11: “I’ll see you in Hell!”
Age 13/14/15? | 1981/82/83? Han braves the hellish Hoth blizzard to save his friend Luke.
Hell?
Yes, this was an odd sounding bit in the Star Wars universe, but something similar has since appeared in The Last Jedi, when Laura Dern’s character says “Godspeed”. That got people feverishly chatting online after the film came out. Funnily enough, Jedi now almost seem to be somewhat Godlike in their latest revealed powers.
Nice! I wonder where I copied it from?
Art Notes
That drawing of Han really sticks out on this page. If I really drew that from my own imagination, I’ll bet I was really proud of it! I flicked through Al Williamson’s Marvel adaptation artwork, the Storybook and the novelisation but I couldn’t find any images like it. So, I dunno—was it a bit of a fluke?
There’s more colour on this page than usual which is nice to see.
Film Notes
Director Irwin Kershner and Hamill described how they shot this scene with Mark Hamill, through the open door of a Norwegian log cabin during a blizzard. The crew were all clustered around inside the open door—with a toasty fire raging in the hearth—with the camera pointing out of it—and Mark Hamill was outside on his own in the snow—freezing!
I’d love to read your comments below! Do you think it sounds weird to hear ‘Hell’ or ‘Godspeed’ in Star Wars?
What did you think of the extra power?
It was pretty exciting, but at that level of Godlikeness, what can they do next?
I liked the twist, the reveal, during the shiwdown with Kylo.
Sad to see Luke’s exit though.
Can Han see Ben here? That would be like what Luke did in Last Jedi!
I think he can, Phil!
And it would be very like Last Jedi… and I did it first!
I love Han’s dismissive ‘yeah, thanks’ in the first panel.
As for ‘see you in Hell’, I would’ve been 6/7 years old when Empire first came out, and not particularly concerned about consistent religious beliefs in a galaxy far far away (I was more interested in the walking tanks, angry yetis and wise old Muppets). It only really came to my attention in later life when the wider universe of novels and comics made it clear that Heaven and Hell were not dreamed of in the Star Wars galaxy’s philosopy. To be honest, as a line of dialogue, it’s consistent with the pulp sci-fi serial feel that George Lucas was going for, so it’s fine by me.
When it comes to ‘Godspeed’ I’ve seen The Last Jedi three times, and I can’t say I noticed it (I was more interested in the walking tanks, character development and the defiant repositioning of the Star Wars mythology). Again, it seems to fit with the feel of the fim, soit’s fine with me. 🙂
Excellent comment, Dan.
You know, it’s just occurred to me that Han is pissed off with the Rebel. He delivers a punchy line “I’ll see you in HELL!” and heroically rides out, but mid-way the impact is killed by the rebel almost like:
“I put those sandwiches that you like and some hot chocolate in your satchel.”