Good morning,
This morning's topic is the fortieth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars series. This issue is the second part of the company's adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back movie. The cover showed Luke Skywalker wielding his lightsaber in front of a downed snowspeeder as an Imperial All Terrain Armed Transport (AT-AT) points its guns at him. A few more AT-ATs and snowspeeders can also be seen in the background. This chapter was called "Battleground Hoth!" The issue had a cover date of October 1980.
After the initial splash page (these splash pages were only found in the monthly magazine, and not the Marvel Special Edition movie adaptation), we see several Rebel soldiers preparing for incoming Imperial troops. The attention then shifts to C-3PO and R2-D2, as they listen to a captured Wampa before heading to see their master, Luke Skywalker, who was in the medical wing, recovering from his recent encounter with one of those creatures (as shown in the last issue).
Luke's scars are healing well, according to medical droid 2-1B. Princess Leia, Artoo, Threepio, Han Solo, and Chewbacca soon arrive to check in on their colleague. We see a bit of a romantic triangle form among the three movie leads before attention is averted to Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer.
The Sith Lord was just informed by General Veers that the Rebels have erected an energy shield on the fourth planet in the system by General Veers. Vader realized that Admiral Ozzel brought their fleet out of lightspeed too close to the system. He made sure that the admiral paid the ultimate price for his failure before promoting Captain Piett to fill the now late admiral's role.
Meanwhile, Leia and other Rebel leaders are preparing for the imminent Imperial assault. The base's ion cannon is being activated to defend outgoing ships, and ground staff are being instructed on their leaders' strategy. Han and Chewie are still working on repairs to the Millennium Falcon, which aren't going as well as hoped.
The ion cannon proves to be effective, as its blast strikes one of the Star Destroyers in the path of the first Rebel transport to leave the system. Luke and Han wish each other well before Skywalker goes to join his snowspeeder gunner, Dack Ralter. Luke will be leading Rogue Squadron in their aerial defense of the Rebel base.
It doesn't take very long for the first AT-ATs to arrive on the scene. The large Imperial Walkers pose a formidable threat to the relatively smaller Alliance forces. Luke and his squadron try an aerial assault, only to find that the walkers' armor is too strong for blasterfire, as Chewbacca and Solo see the falling rubble above them and know they have to leave sooner rather than later.
While General Rieekan and Leia advise the remaining ground staff to evacuate, things turn for the worse outside. Luke loses his gunner, but his friend Wedge decides to attack from below, using his speeder's tow cables to successfully constrict and bring one of the AT-ATs down. However, Luke has little time to celebrate that victory, as his ship is soon hit. He navigates as best as he can with a damaged ship as the remaining walkers continue to advance, including one that appears to be heading right for him.
I can't say enough good things about this movie adaptation. Although there are a few bits and pieces from the film that are omitted or were shown in this adaptation but cut from the movie's final draft, it's still a very accurate and beautiful story. The artwork is superb, and the story pacing is just right. It's a significant upgrade over the adaptation for the first film and shows just how seriously Marvel took this project.
That's all I have for now. Next time, I'll recap the third part of this six-part adaptation from Star Wars #41. We'll see the conclusion of the Battle of Hoth, and find out what happens to the movie's major stars as they go their separate ways. The Empire remains in hot pursuit of their targets, and another popular character makes their debut. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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