‘Star Wars’ Canon Vs. Legends: Han And Leia's Kids
If there is one thing that many fans and storytellers agree on at the end of Return of the Jedi, it is that Han and Leia definitely end up together. Not only that, they would also raise a family together. This is something that both the Legends and canon timelines have kept together. Furthermore, their kids would go on to become Jedi, and also fell to the dark side. What are the differences between the two timelines? Are there other similarities? Let’s do a deep dive and see just what the parenthood of Han and Leia was like in both Legends and in canon.
One Kid, Two Kid, Three Kids….
The biggest difference between Legends and canon is the number of kids that Han and Leia had. In Legends Han and Leia’s children were Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo. The twins Jacen and Jaina were by far the more popular and famous of the Solo children, first appearing in The Last Command, the final installment of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. In many ways, these two are positioned to be the new stars of the post-Endor era as the next generation of Jedi who will succeed Luke in defending the galaxy. They will have their own book series as well in the Young Jedi Knight series. Anakin was born in Dark Horse’s Dark Empire II, and was almost possessed by Emperor Palpatine in his attempt to live forever.
In canon Han and Leia only had one child, Ben Solo. Ben was born not long after the Battle of Endor. As he was the one and only child of Han and Leia, the pressure of continuing the legacy of the Solos, the Skywalkers, and the Jedi were thrust upon him from an early age. Not much of his time as a Jedi was known except that he was Luke’s first official student when he restarted the Jedi Order. However, like his Legends counterpart, the dark side struck, and it struck hard.
Tragedy On All Fronts
If there is one thing that follows the Skywalkers, it is tragedy. In both Legends and canon the Solo-Organa children both fell to dark fates after a certain period of time.
In Legends, Anakin Solo, the youngest of the Solo children, died during the Yuzhong Vong War after already having an estranged relationship with his father because of the death of Chewbacca. His older brother Jacen Solo fell to the dark side and became Darth Caedus. The Dark Lord of the Sith would be killed by his twin sister Jaina. While Jaina would continue living as a Jedi, she would be very much haunted and scarred by these events for the remainder of her years.
Things did not fare well in canon either. As Ben Solo grew up, he became more and more distant from his family as he became enamored by the dark side of the force. Whispers from Palpatine and Snoke played with his mind, manipulating him, and pushing to push him further and further to the dark side. However, it was not until Luke Skywalker himself broke the camel’s back by almost killing his own nephew after having visions of him destroying the Jedi Order and everything he had worked so hard to rebuild. Despite stopping himself, it was too late. The damage was done, and Ben Solo decided to walk down the dark path, becoming Kylo Ren.
Eventually he would betray his master Snoke, becoming the Supreme Leader of the First Order. He would discover that the rise of the First Order and Snoke was the machinations of Emperor Palpatine himself. Rey and his mother Leia were able to bring him back to the light side of the Force. In a final act of heroism, he helped defeat the Emperor and resurrect Rey from death, insuring that the Jedi legacy would survive.
Always Some Truth In Legends
A dark side child and tragedy seemed to be the fate of the Organa-Solo family. However, they would find redemption, and light would prevail in the end. The progeny of heroes left the galaxy as heroes, and new heroes were allowed to continue in their place. Both Legends and canon stories had similar ending, but with more happiness in one than the other.
After all, there is always a bit of truth in Legends, especially in that galaxy far, far away.
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