Mal Reynolds compared to Han Solo
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Monday, August 30, 2010 19:38
VIEWED: 6737
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IMO, Mal is like a deeper feeling, more realistic character than Han. Han was presented as kind of disconnected, but Mal was REALLY on the edge. Han just needed a cause; Mal needed REDEMPTION.
After Serenity, it's hard for me to watch Han Solo & really *feel* for his plight as a rogue loner (& possible Nerf Herder). An official Rebel recognition & a kiss from Leia made him all right again.
Mal is still somewhat fractured.
Thoughts?
The comparative Chrisisall
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well, I think except for the "dumped a load of spice when Imperial agents boarded him" that Han was in trouble with Jabba for, Han wasn't really involved in criminal activity (apart from the Rebels) for the entire first trilogy. He had a consistent income from the Rebels, and life was a lot easier for him.
Plus, Han never really went through anything like Mal did, he went to Stormtrooper Academy, then skipped out when he happened to be guarding a group of wookie slaves and felt sorry for them.
Han might have had more financial troubles if he had to feed eight other people, rather than just himself and his copilot.
Mal was like an essay on how often someone can get kicked when they're down. His life is almost a farce in difficulties; he never makes money, he never is able to hold on to money, so he's always desperately scrambling for food for his crew and parts for his ship. And that's not even scratching the surface of the tragic backstory or his deep seated emotional issues.
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Quote:Get ready for fan complication here: IS THAT CANNON??????
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Plus, Han .... went to Stormtrooper Academy, then skipped out when he happened to be guarding a group of wookie slaves and felt sorry for them.
The laughing Chrisisall
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Maybe it's just me, but I think it's kinda unfair to compare and contrast the two characters solely based on what we get to see in the Original Trilogy or the BDS/BDM.
Mal definitely comes off the more fleshed-out character of the two, but the EU novels covering Han Solo's life before meeting his future wife and brother-in-law do show that Han had a crap life until he was in his teens: didn't know his parents, grew up as part of a criminal gang with his only friend was the female Wookie cook (who got killed in front of him aiding his escape), got drummed out of the Imperial Navy for saving Chewie from getting beaten by a work gang overseer...
Overall, I think the characters are more equal than people think, but Han does come off with the "easier" life in the long run...close friends, 3 children and a happy marriage, war hero, etc. At least until the events of the New Jedi Order, where he loses Chewie and his youngest son. Then the eventual fall of his elder son to the Dark Side...
"The revenge of the beaten comes in refusing to fall." -- Mal, in "The Losing Side - Chapter 45" by jetflair
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Quote:That sounds sucky to me. I'm glad I didn't read that...
Originally posted by BlueEyedBrigadier:
until the events of the New Jedi Order, where he loses Chewie and his youngest son. Then the eventual fall of his elder son to the Dark Side...
The not-laughing Chrisisall
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I believe the xkcd forums have an entire thread on precisely this subject
EDIT: http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=27991
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Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:Get ready for fan complication here: IS THAT CANNON??????
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Plus, Han .... went to Stormtrooper Academy, then skipped out when he happened to be guarding a group of wookie slaves and felt sorry for them.
*shoots chrisisall with the Extraneous N Cannon*
(And technically, no; Han was a Naval cadet --he was training to be a TIE pilot [looks like he actually got the better end of that deal
]. Stormies were a separate branch, more like Marines.)And yeah, much as I love the OT, Star Wars just isn't as good without the EU. It's where you really get to see the roller coaster of Han's life.
Note: That red stripe down the seam of his trousers? That's a Corellian Bloodstripe --like a set of medals, but more practical. There are two grades; yellow and red. The red ones are usually only given out posthumously. Han has never talked about how he earned his.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Quote:
Originally posted by BlueEyedBrigadier:
until the events of the New Jedi Order, where he loses Chewie and his youngest son. Then the eventual fall of his elder son to the Dark Side...
That sounds sucky to me. I'm glad I didn't read that...
It was. It was like they were just trying to put some angsty shock value of killing off a likeable popular character so people would feel the horrors of entire worlds being destroyed more personally and go darker and edgier for the mov- Oops!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:Quote:Get ready for fan complication here: IS THAT CANNON??????
Originally posted by Bytemite:
Plus, Han .... went to Stormtrooper Academy, then skipped out when he happened to be guarding a group of wookie slaves and felt sorry for them.
*shoots chrisisall with the Extraneous N Cannon*
(And technically, no; Han was a Naval cadet --he was training to be a TIE pilot [looks like he actually got the better end of that deal
And yeah, much as I love the OT, Star Wars just isn't as good without the EU. It's where you really get to see the roller coaster of Han's life.
Note: That red stripe down the seam of his trousers? That's a Corellian Bloodstripe --like a set of medals, but more practical. There are two grades; yellow and red. The red ones are usually only given out posthumously. Han has never talked about how he earned his.
-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
...Why was he even guarding wookie slaves if it wasn't stormtrooper academy? Are you sure that wasn't Tycho Celchu? He was Imperial Navy and a TIE fighter pilot.
EDIT: Huh. You're right. Weird. What's up with the wookie slave thing?
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Been a while since I read the book, but I want to say Han got the blood stripes when he organized and lead the defense of Correlia. I vauely remember something to do with him convincing a bunch of civies and smugglers to hide their ships and hit the arrogant enemy as they came in in three waves, which was a big deal because baddies would only be expecting one desperate defense. I forget if they were fighting imps or hutts or whatnot, but I remember Han's side was using freighters and outdated starships like z-95's and I want to say the Han hadn't even acquired the Millennium Falcon yet, was flying in some sorosuub patchwork freighter.
As for Mal vs Han, Mal has the unfair advantage of being more evolved and having characters like Han for inspiration. Mal is the newer more advanced and realistic Han Solo of our time.
That being said, Han Solo would win in a fight, cause Han has luck powerful enough to rival the force and Mal's luck sucks.
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