Princess Leia Turned Into Han Solo Once He Was Frozen in Carbonite
Warning! Spoilers for War of the Bounty Hunters #5 ahead!
The Marvel Comics crossover event Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters shows Leia's transformation from a princess to a scoundrel, just like her beloved Han Solo. After seeing Solo frozen in carbonite and whisked away by bounty hunters, Leia grows ever more reckless in her attempts to save him. Taking after the legendary smuggler, she picks fights she knows she can't win, echoes Han's iconic lines, and somehow comes out alive. Leading up to the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the comics reveal the true impact Han had on Leia.
At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett carries away Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, to collect his bounty from Jabba the Hutt. However, he doesn't make it far before Solo is stolen by Lady Q'ira and the Crimson Dawn. Thinking that Fett has double-crossed him, Jabba puts a bounty on Boba himself, triggering the War of the Bounty Hunters. Everyone in the galaxy, from the bounty hunters, to the Hutts, to the Empire, is after Han, and Princess Leia is willing to face them all to recover her lost love. With Luke out in his X-Wing being chased by Lord Vader, and Han obviously unavailable, Leia is left to lead the chase with the help of Lando, Chewbacca, and Lobot.
Although helplessly outmatched, Han's daring attitude begins to shine through Leia as she leads her motley crew in the Millennium Falcon. A real change is first seen in the otherwise cautious princess in War of the Bounty Hunters #3 by Charles Soule, Luke Ross and David Messina, as Leia doesn't hesitate to take on Boba Fett at a party featuring every major criminal in the galaxy. Boba, there to reclaim his bounty, isn't about to let anyone get in his way. However, the sensitive setting leaves little room for big guns. A single blaster bolt would attract an inescapable amount of unwanted attention. Leia tells Chewie to take down the bounty hunter quietly, but he is defeated. Leia then tries to shoot Boba anyways! Twice! On both occasions, she is stopped, preventing her from almost certainly killing somebody.
While reckless, Han isn't stupid and has a great sense of self-preservation. Leia finally arrives at that point in the fifth issue of the series. By this point, Han is in Vader's custody aboard the Imperial destroyer, the Executor. Leading her daring team, Leia manages to infiltrate the ship and locate Han. In an act of impressive bravery, and against all odds, she and her friends barge into a room full of Stormtroopers, blasters blazing. She yells to her team, "Don't let up!" as they gun down Han's guards. They make their way to him and as her allies rejoice she reminds them that they still have to make it back to the Falcon, echoing Han's iconic line, "Don't get cocky."
Throughout their relationship, Han and Leia gradually grow more and more similar. She turns into quite the swashbuckler, as he mellows out some of his reckless behavior. However, only in his absence does Leia truly start to take on Han's characteristics. There is a reason he is the most universally wanted man in the galaxy, and Leia loves him for those qualities. When he is gone, she feels that void and fills it. Leia becomes Han when he is needed most. It's a good thing, too, because only Han could have saved Han from such dire straits.