'SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE' AT 20: WHO'S FLYING THE FALCON?

Together, they're not quite the "Plan B" you'd expect for a major rescue operation, but Threepio and Artoo, despite their constant but lovable bickering, are just about competent enough to handle the delicate controls of the Millennium Falcon and race through the packed Coruscant skylines to spirit their human friends away from the clutches of Black Sun, in a fun moment from Steve Perry's SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE story, artistically realized by the Hildebrandt Brothers for the spin-off's best-selling TOPPS cards run of 1996/1997.

This scene was also cleverly referenced by an unhappy Han Solo in Brian Daley's audio adaptation of RETURN OF THE JEDI, also released in 1996, which brought in other Expanded Universe ties within its six enjoyable episodes.