If Han Solo was paid his reward by the Rebel Alliance in ANH why didnt he just pay off Jabba sooner?

Because Princess Leia promised Han Solo a reward "You neednt worry about your reward, if money is that you love then thats what you'll recieve." so i assume that after Han Solo and Chewie brought Leia,Luke and the two Droids back to the Rebel Alliances Base on the fourth moon of Yavin 4 that Han Solo would have been paid off before he left, Han even says "What good is a reward if you arent around to use it?" and leaves to avoid being killed, later on he changes his mind and saves Luke's life by attacking Darth Vaders wingmen and personally causes Vader to lose control and spin away into outer space, Luke and the Rebels are all saved because of Han and Chewie helping them and given medals.

But was Han Solo given another reward of even more money after saving the Rebels from the Death Star by helping Luke make his shot? Because he still has a price on his head in ESB like he either spent the money on other stuff and failed to pay off Jabba because he wasted his reward money or forgot to pay off Jabba the Hutt, thinking that if he stayed with the Rebel Alliance for a few years that Jabba would ignore him and forget his debt.

But the question remains then, why didnt Han Solo take off to Tatooine and pay off Jabba the Hutt right after ANH and then just turn around and return to the Rebel Base and stay there for a while? Was he just afraid that the Empire would have him killed or arrested if he showed up in the Falcon?

Because Han Solo being in debt three years after already being given his reward money seems to be incredibly stupid and foolish on Hans part, either he wasnt given enough money to pay off his debt to Jabba or he decided to screw Jabba over until "The Bounty Hunter that we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind." incident made it clear that Jabba would not ever forget about or forgive his debt and that it should be payed off because a death mark is not an easy thing to live with.

 

Busy helping the Alliance I suppose.

 

He was robbed by Crimson Jack.


http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Crimson_Jack

 

So you're saying he got Jacked?

 

I never remember hearing about him getting Jacked. IIRC, there was a mission right after ANH that Han got dragged on because he was contemplating the right way to tell Leia he was interested in her, not the alliance.

Then after that, he just kept getting dragged along. Thats why in ROTJ he says "I was on my way to pay you back" and in ESB "That bounty hunter on Ord Mandell..."

After ANH he kept getting sidetracked with missions for the Alliance, well, Leia.

 

Could Han not simply do an electronic funds transfer or the GFFA equivalent to Jabba? You'd think if you've got hyperdrive and cloning technology you wouldn't have to physically walk into Jabba's palace with a sack of Imperial credits.

 

Han was too busy in the aftermath of Yavin to pay him back.

 

It's not like in the prequel days when people would freely zip back and forth in hyperspace in 5 minutes. The rebel alliance was an underground guerilla/"terrorist" force, with Han and Luke at the top of a most wanted list. Getting around isn't the same. Plus it's a nice character-related thing that shows Han knew he was still needed, playing big brother to Luke and bossing around the semi-competent rebels. And of course- he dug princess Leia, and that's a project all its own.

 

He was robbed in the Marvel Star Wars. The particular issue where he was robbed took place a few days or so after the events of ANH.

 

Leia is a good reason to get sidetracked.

 

Even if Han had an easily recognisable ship he could have just rented a ship and gone to pay off Jabba the Hutt, that way he leaves the Falcon with the Rebels and takes a rental spaceship to see Jabba and avoids the Empire recognizing him, im sure that there are ships available to rent just like you can easily rent a car here too, that wouldnt be bad idea to avoid being noticed either.

And gangsters like Jabba wouldnt want an electronic transfer, they'd probably prefer to be paid back in person to make sure that the offense was not repeated and to warn the offender not to do it again.

 

Han may have been a great pilot and could probably pilot a "rental" ship just as good as the MF, he has an attatchment to the Falcon. A love and reliable relationship with her. He wouldn't feel the need to hide, any jam he gets into he can depend on the falcon, [and maybe even the force?] to get him out of it.

 

He got a little sidetracked... it's not his fault

 

Keep in mind Jabba was all Underworld so he may not have used that. I know there are plenty of movies where the bad guys use things like Swiss bank accounts, however you never know. In Goodfellas Paulie wouldn't use a phone ever, maybe Jabba wouldn't use that kind of system ever. Besides he was robbed by Captain Jack. I have the comic too, it was only 50 cents at a used bookstore.

 

I think it's key to remember that pre-Return of the Jedi Han still has that certain scoundrel aspect about him. It's not absurd to think that he purposely wasn't concerned about paying off his debt when he could simply do away with any collectors like he did with Greedo. Mostly though I'd agree that he simply didn't want to leave Leia.