Review: ‘Return of the Jedi: Lando’ Shows Lando’s Next Step to Infiltrate Jabba’s Palace
One of the big questions of Return of the Jedi that the current run of Star Wars comics pledged to answer was how Lando managed to infiltrate Jabba’s Palace disguised as a guard. We got part of the answer in the main Star Wars comic run last year, as Lando acquired the guard uniform in an earlier story.
This one-shot comic takes the next step, as Lando sets out with Chewbacca to obtain the blueprints for Jabba’s Palace, which would give him knowledge of the palace’s secret entrances and passages. Armed with that information, he’d be able to slip inside the palace already disguised and seamlessly take his place within Jabba’s forces.
The comic is action packed, introducing us to new characters connected to Lando’s past as he pivots from one roadblock to the next. I wouldn’t say the comic is required reading; while it’s a fun read, it’s clear we won’t be seeing him actually take his place in Jabba’s Palace until later in the main Star Wars comic series. It may not be an important story, but it is an entertaining one.
Spoilers ahead…
The comic kicks off with Lando negotiating for the blueprints to Jabba’s Palace with an old Nikto acquaintance of his named Narin. The two are haggling over the price when Chewbacca loses his patience and grabs the Nikto around the throat. Lando calms the Wookiee down, but Narin is understandably flustered by the whole experience and doubles the price to 10,000 credits before ordering them both to leave.
Lando and Chewie find themselves wandering the streets on this new planet looking for a way to come up with 10,000 credits. They certainly don’t have that kind of money lying around and the Republic can’t exactly spare the funds either. Thankfully, Lando has another contact on the planet — a blue-skinned alien named Elocin who has a past with both Lando and Han.
She isn’t pleased to see Lando again — we learn that the last time they’d met, she told him she never wanted to see his face again — but Lando offers to play her for the credits in a game of sabacc. Arguably the most surprising development of this issue comes when Elocin asks what he’s prepared to offer if he loses, at which point Chewbacca offers to come work for her crew for at least 10 jobs.
We all know the Wookiees’ history with slavery and their own policy on life debts, so it’s huge that Chewbacca is willing to sell himself off like this. However, we all know how much Han means to Chewie. This just underlines how far he’s willing to go for his best friend. Plus, he’s clearly aware of how good Lando is at sabacc (even when he’s not cheating).
The game gets underway and Lando appears to be winning. The pair are about to deal their final hands when the Empire interrupts them, having been led there by Narin who decided to cash in on Lando’s bounty rather than sell him the blueprints. A huge shootout erupts between Lando, Chewie, Elocin and the Empire, with Chewie getting a couple of awesome moments flipping tables and throwing stormtroopers around like ragdolls. Meanwhile, Lando tackles the Imperial Officer and the pair of them land in the beast fighting pit in the centre of the building.
While the officer is eaten, Lando escapes quickly when Chewbacca pulls him out. There are some other moments between Lando and Elocin that echo Lando’s own relationship with Han — he’s clearly screwed her over in the past, but their bond is reforged during the fight and sentimentality wins out.
Lando and Chewie head back to the Falcon defeated, but he gets a surprise call from Elocin, who manages to transfer him the blueprints for free after dealing with Narin herself, punishing the Nikto for bringing the Empire to her establishment. Lando thanks her profusely but she jovially requests that he “doesn’t” come back soon.
At the end of the day, Lando’s past comes to his rescue at the end of an inconsequential but entertaining story.
Rating: 7/10
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
