Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars #14
In the latest issue of Marvel's Star Wars, Leia Organa is determined to save Han Solo who's been trapped in carbonite, but she and her fellow Rebels are doomed to fail. In the days after Empire Strikes Back, the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett lost Solo before delivering him to Jabba the Hutt, creating an opportunity for several beings in the galaxy to try and claim the smuggler for themselves in the new crossover event known as the War of the Bounty Hunters. While Luke, Lando, and especially Leia are of course among the number wanting to save their friend, they've sadly already lost, and not just because fans know they won't succeed in saving Han until he's already with Jabba during Return of the Jedi.
Surprisingly, Han Solo was stolen from Boba Fett by none other than Crimson Dawn, having been reborn after being hidden in the shadows for years. Led by the Lady Qi'ra, Crimson Dawn rightly identifies Solo as the most valuable being in the galaxy. By stealing him from Fett, they're hoping to use him as the ultimate bargaining chip to re-legitimize their operations and status in the galaxy at large. However, they've most definitely created a larger conflict than they've realized, potentially overestimating how far some players are willing to go to claim him, or in Fett's case to get him back.
Now, Leia has received word that Crimson Dawn has Solo in Star Wars #14 from Charles Soule and Ramon Rosanas, and she believes the time is right to save him. However, Luke can tell that Leia's priorities are misplaced and that her confidence has been shaken. Her latest encounter with the Empire's Commander Zahra left her with an absence of hope, so she's now desperately wanting to save Han (the love of her life) believing that her hope will then be restored. However, the interim has seen her operating somewhat ineffectively as a leader, which doesn't instill the greatest confidence towards their future success in saving Han.
Rushing to save Han certainly seems like a misstep, and the rest of the issue certainly supports that idea. Leia had chosen to use the Millennium Falcon for the mission out of sentiment for Han, though Lando comments that using such a familiar ship is a tactical mistake and a liability. Sure enough, they're almost immediately attacked upon their arrival to the planet where Crimson Dawn is offering Han Solo to the galaxy by Black Sun, a major crime syndicate with ties to Crimson Dawn. Despite crash-landing near Dawn's imposing cruiser, Leia is unfazed, claiming that the Rebels are Han's only hope. However, it certainly seems as though Han is the only hope for Leia to get back to her normal self.
As if Leia's complicated and compromising actions weren't bad enough, fans already known that they're going to fail, seeing as how Han Solo's rescue doesn't happen until Return of the Jedi at Jabba's palace. However, just because the final chapter is known doesn't mean that there won't still be more surprises in store (like the Crimson Dawn reveal). As War of the Bounty Hunters continues, here's hoping Leia will be able to figure out how to be the hero and great general she's always been, with or without Han Solo in future issues of the Star Wars series.