Geek Out Moment of the Day – The Han Solo / Indiana Jones Crossover

How does something like this get by me?  I must be slipping in my old age!

In 2004, Dark Horse published a short ten page comic as part of the Star Wars Tales series.  In this comic Han Solo and Indiana Jones cross paths, albeit not in the way some would suspect.

Allow me to explain:  While being pursued by an Imperial Star Destroyer, Han and Chewbacca make an uncalculated jump to lightspeed, which any geek knows is a dangerous move.  Consequences include flying right through a star or bouncing too close to a supernova and that’d end your trip real quick, wouldn’t it?

But as luck would have it, they survive the jump and find themselves in an unfamiliar galaxy.  With the battle damaged Falcon failing fast, they head for a nearby planet.  Unfortunately, the rear repulsors fail and the Falcon crashes.  Han and Chewie, trapped on a world reminiscent of Endor, are forced to set out and find help.

While exploring the forest, they are attacked by Native Americans and Han is fatally wounded.  Chewbacca, who the Native Americans think is a Sasquatch, manages to escape and carries the dying Han back to the Falcon.  The story then picks up 126 years later, with Professor Henry Jones and his sidekick Short Round, trekking through the woods on the hunt for the mythical Sasquatch.  Their guide leads him to a mysterious cave which we can recognize as the Falcon.  Indy and Short Round creep inside and discover Solo’s skeleton sitting in his pilots chair.

The sight feels “somehow familiar” to Indy and, in a change of heart, he decides to call off the search.  The final panel shows Chewbacca, perched in a tree above, looking sullenly down at the remains of the Falcon.

As a fan of both Star Wars and Indiana Jones, this is a dream come true and I feel ashamed for just finding out about it now!  Shame on me.  Anyways, the entire 10-page story can be found in Star Wars Tales #19 or in Volume 5 of the graphic novel of the same name.  The story is non-cannon, obviously, but is still an enjoyable read and a nice nod to Harrison Ford.