Lando’s warning…
When I was a kid, it wasn’t that clear to me why the Cloud Cars were shooting at the Falcon as it approached Cloud City. Even though they were warning shots, it tended to be quickly forgotten and overshadowed by Lando’s apparent betrayal of his “friend” Han. The truth is, Lando and Han were indeed old buddies, and Lando did the best he could in the situation – better than many give him credit for. Chris Simmons, of Star Wars Facebook’d, one of the Lando’s biggest fans, explains it more succinctly than I can.
“To be fair, Lando did try to give Han some warnings. Having security take shots at the Falcon, and giving him a cold greeting on the platform was all Lando could really do. I’m sure he was being watched all of the time, but that didn’t stop him from keeping our heroes informed of what’s going down, rescuing Leia, and doing his best to catch up with Fett. Lando is the MAN!”
We are a TWICE WEEKLY webcomic again, for the time being at least. So you can check Mondays and Fridays for the latest strips and you can always view the upcoming strip in advance by voting for us at TopWebComics.com. And don’t forget we have finally set up a Blue Milk Special Forum for readers to converse and discuss the webcomic, Star Wars and everything else that we have in common. Unlike the comments features on each blog post, the Forums allow for much more detail and ongoing discussion, and hopefully a stronger sense of community among those of us who are able to find the funny side of the Force. You can also make requests and suggestions for future BMS strips, cameos and direction.
As the Forum is brand new, this is a great opportunity to jump in and join the community early. There will be many wrinkles to iron out as we get the hang of things. We will be looking for moderators to help nurture and facilitate the discussions.
Episode 5: Agents of Doom Check out the final episode of I HATE EARTH. This has been a great series from comedian, and friend, Kevin Conn. The series was built around the masked character Beatrix Skullo, who was the evolution of one of Kevin’s earliest characters. I know it was an enormous amount of work, and involved the time and talent of many, coordinated and driven by Kevin’s creative passion. I think the end result has been a joy to watch and his most polished work to date.
So, congratulations on what, in my mind, has been a successful series of shorts. Here’s hoping for more, whether they are I HATE EARTH, or something entirely new.
Also check out I HATE EARTH on Facebook and share with your friends.
I am quite blown away by this and next week’s strip – they are actually making me view the film in a new light!
That said, knowing that Fisher and Ford were drunk/severely hung over when they shot this scene makes for fun viewing too.
Those crazy kids… Makes you wonder what else they did…
It’s an interesting take on Lando. I guess I never really thought about it much, I just took it for granted that he was doing whatever it took for his city to survive and then later decided to help after it was apparent he’d lost it anyway. I like the idea that he tried to warn them — I’m sure it wouldn’t have ended well for him if the Falcon just turned around and left.
I believe the safety of the city and its citizens was threatened when Vader arrived. This put Lando in a difficult position as he no doubt wanted to find any way possible to avoid turning Han over. If he could have tipped Han off early, then he might have at least hoped Han could escape, and he could escape also. It would not be logical to destroy Cloud City after Lando fled as it would unnecessarily add another Imperial massacre to their growing list and fan the flames of the Rebellion even further.
The alternate reading is that Lando was prepared to turn Han over, but had a change of heart. I don’t buy this though, otherwise, why did he fire the warning shots and try to weird Han out on the landing pad? I think he was searching for solutions before the Falcon even arrived in the system. The trouble is, because Leia and Chewie, both in a highly emotional state, assumed a lot – about Lando being a traitor – and many of us, as a young audience, took that at face value.
Regardless, Lando had to redeem himself either way.
Great take on Lando’s switch-o change-o greeting on the landing platform and his behavior in general.
My favorite part? The fact that everything Lando says, I hear it in Billy Dee Williams’ voice. X )
Let’s not forget Lobot. He too deserves some credit. Yes, yes, he is a ‘droid and does what he is programed to do but if not for him they would have died there.
Is Lobot a Droid or a Cyborg?
Rod, quit making me laugh so hard, you are going to get me into trouble!
I thought he was a cyborg…
He’s a borg. More accurately, he’s a bald human with a head-mounted computer interface.
I always felt Lando was on the level and the added scenes confirmed it for me. Not only was he trying to be a friend to Han but also do what he needed to do for Cloud City. In the end Han knew that.
I totally forgot that this was now twice weekly. What a pleasant surprise this was when I came by and found the latest strip!
Good call on the shoe fighters! I love the Star Wars object/letter-inspired fighters. “Twin Ion Engine” my ass! They are named after bow ties. I like the idea of people wearing bow ties in the Star Wars universe. As a kid I would draw necktie fighters!
Time to introduce Cravat fighters I think.
It’s the Thong Fighters you really have to watch out for.
(Insert the appropriate punch line here:
– they keep crashing into asteroids!
– they keep getting lost in the black holes!
– they’re made on a shoestring budget!
– etc. … )
😉
LOL!!
Thanks for bringing up this new (to me) perspective! 😀
I always thought the patrol were just being authoritative jerks, possibly due to imperial pressure. And it’s a good thing for Lando that Han couldn’t heed those warnings, because I find it very likely that Lando would’ve been blamed if the Millennium Falcon had left the system. And if so, I think Lando might have ended up having great difficulty breathing. Not sure if he realised that though, since he did seem to underestimate how far Vader would go.
Ho ho! Never though of the shoes thing before. Now I’m imagining them ‘parked’ over a telephone line!
Only in “The Space Hood”, John.
Just thought I would share some star wars related information.
A funny parody of gotyes “somebody that I used to know” but from the perspective of a star wars fan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJlbPXZEpRE&feature=player_embedded
It never occurred to me that the Cloud Car shots were trying to ward Han et al away. Very interesting take. I always took his cold greeting as a joke played upon Han.
Thanks for broadening my mind!
Me too. Honestly, I had always wondered why they were shooting at the Falcon. Even as a kid I had noticed that.
The Colt 45 commercials ruined Lando for me. I couldn’t see Billy Dee Williams in anything without thinking of those ads.
That’s the best name George Lucas could come up with? “Cloud Cars”? Lame.
Clog Fighters!
Me again, it’s been awhile.
That last panel could be a great way to sum up many things. Failed business? Panel. Zombie outbreak? Panel. Panel? Panel.
Good point, I never thought of it that way!
Another point in Lando’s favor is that he actually fixes the Falcon. (Granted someone deactivates it after its repairs.) If he genuinely wanted to betray Han, (or even had planned to, then had second thoughts) why fix the ship that would be Han and company’s easiest means of escape?