WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Star Wars #75 from Greg Pak, Phil Noto and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
In Star Wars history, Princess Leia and Han Solo seem like the perfect couple, star-crossed lovers who were fated to be together from the moment they met each other in 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope. And it seemed that way, even when Han died at the hands of their son, Kylo Ren, in The Force Awakens. In spirit, their connection would live on because they were always each other's first love.
Or so we thought.
Star Wars #75, the final issue of this particular run from Marvel Comics, proves otherwise, as we discover Leia's first love was a much more organized rebel in the form of Dar Champion, and he actually had her forgetting Han even existed in her early days with the Rebellion.
Set just before The Empire Strikes Back, Leia and Han went to Dar in order to get his liege, Boss Carpo, taken out the galactic game. Carpo was working with the Empire, secretly betraying Rebel outposts and getting them eliminated. The plan here was to fake Rebel contact from Carpo's headquarters so the Empire would retaliate and destroy his stronghold instead. However, with C-3PO and Chewie trying to blow up the rock planet, K-43, Han and Leia improvised to bring the Destroyer fleet into the planet's orbit so when it detonated, Darth Vader's squadron would be destroyed too. The only problem is Dar wasn't ready to betray his boss, which saw Leia rekindling a romance with him.
At first we thought this was to persuade Dar to get the job done, but as the story progressed, we saw Leia actually had strong feelings for Dar, even with Han present. She's just not intrigued by Han as much as she is with Dar, who's more debonair while still being reliable. Leia wants a mature and less rash person beside her, being a diplomat and whatnot, and Dar fits this. He makes it clear he loves Leia and you can tell she loves him too, with even Han realizing he's far from the man she wants in this finale.
When they eventually escape Carpo's zone and bring the Destroyer fleet to K-43, Han and Luke realize just how much he means to Leia as she and Dar join the fight against Vader. They help Chewbacca out in his brawl against the Sith Lord, with Dar and Leia revealing they'll always have each other's backs. It's apparent to everyone they're into each other and Leia honestly can't hide her affection. Even though she's like a schoolgirl around Dar, it's connection, attraction and love rather than the lust Han's constantly showing.
They eventually escape K-43 with Carpo's fleet arriving too late to intercept them. Carpo and Vader's ships run into each other, allowing the rebels to get away, with Han not hiding how upset he is Dar always ends up besides Leia. And what rubs salt in his wounds is she doesn't shoo Dar away the way she does Han. She genuinely wants her champion alongside her, and yes, Chewie is taken aback at his last name as much as we all are! Dar ends up on Hoth with them and we see the doe-eyed Leia ready to become his partner in the war, leaving Han hurt.
Leia's not even trying to make him jealous so it'll be interesting to see how Star Wars: Empire Ascendant #1, out on Dec. 18, and the relaunched title next year lead to the beginning of Empire where Dar wasn't present. There, Leia and Han looked very much into each other as the movie began so these comics will be crucial to showing us what happened to Leia and Dar's romance. It may have fizzled or maybe Leia realized she loved Han more, but either way, there's clearly a lot more to tell about this love triangle.