Princess.

That's too bad about the ESB novelization skipping that part. That's the best part of ESB! I would have loved to see an indepth novelization that really got into Han and Leia's heads during it.

Has anyone read the Leia graphic novel? Are there any cute Han/Leia parts in it?

 

In the other thread, I said that I'm reading the Princess Leia Graphic Novel. I don't know if that's the right thing to call it or not. It's the Princess Leia mini-series of comic books combined in paperback form. It takes place between ANH and ESB. As Leia comes to term with her losses she goes on a mission to rescue surviving Alderaanians because they're being hunted down by the Empire. I'm not finished with it yet, but Han and Luke showed up at the beginning of the series but there isn't much interaction. Later though, when Leia needs to use a fake name she uses the last name of Solo.

I'm a little distracted by the fact that Leia doesn't look anything like Leia except for in the flashbacks to her youth.

 

I've got some reading to do. What is the name of the comic


I love the idea of Ben being a surprise wedding gift, I hope we get that soon and done right

Going to download Smuggler's Run soon
I've been missing out, because I was mad at George for selling to Disney
But my Disney rant is a whole different issue

At least the Jedi and Empire novelizations did a good job, though I would have liked more of Leia's pov. I may have to go back and do some rereading.

Posted by HAL 9000 via Tapatalk

 

There's some decent Han & Leia bickering throughout the first 12 issues of Marvel's newest Star Wars run, worth looking out for that. It's interesting that Aaron throws in a potential romantic landmine into their relationship early on post ANH, which would leave the serious romantic moments to happen as needed to in ESB.

As for Han & Leia in TFA, I love all their stuff together but probably my favourite moment is "New jacket" or especially Leia's "And don't say the Death Star!" "Oy...." that's the mostly fun stuff but due to what transpired in between the films, and what the stakes are, naturally their interactions are a bit more weighty this time.

 

Star Wars: Princess Leia (Star Wars (Marvel)) Paperback - November 3, 2015

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...4_i1_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-

 

So far I'm loving both of them. I like how they enjoy pushing each other's buttons, attracted to each other but refusing to admit it. They find it so easy. I hope they keep doing it that well. I want more.. I agree though the drawing in the comic book could be better.

 

Frankly, Jello normally has better taste, for this was the notoriously dire 'Sana Solo is Han's wife' plot thread that afflicted the Star Wars comic for 5 issues more than it should have. Immonen drew the hell out of it but the entire plot thread, at both the concept and execution levels, is utter rubbish.

It relies on Leia basically being mad at Han for - well, knowing women other than her. They haven't known each other that long either, this being just after ANH, so there's no romantic relationship on the cards so why's it such a problem? Aaron just attempts to cover it up with lots of shouting and arguing. It was crap for both characters.

 

Well, if that's all you want out it, then yeah, suppose it works fine.

It's still a glittering turd of a plotline.

 

I haven't read the comic, but the Sana thing got resolved didn't it? It turned out it was all a scam and they were never married?

At least it's better than the awfulness of Bria Tharen! Glad that's not canon any more.

However, for stuff I'll miss in Legends, here's a great quote from Troy Denning:

This would be especially true of Han and Leia, who lost both Chewbacca and their son Anakin to the enemy. It's often said that personal tragedy either draws a couple together or drives them apart, and breaking up the Solos is not an option. (Even after the NJO, some ideas remain off-limits.) So they would have to emerge from the war closer than ever, realizing that they have the strength to face anything -- as long as they are together.

Sigh, if only we'd gotten this version of them in TFA instead of the cynical one we got.

 

Uh... Yeah, but only after five issues of complete arse over it.

And Sana remains alive... I mean, Vader's only killed 373 beings so far, he couldn't include her in the tally?

EDIT: We're now looking for solace in the words of Darth Denning? Truly no one would have seen that coming!

 

In Force Awakens, they aren't bitterly separated or anything or apparently even underwent divorce. The sadness of what Ben did drove them into their "work", basically, which are in very different respective spheres. I don't see that as cynical at all, adds more pathos and I love the dramatic weight behind their interactions in TFA with that history.

 

I can understand what happened, and it is good drama, but I still feel ripped off. We should have had more, and a better understanding of things before the Sith hit the fan.

 

well there is a hellova long gap between Episode VI and VII which is bountiful with potential Han & Leia stuff and their family dynamic. One would assume Ben was at least around in their lives until he was 10 so that's bound to be depicted. Like I doubt Han & Leia took a look at a three year old and mused "Hmmmm. Too much Vader in that toddler. Off to your Uncle Luke's boarding school with you!"