Good afternoon,
Today's focus is on the eighteenth issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. The cover showed C-3PO carrying an unconscious Luke Skywalker in his arms, with R2-D2 behind him and a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers in the foreground, ready to attack the trio. The story was called "The Empire Strikes!" The issue had a cover date of December 1978.
The tale began in hyperspace, as the Millennium Falcon was on its way back to Yavin 4. Its captain, Han Solo, and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca, were concentrating on an issue with the ship's autonavigator when Threepio pointed out a problem: namely, that his master, Luke, was unconscious.
Princess Leia Organa used a medpack to determine that Luke's vital signs had slowed but were stable. Threepio explained that he and Artoo had been observing Luke's lightsaber practice session. Their master soon ended his exercise and began to meditate. He apparently saw something with the Force that caused his body to shut down.
The Falcon dropped out of subspace and was quickly contacted by an Imperial TIE fighter whose pilot warned them that they were entering an Imperial military containment zone. Han blamed that mistake on the autonavigator's drift error and blasted the fighter out of the sky. A little while later, their ship came across a battle-damaged House of Taage mining explorer. Leia persuaded Han to bring the Rebel pilot she'd spotted near the wreckage aboard.
Unfortunately, the pilot was beyond the help of a medpack, but he did tell his new comrades that he and his wingmates had been forced into the Taage ship before it was attacked, so that it would look like the Imperial allies' ship had been destroyed by members of the Rebellion.
Han and Leia were so busy arguing about what to do next after the pilot passed out that they almost didn't see the arrival of an Imperial Star Destroyer, whose commander suspected the small ship's inhabitants of piracy and/or rebellious acts against the Empire. Chewie's quick thinking helped them evade the warning shots, but the Falcon was soon pursued by more TIEs that were dispatched under Commander Strom's orders. By then, Han had taken over the controls and was guiding his ship toward sanctuary at a large station known as the Wheel.
The Wheel was known throughout the galaxy as a neutral location where patrons could relax and gamble. While the Falcon successfully survived the landing in one of the Wheel's docking bays, the Rebel pilot did not. Chewie went to dispose of the body, while the droids would take Luke to the station's medical facilities. Han and Leia were going to make their way to the Crimson Casino Lounge, where Chewbacca would meet them after accomplishing his task.
Of course, their arrival didn't go unnoticed by the ground crew or the Stormtroopers who were already stationed on the Wheel. The soldiers demanded to know more about the Falcon and its passengers. A request for information was raised by Strom to the station's supervisor, Senator Greyshade. Greyshade was no fan of the Rebellion or the Empire, but allowed the pursuit on the condition that one of the Rebels be kept alive for questioning and brought to him directly.
While Strom continued to scheme, a pair of Stormtroopers found the droids and their unconscious master and were about to open fire upon them. In Senator Greyshade's quarters, he kept up on updates about the Falcon's crew. One particular passenger, Leia, piqued his interest. They'd served together in the Galactic Senate, and she was now a Rebellion leader. Greystoke then informed his droids, Master-Com, that it was time to act.
Knowing what I did about Solo's background, I wasn't surprised to see a station like the Wheel that was bound to interest rogues and squadrons from various star systems. Penciler Carmine Infantino apparently didn't know the difference in designs between standard TIE fighters and Darth Vader's personal TIE, as the fighters he drew in this issue were almost identical to the Sith Lord's ship. I never did like how he drew droids, Vader, Stormtroopers, weapons, or ships, but I was willing to overlook that for the sake of this storyline. The tale's title was a play on the name of the first Star Wars sequel, which may or may not have been announced by the time this issue was published.
That's all from me for now. Next time, I'll recap the nineteenth issue of this series. We'll find out what happened to Luke and his robots, as well as see Leia's reunion with Greyshade. In addition, we'll learn what Chewbacca did after disposing of the pilot's body and the crucial choice that Han was forced to make. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment