Before dating me, my wife Nichole had never seen the Star Wars movies. After watching them with me, she noted, “Now I know where you got all those lines from.” Han Solo is, to me, the ultimate smooth operator. He has all the great lines in the movie, and although Vader’s declaration of paternity might define the series, Han makes the series worth watching.

While many of my friends were cheering for Luke or Yoda, I was mesmerized by Han. He was quick to talk, intelligent and yet fun. He was suave, but trouble from the first moment we saw him. Ultimately, he saves the day and gets the girl, but all along the way, you can’t help but cheer for him – even though he is, technically, a criminal and a cheat.

Here, in not exactly the order of greatness, are some of Han’s greatest lines.

10. “Then I’ll see you in Hell!”

With Luke still out on the ice sheet of Hoth and night closing, Han jumps on a Tauntaun and rides out to save his friend. A rebel guard says, “Your Tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!” to which Han replies, “Then I’ll see you in hell!” Although this breaks continuity (is there a hell in the Star Wars universe?), it is still awesome.

9. “You’re going to die here, you know. Convenient.”

Luke comes to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, and they are immediately scheduled for execution. Luke reminds Han that they met on this planet, so their story has come full circle. This moment between them, right before Luke actually DOES rescue Han, shows us how everything is reversed in Return of the Jedi – the teachers have become the students and the victims have become the saviors.

8. “What an incredible smell you’ve discovered!”

Han knew Leia was a handful from the first moment he met her, and their banter back and forth is one of the best parts of Star Wars.

7. “Look, Your Worshipfulness, let’s get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me.”

Gotta love a man with self-confidence bordering on insanity.

6. “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

Han is the ultimate skeptic, which makes his devotion to Luke all the better. He only believes in what he can see, steal or shoot. He gives us the Wild West in the midst of a space opera.

5. “That’s because droids don’t rip your arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that.”

Our introduction to Chewbacca is primarily as the strong silent type during the Mos Eisley Cantina scene, but this was the moment when Han let everyone know that Wookies are not to be trifled with.

4. “Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything’s perfectly alright now. We’re fine, we’re all fine, here, now, thank you. How are you?”

After killing the imperial guards in the Death Star detention center, Han blows their cover with his unbelievably bad skills on the radio.

3. “Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, farm boy!”

With this single utterance, Han set the stage for hyperspace travel and the entire Star Wars galaxy. He treats the wonder of faster than light travel as if he is prepping his car for a drag race. It is dangerous, but mundane.

2. ” I know.”

When Leia professes her love to the soon to be frozen in carbonite Han, this is his response. Even facing imminent death, he is just so darn cool.

1. “So are mine. What are you afraid of?”

Leia tries desperately to avoid contact with the bad boy smuggler, but there’s no avoiding how she really things. And who could blame her?

In Empire Strikes Back, they find themselves alone in a service shaft in Millennium Falcon. After Han helps her with a particularly stubborn lever, he takes her hand. She pulls away half-heartedly while she mumbles, “Stop that. My hands are dirty.” The quote above is his response, and it is the reason she marries him (in my opinion). He is just too cool to resist.