Good afternoon,
Now I can recap the fifty-seventh issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. The cover showed Rebels Luke Skywalker and Shira Brie battling a cadre of Imperial Stormtroopers. The story was called "Hello, Bespin, Goodbye!" The issue had a publication date of March 1982.
The story picked up right after the last issue, as Lando Calrissian was falling helplessly from Cloud City to the planet of Bespin below, after being kicked through a railing by Imperial Captain Treece. Treece and Lobot watched his plight for several moments before Lobot decided to do something about it. He went to the nearest life jet station and broke the glass. He then removed the life jet and grabbed it as he jumped off the platform.
He put the contraption on during the fall and quickly mastered its controls. It didn't take long for him to catch up with his former employer, and he was able to grab hold of him and turn the jets on to slow their descent. Elsewhere on the planet, a floating ship hovered over the surface, acting as a live news crew. Their broadcast was interrupted by the railing section from Lando's fall, which pierced one of the vessel's tibanna gas containers.
The crew then saw Lobot and Lando splash into the waters before them. They offered them a lift, moments before they were under attack by an Imperial skimmer. Lobot went to work on repairing the gas canisters while Lando sought ways to defend them from their foes. A catapulted film canister served as a missile, which struck the Imperial boat and caused it to crash explosively.
A little while later, the Ugnaught boat arrived on dry land. Its crew was receptive to the taller counterparts because Lando had always treated them well when he was Cloud City's administrator. They took the duo to their leader just as Luke and Shira's X-Wing fighters were landing on the city.
Their arrival was observed by Treece from a safe distance. The pilots disembarked along with R2-D2. Artoo quickly plugged into a computer terminal and learned why the city was vacant. The reason was the bombs that had been placed by Ugnaughts, which had been disarmed by Lobot. The mention of Skywalker's name reminded Treece that it was the rebel that Darth Vader was looking for, so he ordered his troops to attack.
The young pilots soon found themselves fighting for their lives, just as Lando and Lobot were arriving in the Ugnaughts' capital city to meet with King Ozz. Ozz respected Lando and informed him that the Empire had continued the tibanna gas mining after his departure, but doubled production rates that were more than the planet's ecosystem could produce, and came at the expense of the health, safety, and well-being of many of their kind.
Hearing that the Imperials had turned the city into a slave camp angered Lando. He vowed to aid the Ugnaughts in their fight. In the city, the Rebel pilots were under attack from in front and now above, as a bomber launched munitions at them. Moments later, Lando, Lobot, and the Ugnaughts arrived on Cloud City in one of the Ugnaught's boats, fueled by tibanna gas.
The smaller creatures rushed into the fight and appeared to be the underdogs in the battle at first. The news crew continued filming and was about to be targeted by Treece, until Lando threatened to have Lobot re-arm the bombs. Treece then fired his pistol at the cyborg's headgear, instantly disabling it.
Luke then came up with an idea, thanks to Artoo. He used the Force to move the camera through the air and re-arm the bombs. He announced that he would detonate them and that the Imperials had sixty seconds to leave. His enemies were skeptical until they heard the explosions and saw the city start to sink.
That was enough to convince Treece and his forces to make a hasty getaway. Afterward, Luke admitted that he'd only blown the primers, which let out a bit of tibanna gas. The emergency drones were already repairing that damage as he spoke. Luke's plan was effective, but it wasn't a hit with Shira or Lando.
Once things were back to normal, there was a celebration on Cloud City. Lando, Luke, Shira, and Artoo were ready to head home. Lando disclosed that he and Lando had used the city's central computer to send a change of orders to the private bank account that Treece had on the planet Aargau. His last deposit and corresponding details were transmitted to another account, one that belonged to the Dark Lord of the Sith.
This was a rather entertaining yarn crafted by Michelinie, Simonson, Palmer, and company. It was interesting to see more of Lobot and the Ugnaughts, who were very minor characters in The Empire Strikes Back. I'm glad that things were restored and the Empire finally had enough of Bespin and Cloud City. The idea of Ugnaughts having a broadcast crew was a fun concept that wasn't really explored very much before in this book.
That's all I have for today. Next time, I'll recap the fifty-eighth issue of this series. The Rebel Alliance tests a new way to shield their fleet from Imperial detection, but it's a plan that isn't without its own flaws. We'll also see Lando, Luke, and Chewbacca embark on a separate mission to give them an advantage in the war against the Empire. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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