It's one of those details that have bothered fans of STAR WAS for decades.
Where the hell is Chewbacca's medal at the end of A NEW HOPE?
The wookiee was as responsible for taking out the Death Star as both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, so why not love for the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon? He was in the shit, too.
Well, finally we may be getting answers, and, even better, it's taking place within Disney/Lucasfilm's newly established STAR WARS canon, which means it counts… it's concrete… it's forever.
Okay, let's head into some SPOILER TERRITORY… so for those of you who might want the uncover this information at some point in the future on your own, avert your eyes.
Everyone who wants to still be here still here?? Okay, let's proceed.
It all takes place on the pages of CHEWBACCA #5, the STAR WARS comic miniseries from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Phil Noto. In the issue, Chewie is getting ready to go his separate ways from Zarro, a young girl he has befriended after crashing on her planet. The team up to help stop the Empire and save her planet from the Empire's oppressive and/or destructive ways, and, as he prepares to split, she wishes she had something to remember him by, a token of their adventures together.
Enter the medal.
So Chewbacca got his Medal of Bravery after all.
'Bout damn time.
Now, if you want to know how come he didn't receive it at the closing ceremony along with everyone else, you're going to have to keep waiting. Maybe they'll address that in a future issue, maybe they won't… but for now, we've got some sort of progress, and that's good enough for me.
Congratulations, Chewbacca… You have finally been recognized. May the Force be with you.