Jaina Solo is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the
Star WarsStar Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals...
Expanded Universe, the eldest child of
Han SoloHan Solo, played by Harrison Ford, is a fictional smuggler and "reckless mercenary" in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire...
and
Leia Organa SoloPrincess Leia Organa Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. She is portrayed by actress Carrie Fisher in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Star Wars Holiday Special. Aiden Barton appeared as an infant Leia in Revenge of the Sith...
. She is also the elder twin of
JacenJacen Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and the nephew of Luke Skywalker, he is a major character in several Star Wars novels, particularly the Legacy of the Force series....
by five minutes and the sister of
AnakinAnakin Solo is a fictional character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the youngest child born to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, and the brother to elder twin siblings, Jaina and Jacen. Anakin is named for his maternal grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, and, like his namesake, is a talented pilot...
. She has appeared in various novels and the
Champions of the ForceChampions of the Force is the third novel in the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson.-Summary:Kyp Durron continued his rampage to destroy the Galactic Empire with the Sun Crusher to avenge his brother...
set for the
Star Wars Miniatures Game.
The characters of Jaina Solo and her twin brother Jacen were created by
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is known for three Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, called the Thrawn Trilogy, which takes place after Return of the Jedi...
for the novel
The Last CommandThe Last Command is the third and final book in the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.-Plot:Grand Admiral Thrawn launches his offensive against the fledgling New Republic with great success. As if his uncanny knack for anticipating opponents’ strategy wasn’t enough, his forces are quickly being...
(1994). The twins played a small role in
Kevin J. AndersonKevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and is the co-author of the Dune prequels. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity...
's
Jedi AcademyThe Jedi Academy is a training establishment in the fictional universe of Star Wars.-History in Star Wars:The Jedi Academy, also known as Praxeum, was first housed in the Great Massassi Temple and had 12 original students, including Kyle Katarn, Brakiss, Corran Horn, Dorsk 81, Gantoris, Kam...
trilogy, and a larger supporting role in Vonda McIntyre's
The Crystal StarThe Crystal Star is a 1994 bestselling fictional Star Wars novel written by Vonda McIntyre and published by Bantam Spectra. The novel is set ten years after the Battle of Endor in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.-Background:...
.
Jaina Solo is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the
Star WarsStar Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was originally released on May 25, 1977, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals...
Expanded Universe, the eldest child of
Han SoloHan Solo, played by Harrison Ford, is a fictional smuggler and "reckless mercenary" in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the evil Galactic Empire...
and
Leia Organa SoloPrincess Leia Organa Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. She is portrayed by actress Carrie Fisher in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Star Wars Holiday Special. Aiden Barton appeared as an infant Leia in Revenge of the Sith...
. She is also the elder twin of
JacenJacen Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo and the nephew of Luke Skywalker, he is a major character in several Star Wars novels, particularly the Legacy of the Force series....
by five minutes and the sister of
AnakinAnakin Solo is a fictional character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the youngest child born to Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, and the brother to elder twin siblings, Jaina and Jacen. Anakin is named for his maternal grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, and, like his namesake, is a talented pilot...
. She has appeared in various novels and the
Champions of the ForceChampions of the Force is the third novel in the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson.-Summary:Kyp Durron continued his rampage to destroy the Galactic Empire with the Sun Crusher to avenge his brother...
set for the
Star Wars Miniatures Game.
Creation and development
The characters of Jaina Solo and her twin brother Jacen were created by
Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is known for three Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, called the Thrawn Trilogy, which takes place after Return of the Jedi...
for the novel
The Last CommandThe Last Command is the third and final book in the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn.-Plot:Grand Admiral Thrawn launches his offensive against the fledgling New Republic with great success. As if his uncanny knack for anticipating opponents’ strategy wasn’t enough, his forces are quickly being...
(1994). The twins played a small role in
Kevin J. AndersonKevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and is the co-author of the Dune prequels. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity...
's
Jedi AcademyThe Jedi Academy is a training establishment in the fictional universe of Star Wars.-History in Star Wars:The Jedi Academy, also known as Praxeum, was first housed in the Great Massassi Temple and had 12 original students, including Kyle Katarn, Brakiss, Corran Horn, Dorsk 81, Gantoris, Kam...
trilogy, and a larger supporting role in Vonda McIntyre's
The Crystal StarThe Crystal Star is a 1994 bestselling fictional Star Wars novel written by Vonda McIntyre and published by Bantam Spectra. The novel is set ten years after the Battle of Endor in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.-Background:...
. Not until the
Young Jedi KnightsYoung Jedi Knights is a Star Wars series by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. The series covers the Jedi training of Jacen and Jaina Solo, the twin children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo...
