"Return to Echo Base" is a story in the canon Free Comic Book Day one-shot comic Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars 1. The story was written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Ibraim Roberson and Rachelle Rosenberg, and published by Marvel Comics on May 4, 2024.
The story was designed in such a way to be welcoming to new readers to the Star Wars comic line. As such, Soule assured fans they could read the story without any prior context needed from other issues.[4] Soule enjoyed the story upon a re-read and especially liked an ending moment with Chewbacca, which repeatedly made him laugh.[5]
Plot summary
Leia Organa briefs soldiers of the Rebel Alliance about a heavily encrypted signal being picked up by a dead drop from the ruins of Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth. Leia interprets the signal as a potential group of Rebels trapped in the base after the evacuation. Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian volunteer to join Leia with the Millennium Falcon.
Back on Hoth, the Falcon flies past wreckage of Imperial walkers and crashed snowspeeders. Worried about sensor beacons, Lando opts to land the Falcon sufficiently far away from the base.
Meanwhile, within the former Rebel base, a detachment of snowtroopers play a card game to pass the time. A group of troopers discuss the circumstances that trap them in the frigid base, namely, their Lieutenant, who was supposedly present during a Rebel assault on Coruscant in which a statue of Emperor Palpatine was damaged. They are unsure whether he was involved or if he was just the scapegoat. As they speak, the troopers notice a quartet of silhouettes approaching the open hangar doors.
Weapons drawn, Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca engage the unprepared Imperials in combat. Chewbacca uses his bowcaster to destroy the Imperials' long-range comms and Luke uses his lightsaber to destroy a Viper probe droid. A number of other snowtroopers are suddenly taken down by three Rebels in tattered uniforms. The seven Rebels board a troop cart and flee the base, but they are followed by the Imperials in a K79-S80 Imperial Troop Transport.
Recognizing the transport's cannon could destroy the Falcon on the ground, Lando decides to enter a snowstorm to try and lose their pursuers. The Lieutenant is undeterred and unconcerned by the dangers of the storm and continues the chase. Luke soon feels a pull through the Force towards a place of safety and gives Lando directions.
The Rebels find refuge in the Wampa cave in which Luke was nearly killed months before. The recovered Rebels express their gratitude for Leia's rescue and mention their extreme hunger acquired from months of hiding. Chewbacca presents a solution in the form of the lopped-off arm of the wampa which once inhabited the cave.
The following morning, the Rebels exit the cave and find the Imperial troop transport completely frozen through, including all of the troopers and the Lieutenant. Chewbacca quips about the Imperials' plight, which Lando finds to be ice-cold.
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| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
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Organisms
Droid models
Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Return to Echo Base" — Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars 1
- ↑
FCBD 2024 STAR WARS #1 (BUNDLES OF 20) on www.freecomicbookday.com (November 17, 2024) (backup link)
- ↑ The events of "Return to Echo Base" take place after the Escape from Cloud City and before the Rescue of Han Solo, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY, respectively, by Star Wars: Galactic Atlas.
- ↑
Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) on Twitter (post): "Oh yeah. It's designed for new readers. (In response to: "I'm not caught up on your main run (on issue 21) but I got this yesterday and was wondering if I can still read it without major spoilers or missing any important context?")" (backup link)
- ↑ Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) on Twitter (post): "I just reread this and it turned out really well! If you give it a spin let me know what you think. There's a beat at the end with Chewbacca that makes me laugh every time I think about it." (backup link)