Page 144 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)
P. 144

JOE SCHREIBER’S


                                                                 FIVE FAVORITE
                                                                 FIVE FAVORITE
                                                      STAR WARS DEMISES
                                                      STAR WARS DEMISES


                                                             Death has played a big part in author Joe Schreiber’s Star

                                                       Wars work, including the novels Death Troopers, Red Harvest,
                                                                    and Darth Maul: Lockdown. Who better to choose five















                              BEN KENOBI’S DEATH                                                     fantastic Star Wars fatalities?




                                                                                Death is rarely forever in the Star Wars universe, and Obi-Wan,
                                                                                of course, comes back later in the trilogy—but to this day, the
                                                                                moment on the Death Star when he allows Vader to kill him is
                                                                                still devastating. A crucial part of the story, Ben’s death actually
                                                                                means something, both narratively and metaphysically. He risks
                                                                                his life to disarm the tractor beam, and then engages Vader in
                                                                                combat knowing there’s no way that he can possibly defeat the
                                                                                Sith Lord physically : “If you strike me down, I shall become
                                                                                more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” That’s a pretty
                                                                                revolutionary thought, and Kenobi makes good on it in a way
                                                                                that shapes the way we think about the Force, redemption,
                                                                                and resurrection in the Star Wars universe forever after.


                              GREEDO’S DEATH
































            In many ways, these few crucial seconds of A New Hope have          canny enough that he wouldn’t let a scoundrel like Greedo get

            become the Zapruder film of the Star Wars galaxy, where the          the drop on him by drawing first. It also addresses the unrealistic


            question of who fired at whom has developed an incredible            detail that someone like Greedo—who really is a cold-blooded


            significance. In our heart of hearts, no matter what we might        psychopath—would fire and miss his target at point-blank range.
            like to think, we all know that Han shot first. Contrary to popular   By personality alone, he’s deadlier than Han, and Han knew it,

            belief and revisionist history, the fact that he already had his    which is why, when the time came, Han puts him down like a dog,
            blaster out and was ready to handle business doesn’t mean that      without hesitation. Plus, the moment immediately afterwards,
            he’s a cold-blooded psychopath. It simply works as a very clear     when Han tosses money to the bartender and says, “Sorry about
            and economical defining moment for his character—that he’s           the mess,” is arguably the single coolest moment in the movie.


            not only able to handle himself in a fight, but that he’s quick and   At least I thought so when I was seven.
             144    INSIDER
   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148