Sana Starros

Scoundrel, smuggler, bounty hunter, pilot, morally ambiguous: all of these words can be used to describe the infamous Sana Starros. In an ill-fated scheme, she was married to Han Solo. Solo drew her ire when he took her money from the crime and left her. Sana’s desire to get revenge on him led her to join our main trio and friends on several adventures, even her brief employment with the Rebel Alliance. 

Starros has had a long and complex history with many of our favorite characters. Most notably, Starros dated Doctor Chelli Aphra when they were students at the University of Bar’leth. She took an archeology class there, but her life took a different path compared to Aphra’s. 

Sana is a fancy flier in her own right. She pilots the Volt Cobra, which, according to her, is “the ship Han wishes he had.” The Cobra has been involved in almost as many adventures as Sana herself, and has taken on almost as much damage as the Millennium Falcon itself. 

Born and raised on Nar Shaddaa, AKA the “Smuggler’s Moon”, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Starros entered a life of crime. The moon is one of the most prolific sources of bounty hunters, smugglers, and crime lords in the galaxy. But, Sana doesn’t always live up to the reputation of Nar Shaddaa: she has done a fair amount of work for the Rebel Alliance, even if that work was emotionally complex. 

Sana was hired to escort Doctor Aphra to Sunspot Prison along with Princess Leia Organa. She fulfilled her responsibilities; but, due to outside hijinx, Aphra escaped. Later, General Hera Syndulla hired Starros on behalf of the Rebellion once again - but this time to break her out of Imperial prison. Once again, Sana kept her word, but the slippery Doctor Aphra escaped her grasp. Despite these objective failures, Starros maintained a working relationship with the Rebellion.

Besides her work with the Rebellion, Starros is best known for working for herself or gathering a crew to do a job. Later she and her crew got tangled up in the web of Crimson Dawn deceit, involving themselves with the Tagge Corporation. Sana proved her ability to deceive and double-cross during this period of time, always remaining loyal to who she believed was doing the right thing whilst looking out for her best interest. 

Of note, Sana Starros plays a large role in both Doctor Aphra comic book series. The 2016 run won Outstanding Comic Book in the 31st Annual GLAAD Awards, and the 2020 run was nominated for the same category in the 34th Annual GLAAD Awards. The purpose of the GLAAD Awards is to “...recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives.” 

Starros is undoubtedly an important and influential character, not only in the galaxy far, far away, but also for representation here in real life. She’s finally getting her own comic miniseries: Sana Starros written by Justina Ireland, and illustrated by Pere Pérez and Jay David Ramos. The five-issue miniseries will explore her life prior to when we first meet her in the Star Wars (2015) series.