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The best Solo story you've never read: 'Star Wars: Legacy II'

Comic Books

The best Solo story you’ve never read: ‘Star Wars: Legacy II’

This Solo story has it all.

The best Solo story you've never read: 'Star Wars: Legacy II'

Way back in 2013 I stumbled upon a series titled Star Wars: Legacy Vol. 2 and was instantly taken by the lead character and the exceptional art. Five years later and it’s funny to think creators Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are writing and drawing some of the most important sci-fi stories today. Back in 2013 they were writing one of the most exciting Star Wars series I’ve ever read, set far into the future (138 ABY for Legends fans) and featuring a character named Ania Solo. The character is a descendant of Han Solo (Dark Horse lists her as his great-great granddaughter), though like her great-great grandfather she relies on her wits and doesn’t take shit from anyone. The character is young, but a badass in her own right and may even have a touch of a connection to the Force. It’s a character that embodies the Han Solo character in a world without rules much like Star Wars was for all of us when we first enjoyed it. The universe is a bit chaotic and dangers lurk everywhere, and it’s in this series that Bechko and Hardman explore what makes Star Wars good at its core.

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The second issue of this series drops you right into an action scene revealing that Ania Solo is a junk dealer (funny that her dad drove a “piece of junk” and now she deals in it) and attempting to sell a lightsaber. It seems the lightsaber belongs to a Jedi who has been captured by a Sith who has taken over his identity.

Unfortunately, the Sith did this in order to manipulate the political machinations in a specific star system. It’s quite clear from the early part of this story that Ania is being embroiled in a drama that involves the Force, not unlike her father. As the story progresses a bounty hunter comes after her, she must outlive dangerous acid rain and the further dealings of Sith and Jedi.

The best Solo story you've never read: 'Star Wars: Legacy II'

Ania is a badass.

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Because this series was set so far into the future, the world was fresh and easily accessible. All you need to know was life was hard and those who were quick-witted could outlive those who stole and killed. It still had ties to Han Solo, cleverly sticking Ania with assassin droid AG-37 who made a promise to Han Solo presumably to protect his kin, but it was largely its own thing. It’s interesting to note Bechko and Hardman introduced a new robot, with a colorful use of language, much like Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story have done. It appears this is a winning element of any new Star Wars movie. Reading Star Wars: Legacy volume 1 isn’t even necessary, having no ties to this character or this timeline.

Unfortunately, this series ended way too soon due to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and the entire Star Wars pantheon. In fact, this was the final Star Wars comic book published by Dark Horse Comics, as well as the final comic released in the original Expanded Universe. Maybe someday Disney will see how great this 18 issue series was and how it could at the very least be the base of something truly great in a story set far in the future of the characters recently introduced. Hell, maybe Ania is the descendant of Ben Solo and Rey.

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