Echo Station: Han Versus Obi-Wan

Han or Obi-Wan: Who's The Bigger Babe?

Never mind the influences that will drive a small blond boy into the heart of evil.
There are far more important questions to be answered by Episode One….

So, who will turn out to be the True Babe of Star Wars? Our own Ann McMeekin (who scored Obi-Wan) and Jody Reeves (who score Han) took on the challenge of predicting this vitally important question for Echo Station. See if you agree with their assessment.

Category	Han Solo (Harrison Ford)	Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor)
Roguish good looks	Jody's Score: 10 I think the description was invented simply to describe Han Solo. The rumpled hair, penetrating eyes and sly half-grin...what’s left to be said?	Ann's Score: 10 Has that twinkle in his eye that says "I might eat Sith for breakfast, but that’s not all I can do".
Charm	Jody's Score: 7 There’s charm and then there’s charm. The first kind is the guy who shows up with flowers, opens the car door for you, and asks what you would like to eat so he can place the order for you. The other kind is the guy who leaves you flustered when he banters with you, but comes back when the command center is under attack to make sure you’re ok. Not the traditional definition of charming, but who cares? I prefer the second kind of charm, as exhibited by the roguishly good-looking Solo.	Ann's Score: 5 Has a touch of the dark and mysterious about him, but exhibits all the signs of gentlemanly conduct. Leaps across gaping abysses without a thought for his own safety, ready to take on the meanest of the Sith, and we’re not even getting into how he deals with battle droids, and all because the lady needs to get to safety. That’s what I call charm.
Ability with a lightsaber	Jody's Score: 3 The first, and only, time we see Han use a lightsaber was to make a sleeping bag out of a Tauntaun. He probably never got to use one. So, this is all Obi-Wan. Judging from what we’ve seen so far, Young Kenobi was a butt-kicker with the lightsaber. Sorry, Han. Maybe if you ask nicely, Leia will let you play with hers and you can get in some practice.	Ann's Score: 10 The first shot of him from Trailer A. Need I say more?
Butt in tight pants	Jody's Score: 10 As if this was a tough one. Kenobi has worn nothing but tunics and robes that don’t even give us an idea of how his behind might look in a pair of tight breeches. Meanwhile, Han has given us ladies several opportunities to admire that Corellian tush. Every woman I’ve polled has a thumbs-up for the scene in TESB where Han is clambering about the Falcon’s innards. Can you say gratuitous butt-shot? I thought so.	Ann's Score: 3 Han may win this one due to Obi-Wan’s worrying tendency to wear hessian sacks and long flowing robes, although, when he loses the robe fighting against Darth Maul, there’s a ghost of a shot, teasing us with the promise of things yet unseen.
Accent	Jody's Score: 3 Even I have to admit that Kenobi has an advantage here. I am, and always have been, a sucker for European accents. Especially those that even remotely resemble Irish or Scots. However, if you can equate a Corellian accent with that of a tough Midwesterner who’d shoot first and ask questions later, then Han can be spotted a couple of points here.	Ann's Score: 10 "We haven’t much time". I may have a "thing" for American accents, but I’m sorry, Obi-Wan wins hands down this time.
Strange friends	Jody's Score: 7 You’ve got to give it to Han on this one, and not just because he crews his ship with a Wookiee. Chances are that Han is the kind of guy who walks into a bar and every petty crook and hooker knows him on a first name basis. Obi-Wan just comes across as the kind of guy who wouldn’t hang out with you unless you were fraternity brothers.	Ann's Score: 9 The Jedi, by their very nature, are a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural group. Then there’s Jar Jar. You can’t tell me he ain’t strange. Obi-Wan just chooses a higher class of strange friend, i.e., wee green guy who lives in a swamp, eats roots and talks back to front.
Ability with the Force	Jody's Score: 0 Let’s face it. Han isn’t a Force kind of guy. I mean really, could you picture him using the Jedi Mind Trick? Leia, you will let me go out and party with the guys... Obi-Wan gets past stormtroopers, throws battle droids around and fights in the Clone Wars. Even if Han had talent with the Force, he would probably use it just to get a beer out of the refrigerator without having to get up.	Ann's Score: 10 When a guy’s this talented with the force, the possibilities are endless. I mean, who else could sneak around the most heavily guarded Imperial battle station, or throw off a squad of advancing battle droids with just a cursory wave of the hand.
Has his own ride	Jody's Score: 10 It’s a basic rule: Chicks dig the car. Granted, the Falcon barely runs as it is, but think back to when you were in high school. Even the guys with the crappy cars had dates, as opposed to those guys who didn’t have wheels. I was so transparent as to briefly go out with a guy who drove a fourth-hand orange Volkswagen Beetle. It beat having to ask Mom to pick us up at the multiplex.	Ann's Score: 5 Granted, he’s only got a starfighter on loan, he’s certainly no slouch with the controls when it comes to running the Federation blockade of Naboo, or escaping the underwater "big fish thing"…. And I won’t mention the old rumour that he had the Falcon first.
Has an intriguing, mysterious past	Jody's Score: 8 Chicks dig guys with a past. When we’re first introduced to Solo, he’s in a bind and has to take the first smuggling job he can get so that he can pay off a crime boss. How cool is that? Immediately, we’re interested. Who is this Jabba? How did Han get into this mess in the first place? Until we find out if there’s something shady in Obi-Wan’s background, I’m giving this one to Han.	Ann's Score: 9 Caused Anakin’s fall to the dark side. How much more mysterious does a crazy old hermit living in the dunes of Tatooine need to be?
Impulsiveness	Jody's Score: 9 This happens to be one of my favorite traits in a man. There’s something inherently boring if everything is planned and controlled. Han wasn’t fazed so much by the sudden change of plans when Luke suggested that they go rescue the Princess. He simply had a problem with the idea of stormtroopers coming after them. Obi-Wan had Luke’s life planned out from even before the kid was born. Snooze.	Ann's Score: 1 Okay, so his destiny is all mapped out for him, but that’s not his fault, is it? At least he went off and did his own thing on the Death Star, rather than sit around waiting to be captured.
Total	67 of possible 100 points Jody’s pick: Han falters in a couple of Force-related areas, but I’ll take the tight buns over the Force any day.	72 of possible 100 points Ann’s pick: Great with his saber, amazing accent, gentlemanly charm with upperclass friends and just a hint of the dark and brooding about him. Not to mention that his ability with the Force has gotta be a plus point, and I’m pretty sure that under those robes, the buns are just as tight.

Jody Reeves is a regular contributor to Echo Station and lives in the wretched hive of scum and villainy we all know as our nation’s capital. Her undying devotion to Harrison Ford may make her a less than impartial observer….

Ann McMeekin presides over the Message Boards from her home in Scotland. She has a natural predilection for those accents, since they make her feel right at home.