Revision as of 17:31, 15 November 2013

Improvised

Title text: Oh, your brother is Luke. Sorry, should've mentioned that first.

Explanation

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In the film "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back", just before Han Solo, portrayed by Harrison Ford, is frozen in carbonite, the following conversation occurs:

Leia: I love you.

Han: I know.

The original script had Han Solo respond with "I love you, too", but Harrison Ford felt that the character would not give such a cliched response, even in the face of likely death and ad-libbed the "I know" line that was actually used in the finished film. The ad-libbed line is generally thought to be better than the original would have been.

The comic presents several alternative ad-libs that Ford could have made in that conversation as well as at various points throughout the trilogy.

Well, duh: Here, Han ruins the mood [a dramatic confession] with a flippant statement.
Han Solo in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.: Another example of an out-of-tone ad-lib. The original line is "never tell me the odds", a nod to Solo's daredevil persona. In this ad-lib, however, he is hesitant to try anything dangerous.
Oh! Hey, that explains the kissing earlier.: Another absurd, out-of-character answer to a serious remark, this time with Solo acting romantically oblivious [rather than forward, as he is usually].
I'm nailing your brother.: So far Leia doesn't know she has a brother. Also, since to nail means to penetrate, it should be a shock for her to know that Han is either gay or bisexual. This panel is referenced in the alt-text.
Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for scissors, though they do beat paper and rock.: The original line is "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid", a reference to Luke's force training and lightsaber use. In this ad-lib, Han turns a discussion about weapons into a [unusually formal] discussion about the game Rock-paper-scissors.

Cool. Listen, this thing is really, REALLY cold.: Han is in a freezing chamber in this scene. This remark is more of an exaggeration of Han's character than anything–he doesn't care at all about Leia's confession, he's only worried about his own comfort.
Wowzers: Wowzers is an expression used by Inspector Gadget; another amusingly out-of-character ad-lib.
General Solo, is your strike team assembled?: The original response here is "Uh, my team's ready. I don't have a command crew for the shuttle." In this ad-lib, Han responds to a serious situation [preparations for an important mission to bring down the Galactic Empire] with an unserious response.
I'd just as soon kiss a wookiee.: In the original film, Leia's remark "I'd just as soon kiss a wookiee" is meant as an insult to Han, implying that he's less attractive than a great hairy monster. In this ad-lib, though, Han takes her statement literally, and suggests that he is also interested in kissing a wookiee. Chewbacca is Han's wookiee copilot and fellow smuggler. Han's suggestion that he's interested in kissing Chewbacca is unexpected on many levels: firstly, Han's shown interest in Leia, secondly, Chewbacca is an entirely different species, and thirdly, Chewbacca is also male, and Han Solo is presumed by Leia to be straight.

Note: although it's spelled "wookie" in the comic, the canonical spelling of Chewbacca's species is "Wookiee".

Title text

It refers to the plot twist that Luke Skywalker is princess Leia's brother, which would not be revealed until the next film in the series. How Han Solo knows this twist at this point in the story is unknown, but he must at least know that Leia has a brother in the center left panel.

Transcript

Harrison Ford Famously Improvised His "I know" Line in E.S.B. (The Empire Strikes Back). Here are a few of his less-successful ad-libs: