The Full History Behind Han Solo's Famous Blaster
The blaster that shot first. Or did it? Whether you believe Han shot first or not, either way you’re talking about his iconic blaster, the DL-44. While fans often know a lot about each lightsaber that the main characters wield, the trillions of non-Force sensitive beings in the Star Wars galaxy will likely never see one. Blasters are, by far, the weapon of choice for security forces, bounty hunters, and your average civilian living through the chaos and danger that is the Star Wars galaxy.
Han Solo is known galaxy-wide as a smuggler who can be trusted as far as you can throw Chewbacca, while simultaneously being one of the best in the game. The blaster he uses is similarly well-known, at least to the beings of the Star Wars galaxy.
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The DL-44 is a heavy blaster pistol that was designed and manufactured by BlasTech Industries, a well-known arms manufacturer in the Galactic Republic, which continued into the Galactic Empire and the New Republic eras. The DL-44 heavy blaster pistol was actually banned by the Empire in the Legends Expanded Universe because of its frequent use by smugglers and rebellion fighters.
From a chronological standpoint, Han first uses the iconic blaster in Solo: A Star Wars Story after the fight and escape from the mining world Mimban when he joins Tobias Beckett’s team. Beckett stole the weapon from the Imperial outpost with it originally in rifle configuration. He then took it apart and modified it to be a weapon fast enough for the trouble in which the smugglers frequently find themselves.
Han Solo builds up his reputation as a smuggler over the years, and the next time we see him with his trusted DL-44 is when he uses it to fry Greedo in the Mos Eisley cantina, before jetting off to the remains of Alderaan.
Han shows that he has an attachment to his blaster right from the beginning when he tells Luke, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” in Star Wars: A New Hope, as Luke is just starting his training with his father's lightsaber. Throughout all of Han’s journeys, he relies on his modified DL-44 when not in disguise, even going so far as to use it against Darth Vader at point-blank range in Cloud City.
Han’s attachment to the blaster makes sense, as it is an easily modified weapon that can be changed to suit various occasions. The DL-44 that Han uses was already modified by Beckett, but he went on to make his own modifications, including removing the scope to improve the speed at which the blaster could be drawn from its holster. The few milliseconds that this saves is likely the way Han was able to survive so long as a wanted criminal — Greedo was likely not the only one that wasn’t fast enough against the galaxy’s greatest smuggler.
For anyone who wants to put their own blaster skills to the test, you can play as Han Solo with his modified DL-44 blaster in many of the Star Wars: Battlefront games. In Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005), there was very little variation between blasters, but Han’s DL-44 was noticeably faster and stronger than the others, including many of the other hero’s guns. In Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017) the developers made sure it was more balanced, but the blaster still deals the second highest amount of damage per shot in the game.
Across Star Wars canon, Legends and even the video games, Han Solo’s modified DL-44 heavy blaster pistol is a force to be reckoned with. For anyone that plans to get in the way of the galaxy’s best smuggler, you’ll need a quick draw or you’d be best to steer clear.
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