Imperial Pursuit!

Starcat reviews Star Wars comics: The Empire Strikes Back (part three)

Again there is a the story so far on the first page of the new chapter. The picture shows the Millennium Falcon in space, which is hinting at something that hasn't happened yet, like the title sequence of Mission: Impossible.

Luke is still trying to escape from the cliffhanger situation he was left in last time. Because the AT-AT is so slow he has to wait ages so that he can escape at the last possible second.

A minimal amount of suspense is created by only telling us what one of the two objects that Luke takes with him is. Luke could use the harpoon gun to bring down the AT-AT in the same way it was used to do so back in Battleground Hoth!, but to keep things interesting he instead decides to use it to climb up on the AT-AT.

The second object is revealed to be "a concussion charge" and it blows the AT-AT up by way of a chain reaction caused by Luke putting the charge in the exhaust port. Instead of having to use the Force, Luke uses his "laser blade" (three objects... I'll come in again).

C3PO, Han, Chewbacca and Princess Leia escape into space on the Millennium Falcon, just before Darth Vader arrives. He says

I want that ship!

and it reminds us cats of the way that Servalan wants the Liberator in Blakes 7.

The Millennium Falcon is chased by the baddys but Han tricks them into crashing into each other. If only Tarrant had had the budget to do that!

With more baddys chasing them they try to escape by flying into an "asteroid field." C3PO says "the probability of successfully navigating such an obstacle is approximately 2,467 to 1!"
Sadly, Han does not reply (as he does in the film) with

"Never tell me the odds."

and he instead says

Hang on, sweetheart... We're gonna' do some flyin'!

which is much less cool. But C3PO tells him different odds in the film anyway.

The scene changes to Darth Vader's spaceship, where Admiral OzzelPiett visits Darth Vader in his room and "half-glimpses" Darth Vader without his trademark helmet on.

This is one of the most atmospheric and intriguing panels in the comic, with the indistinct figure sillo silhou sillhouhoe in shadow adding to the mystery and menace of Darth Vader. We, like Piett, only "half-glimpse" him.

Concealing the faces of baddys who normally wear masks or helmets even when they don't have their masks or helmets on is a staple of Marvel comics, and has also been used for Doctor Doom, Destro, and probably some other characters whose names don't begin with "D".

The Millennium Falcon flies into the giant cave where the Space Glove Puppet lives, although they won't find out about it until the next chapter.

I am convinced that if you look really closely then you can just make out the Space Glove Puppet in that panel, hidden in the darkness.

Luke and R2D2 arrive on Dagobah to look for Yoda. It is not really a cliffhanger, as we can see Yoda waiting for them.

I don't think we're supposed to know it's Yoda yet, but I do.