(1995) do Jaina Solo and her friends become major characters.
Elaine CunninghamElaine Cunningham is an American fantasy and science fiction author, especially known for her almost poetic literary style and her contributions to the Forgotten Realms campaign world, including the realms of Evermeet, Halruaa, Ruathym and Waterdeep.Amongst Elaine's most popular characters are the...
, author of
Dark Journey, commented that the story is a personal one focusing on a difficult time in Jaina's life.
Walter Jon WilliamsWalter Jon Williams is an American writer, primarily of science fiction.Several of Williams' novels have a distinct cyberpunk feel to them, notably Hardwired and Voice of the Whirlwind...
, author of
Destiny's Way, commented that the plot concerning Jaina Solo's love-life caused some frantic rewrites.
Depiction
Jaina, named after Han's mother, is born five minutes before her brother Jacen in
The Thrawn TrilogyThe Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the...
. The twins, and eventually their younger brother, live at various safe havens for their first few years under the protection of Leia's handmaiden Winter. In
Dark ApprenticeDark Apprentice is the second novel in the The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson; many of the events of this novel are also described from the perspective of Corran Horn in I, Jedi.-Summary:From back of book:...
, Jaina helps her brother defend their unconscious uncle from the spirit of
Sith LordThe Sith are a group of characters in the fictional Star Wars universe. They are the central antagonists of the franchise. Characterized by their single-minded pursuit of power and disdain for sentient life, they are an alliance of warrior priests who use the dark side of the Force and serve as...
Exar KunExar Kun, Dark Lord of the Sith is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. His first appearance was in Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy.-Errant Jedi:...
. In
The Crystal Star, Jaina is kidnapped by and used, along with her siblings, in a plot to take advantage of their Force powers. In the Corellian Trilogy, Jaina is again kidnapped but escapes. In the
Young Jedi Knights series, Jaina travels to Yavin 4 with her brother to begin her Jedi training.
Throughout the
New Jedi Order series, Jaina pursues a life separate from her twin brother and becomes Mara Jade Skywalker's apprentice. Jaina progresses quickly as a Jedi and a pilot, eventually joining
Rogue SquadronRogue Squadron is a starfighter squadron in the Star Wars science fiction saga. Many of the pilots that will join Rogue Squadron are initially members of Red Squadron, the X-Wing attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The squadron...
. She also develops a romantic relationship with Jagged Fel. She briefly becomes the apprentice of fallen Jedi Kyp Durron. Jaina's understanding and manipulation of
Yuuzhan VongThe Yuuzhan Vong are a fictional race of sentient beings from the Star Wars Expanded Universe that rise as a threat to the New Republic in the New Jedi Order series of novels....
technology causes them to associate her with their trickster goddess. She is present at the conclusion of the war with the Yuuzhan Vong.
In
The Joiner KingThe Joiner King is a novel set in the Star Wars galaxy. It is the first book in the Dark Nest trilogy of novels by Troy Denning. It is set 35 years after the Battle of Yavin...
, Jaina and the Jedi Zekk are joined in the Killik hive. Jacen tricks them into attacking a
ChissIn the fictional Star Wars universe, the Chiss are a humanoid species with pale blue skin, blue-black hair and glowing red eyes. First introduced to the Expanded Universe in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy through his arch villain Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Chiss have since developed into a popular...
base to provoke a war between the Chiss and the Killiks; Jaina, furious, vows that she will never fly with Jacen again.
In the
Legacy of the ForceThe Legacy of the Force is a series of nine science fiction novels set in the Star Wars fictional universe, taking place approximately 40 years after the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...
series, Jacen throws Jaina out of the Alliance Navy when she refuses to follow his order to destroy a crippled ship. She senses at this time a growing darkness in her twin. In
BetrayalBetrayal is the first of nine books in the Legacy of the Force series, which is set in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe. The book is written by Aaron Allston and was released in hardcover on May 30, 2006. The cover artist is Jason Felix...
, Jacen falls to the
dark side of the ForceThe dark side of the Force is a prominent moral, philosophical, and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. It is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and appears in all subsequent Star Wars fiction...
, and Jaina realizes her duty as the "Sword of the Jedi" requires her to stop him. She turns to
Boba FettBoba Fett is a character in the Star Wars fictional universe. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon, he is the "next major villain" after Vader in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
to train her. In
InvincibleInvincible is the ninth and final culminating book in the Legacy of the Force series. It is a novel by Troy Denning and was released on May 13, 2008.-Dramatis personae:*Ben Skywalker; Jedi Knight...
, Jaina duels and kills Jacen.