Harrison Ford has had the opportunity to play two of the greatest and most iconic characters in cinematic history in the forms of Han Solo and Indiana Jones. They are two amazing heroes from two separate and amazing worlds and both characters have their positives and negatives.
Each character is a smooth talker and a bit of a ladies man, while also being more than capable of holding their own in a fight. They always end up looking out for others, even if it's begrudgingly, and both have a serious comedic edge to them as well.
While they are two true and amazing heroes, it isn't easy to determine which one is the greatest. However, in this list, we will take a look at five reasons why Han Solo is the better hero and five reasons why Indiana Jones is more heroic.
Han Solo: Blaster Brilliance
Han Solo is a very normal character in a world full of Jedi, Sith's and other wild aliens who all have an array of powers and weapons. Yet Han Solo is able to stand out and dominate with just a blaster in his hand, which is far from the best weapon in the Star Wars universe.
However, despite that fact, Han manages to handle himself incredibly well throughout his life. He causes a lot of problems for everyone who manages to get in his way and he always manages to fight his way out of a situation, having brilliant accuracy with the weapon.
Indiana Jones: Whip Wonders
While Han Solo might be very hand with a blaster, Indiana Jones' weapon of choice is even less fearful than that, as he simply uses a whip. While he does manage to get his hands on guns throughout the movies, his main reliable weapon is the whip.
Of course, it causes huge damage to everyone who ends up on the receiving end of it, and there's no doubt that this is a tougher weapon to really survive with. The fact he manages to do exactly that is something that showcases just how heroic of a character he is.
Han Solo: Rescuing The Princess
All classic heroes used to save a princess back in the old days. All good books have a knight in shining armor doing this, and within the Star Wars world it is no different as Han Solo (with Luke) manages to rescue Princess Leia. This is one of the reasons why he is the biggest hero within the galaxy far, far away.
Why everything Han does throughout the movies has a personal motive at the heart of it, he does end up becoming a very helpful character. He helps to rescue several people throughout the saga and always seems to be looking out for others, even if he will act as if that's not the case.
Indiana Jones: Fighting Ability
Something that Indiana Jones deserves a lot of credit for against Han Solo is his pure fighting ability. We are talking hand to hand combat against others in a good old fashioned fistfight. While Han does do his share of fighting as well, it is nowhere near on the level of Indy.
When it comes to getting up close and personal with the action, he is the man you want and is heroically brave at consistent points. On the other hand, Han does sometimes like to run and hide a little, allowing others to pick up the slack whereas Indy is happy to just get stuck in.
Han Solo: The Ultimate Sacrifice
While people will always think about Han Solo for his epic fights, his interactions with Luke and Leia or flying around in the Millenium Falcon, one of his most heroic moments doesn't involve anything like that. The moment he makes the ultimate sacrifice is actually in his death.
Even though Han doesn't know he is going to die, he makes the choice to head towards his son, who is in full Kylo Ren mode, to try and bring Ben Solo back out of him. While he ends up dying because of it, that brave and heroic sacrifice ends up planting the seed for Ben to start fighting back against the Dark Side within his own mind.
Indiana Jones: He's The Lead Character
While there's no denying that Han Solo is one of the main characters in the Star Wars franchise, the fact he is only one of the lead characters is a big reason for why Indiana Jones is the better hero. The lead role of Solo's story is very much Luke Skywalker, but for the Indiana Jones films, it is quite obviously the lead in his films.
Because of that Indiana does have a slight edge, as he is involved in far more action throughout the movies than Han is. That's why he is a greater hero out of the two, as this character carries the entire franchise with his heroic actions.
Han Solo: Flying Ability
Indiana Jones can lay claim to a lot of things, and one of those is the fact that he can fly planes. However, as he famously claims, he can "Fly yes, land, no." On the other hand, Han Solo is arguably one of the greatest pilots in the entire Star Wars franchise.
While he normally does have a very helpful co-pilot helping him out, Han is an incredible pilot which is one of the biggest ways he helps out throughout the movies. While a lot of focus is on epic battles on the ground, Star Wars has plenty of aerial battles as well, where Han shows his heroic abilities on a regular basis.
Indiana Jones: A Greater Grizzled Veteran
Harrison Ford has been able to play both Han Solo and Indiana Jones in their primes, and once they have gotten older and slowed down. In the most recent Star Wars trilogy or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Ford gets to play them when they've become grizzled veterans.
While there's no doubt the Star Wars movies are better when it comes to the older versions of the characters, there's no doubt that Indiana Jones is the more heroic. He is still kicking ass and as dominant as ever, although there is still a fifth installment to come for this character.
Han Solo: Battles Against The Force
There's no doubt that Indiana Jones has to fight against the odds throughout his movies, from guns to booby traps, Han Solo combats a totally different beast in The Force. While it might not be something that he believes is real for a long time, he quickly gets thrown first hand into the world to learn all about it.
Whether it's Force powers or lightsabers, Han Solo has to come across a lot of different battles that are certainly more difficult than anything that Indy faces. Because of that, an argument can certainly be made for Han being more heroic, simply because the danger levels are arguably much higher.
Indiana Jones: Intelligence
While Han Solo became incredibly popular as a character because he was a smooth-talking ladies man who was, at times fair selfish, Indiana Jones isn't out looking for accolades with his adventures. Instead, he is out doing everything to try and make discoveries to help science.
This character is far more intelligent if you were to just compare the two of them at point-blank and the fact that he is someone who pushes intelligence is a great example to others. Indiana Jones' intelligence is one of his biggest traits and is one of the reasons that he is able to be very heroic.