Vader Vs Solo: New Star Wars Comic Reveals Who’s REALLY The Best Pilot
Don't get cocky.
The Star Wars comics are continuing to fill in some blanks and answer questions fans have been wondering about for years, and a new issue solves a fun debate.
Just who is the better pilot: Han Solo or Darth Vader?
Han is defined as, and certainly considers himself, the best pilot in the galaxy, but we’ve seen glimpses of Anakin Skywalker’s own greatness too, and Star Wars #51 pits their skills against each other.
Set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the comic continues the plot thread of Leia and a number of Rebels being stuck on the planet Mako-Ta after being betrayed, with the Empire - led by Vader - boxing them in on all sides with their cruisers disabled and X-Wings grounded.
Their only chance of escape is to fly a ship past the cruisers, because the proximity sensors will allow the X-Wings to escape, but every effort only ends up in Vader’s Death Squadron shooting them down.
That’s when Han and Chewie arrive in the Millennium Falcon, which should be the cavalry arriving to save the day, and that’s certainly how Han expects things to go down. The Falcon’s unexpected presence causes havoc among the Empire, and easily navigates its way through the TIE Fighters and Star Destroyers, getting close to the cruiser.
That’s when one TIE breaks free from the crowd and gives chase, and it’s piloted by Vader himself. Han, who had betrayed his own warning in A New Hope and got very cocky by this point, attempts to flee, but it turns out his skills are no match for Vader. The Sith Lord not only damages the Falcon, but the issue ends with him having the ship in his sights, ready to pull the trigger.
We know they’ll get out of it somehow, but for now it serves as confirmation that Vader really is a better pilot than Solo.