Qi'ra quickly became a fan-favorite character when she was introduced in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Instead of being just a love interest for Han Solo, Qi'ra became a morally complex, ambitious, cunning, and charismatic character. Unsurprisingly, fans were eager to see more of her and her story after Solo.
While Qi'ra has not appeared in any movies or television shows since Solo, her story has continued in comics, most prominently in a trilogy of comics by Charles Soule--War of the Bounty Hunters, Crimson Reign, and The Hidden Empire. What do fans of these comics know about Qi'ra that most Star Wars viewers don't?
The War of the Bounty Hunters comics revealed that Qi'ra is alive and well during the original trilogy era. During the time period between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Qi'ra is the leader of Crimson Dawn.
The criminal syndicate once led by Darth Maul has been hidden in the shadows for a while, but quickly makes a strong comeback under Qi'ra's leadership. She clearly usurped Maul some time after the events of Solo and before his first appearance in Star Wars Rebels.
Anyone who's seen Return of the Jedi knows that Boba Fett successfully delivered Han Solo frozen in carbonite to Jabba the Hutt. War of the Bounty Hunters revealed that Boba's journey from Bespin to Tatooine was not an easy one, though. In fact, Boba's bounty was stolen from him, and Qi'ra was behind it.
After laying low for years, Qi'ra made a dramatic return by stealing her former lover--a hero for the Rebellion, an enemy of the Empire, and a smuggler with a massive price on his head--from one of the Star Wars galaxy's best bounty hunters. The best part was that stealing Han had nothing to do with Qi'ra's feelings for him, but had everything to do with enacting her ambitious master plan against the Sith and the Empire.
After securing Han Solo, Qi'ra organized an auction to sell him to the highest bidder. She invited groups such as the Hutts, Black Sun, the Pykes, and the Empire. She also made sure word got to Leia so she, Chewbacca, and Lando would attend and be the ones to end up with Han, regardless of who won the auction.
Given Han's unique history with the criminal underworld, the Empire, and the Rebellion, the auction was the perfect way to get the attention of these various groups and to bring them together. The auction let them all know that Crimson Dawn was back and that they could be a valuable ally or a formidable enemy. It also helped to establish some of the relationships Qi'ra would need to take on Palpatine, Vader, and the Empire.
In War of the Bounty Hunters #3, when Darth Vader tried to take Han Solo without paying at the auction, Qi'ra confronted him, even daring to say, "Is the Empire too poor to pay its debts? Or too cheap?" Enraged by her words, Darth Vader ignited his lightsaber, and Qi'ra fearlessly dueled the Sith Lord, letting it be known that she was not afraid of him.
Qi'ra initially held her own against him, noting that she was trained by someone who knew Vader and Palpatine quite well, which was a reference to being trained by Darth Maul to fight against a lightsaber. However, Vader quickly gained the upper hand, and if not for being distracted by Luke Skywalker's arrival, he would've killed her. Qi'ra is one of the few who can say that she fought Darth Vader and survived.
Bokku the Hutt was an agent of Crimson Dawn and on Qi'ra's orders, he openly attacked the Empire. In retaliation for such a bold attack on the Empire, Emperor Palpatine ordered Vader to end the Hutts' insurrection. Vader proceeded to kill Bokku and the entire Hutt Council, save for Jabba the Hutt. This left Jabba as the sole leader of the Hutts until his death.
While Qi'ra did not directly kill the members Hutt Council, her actions led to their deaths, as Vader only massacred them because of what Bokku the Hutt did on behalf of Qi'ra and Crimson Dawn.
The comics revealed that Qi'ra's ultimate goal is to kill Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Under their rule, she sees the galaxy as a pyramid, where Palpatine and Vader are at the top, with everyone always suffering beneath them. She believes the galaxy can only live and people will only be free once the Sith Lords are killed.
While her methods are more ruthless and deceptive than those of the Rebellion, it is intriguing that in many ways, she ultimately wants the same thing as them. Both she and Han Solo ended up dedicating their lives to fighting against the Empire and the worst things they've done, albeit in different ways. Qi'ra's motivations are even more intriguing when considering her history with Darth Maul. Yet, a sense of doom hangs over Qi'ra's story as fans know from Return of the Jedi that it is not she who brings down Palpatine, Vader, and the Empire.
After seeing how much Han loved Qi'ra in Solo, many fans wondered if Qi'ra and Leia would ever meet. Star Wars #18 delivered the first meeting between Leia and Qi'ra. While there was tension in their meeting, it also produced some positive results through forging a tentative alliance with the Rebellion and Crimson Dawn in the fight against the Empire.
For Qi'ra, parts of their first meeting was made up of calculated moves to further her agenda, but she also demonstrated genuine admiration and respect for Leia, even noting how Leia is able to inspire others and that Han Solo is better off with Leia. This is their first meeting, but it is not their last, such as when they meet again in Star Wars #22.
With the Hutt Council destroyed, Qi'ra and others within Crimson Dawn began telling other crime syndicates like Black Sun and the Pykes that the Empire was looking for a new partner in the criminal underworld. Meanwhile, Qi'ra had her allies begin launching attacks against the syndicates.
These attacks, the desperation to outdo the competition and become the Empire's new partner, and the fear of being destroyed like the Hutts are all ingredients that Qi'ra engineered to create a war. This war distracts the Empire and the Sith while also weakening the other syndicates, all of which makes Qi'ra and Crimson Dawn stronger and their goals more attainable.
Qi'ra and Yoda feel like they belong to separate corners of Star Wars storytelling, yet their stories connected in an intriguing way in the Crimson Reign comics. Qi'ra believed having a Jedi on her side would be invaluable in the fight against Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and the Empire. Noting that the Empire never announced Yoda's death--among other clues--Qi'ra correctly surmised that Yoda survived Order 66 and was still out there.
She recruited an individual known as the Archivist to find Yoda and recruit him to their cause. The Archivist figured out that Yoda was on Dagobah and even went to the planet, but her experiences there led to her telling Qi'ra that Yoda was dead.
Not only have the comics connected Qi'ra to the original trilogy, but they have also connected her to characters introduced in the sequel trilogy. Ochi of Bestoon--the assassin who killed Rey's parents--and the Knights of Ren are working with Qi'ra. In Crimson Reign #2, Ochi used poison to assassinate members of the Empire's Royal Guard while they were guarding Emperor Palpatine.
In Crimson Reign #4, the Knights of Ren broke into Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar and stole a valuable key that is part of Qi'ra's master plan. Qi'ra recruited the Knights of Ren because she needed Force users, and they were the best that she had access to.
