Solo possesses a charm, sophistication, efficiency, and weakness for beautiful women comparable to James Bond's.
But Solo is considerably less intense and also less brutal than the British Secret Service agent, and he possesses a laid-back ease that recalls the young Cary Grant.
Most of the episodes devote equal screen time to Kuryakin and Solo, and much of the success of the program was based on the chemistry between McCallum and Vaughn.
We rarely see him treat a woman with anything other than respect and affection on screen; however, he is involved with countless women and does not sustain a single long-term relationship throughout the four years of the show.
Although it is never mentioned in the series, one of the original suggestions for Solo's background had him marrying young and losing his wife in a car accident after only one year of marriage (referenced also by David McDaniel in his "The Rainbow Affair" tie-in novel).
In "The Deadly Games Affair", it is revealed that he has a long standing on-off relationship with the THRUSH femme fatale, Angelique.
[1] His charm and social skills are his most potent weapons, allowing him to manipulate almost every situation to his own advantage.
When in "The Candidate's Wife Affair" Kuryakin sees him romancing a woman and asks in exasperation, "Don't you ever turn it off?"
In "The Giuoco Piano Affair", an enemy operative offers this assessment of Solo's character – For a man like you, if there's the smallest doubt in your mind, no matter how insignificant the cause, you have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
In the 1988 comic Shattered Visage, made as a sequel to the Patrick McGoohan series The Prisoner, Solo and Kuryakin both make cameos at the funeral of a spy, along with John Steed and Emma Peel.
Solo doesn't spend any time in prison, however, as he is recruited by the CIA in exchange for his physical freedom.