| Feature 6 |
Product Backstory Once a card-playing scoundrel and a
successful smuggler, Lando Calrissian is right at home in the shadowy
reaches of the underworld culture that permeates the galaxy. While he
has rubbed elbows with hunters, mercenaries, outlaws and gangsters,
Lando has style and sophisticated taste, and he settles for nothing
short of the best. Lando's friendship with Han Solo goes way back,
though it has often given way to rivalry and contention over the
rightful ownership of Han's vessel, the Millennium Falcon. When Lando
quit the smuggling trade and went 'respectable', he settled down as the
baron-administrator of Cloud City and its lucrative gas mining
operation on Bespin.
In
the days after the Battle of Hoth, the bounty hunter known as Boba Fett
tracked the Falcon and its crew en route to the Bespin system, where
Lando Calrissian served as Baron Administrator of Cloud City. Darth
Vader immediately sought out Calrissian, and struck a pact with Lando
to turn Han over to the Empire, and in exchange, the Empire would not
interfere with Cloud City. Reluctantly, Lando agreed to the Empire's
plan and lured his old friend into the trap. But throughout the ordeal,
Vader kept altering his end of the bargain, and Calrissian realized
that nothing would save Cloud City from Vader and the Empire's
tyrannical rule. He warned Cloud City's populace of the impending
Imperial takeover, and aboard the Millennium Falcon, Lando led the
escape from the city.
Seeking redemption, Lando joined with the
Rebel forces in a daring mission to rescue the Han Solo from the
clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Lando infiltrated Jabba's
fortress on Tatooine, disguising himself in the armor of one of Jabba's
many faceless skiff guards. Calrissian was in perfect position when
Luke Skywalker sprung his rescue mission over the Great Pit of Carkoon,
and together they liberated Han and his friends.
During the
Battle of Endor, Calrissian again proved his mettle. Now a General in
the Alliance Forces, Lando volunteered to spearhead the starfighter
attack on the second Death Star while Admiral Ackbar led the capital
ships. His past exploits in the Battle of Tanaab helped prepare him for
the coming conflict. Lando's unorthodox strategies worked well with
Ackbar's more conservative tactics. When the Death Star proved
operational, Ackbar was ready to retreat. Instead, Calrissian commanded
the Alliance Fleet to engage the Imperial Fleet at point-blank range,
offering limited protection from the Death Star's massive superlaser
weapon.
Once a Rebel strike team deactivated the Death Star's
protective deflector shield, Lando led the starfighters into the
station's incomplete superstructure. Lando, aboard the Falcon, flew
point into the twisting narrow corridors of the Death Star's innards.
Once in the massive reactor core, he loosed a volley of concussion
missiles at the Death Star's exposed heart. He then outran the
fantastic explosion that followed, and the Millennium Falcon emerged
triumphantly from the dying Death Star. |
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