Lando Calrissian
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Lando Calrissian |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | friend of Han Solo |
| Fandom: | Star Wars |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Lando Calrissian is Star Wars character who appears in several movies and many of the tie-in novels and comics in both the Legends and Expanded Universe continuities.
Some Brief Canon Facts
Lando Calrissian first appears in The Empire Strikes Back. Darth Vader threatens to destroy Cloud City if Lando does not give his old friend Han Solo over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Lando later ends up helping Chewbacca, Leia Organa, R2-D2 and C-3PO escape. He assists Leia in rescuing the injured Luke Skywalker from the underside of Cloud City. He then joins the Rebel Alliance and promises Leia he will help find Han.
In Return of the Jedi, Lando helps Luke Skywalker rescue Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Lando is named a General for his efforts during the battle of Taanab. He then takes the pilot chair in the Millennium Falcon (with an entirely new crew onboard) and leads the second attack on the new Death Star. Wedge Antilles' X-Wing fighter and Lando in The Falcon destroy this new Death Star, and Lando's mission brings on the final downfall of the Galactic Empire.
Lots more here.
Fannish Reactions to Lando
Lando was a character who was either largely ignored, or written in a bad light. Some fans felt his due for his original betrayal of Han. Others wondered if this were due to his race. Still others suggested that the character's role of that as a man who was too comfortable in moral ambiguity was hardly a man to emulate.
Many fans speculated that Lando would have to die saving Han to make up for his betrayal as that was something that fit into basic mythology.
One fan writes that Lando is not "only a hunk but an admirable fellow as well. Certainly, he doesn't deserve all the flak he gets... The man IS decent and DOES have moral/honor. I'd like to know WHY there's so little material on him. Is it because he's black?" [1]
Another opinion:
Lando, I think, is disliked for simplistic reasons: he betrayed Han and Leia. His later change of heart not withstanding, that makes him a bad guy, moral ambiguity is not appreciated. While Lando isn't my favorite character, I can sympathize with him and feel that he is misunderstood by fans in much the same way that Leia is. The parallel, in fact, is instructive! Lando, like Leia, is a leader and thus responsible for other people besides himself. Indications are that he takes his responsibility seriously, whatever his background may have been. When he makes a decision, it affects not only him but his whole city. Now consider the position he is in in TESB — and also remember that he made his agreement with the Empire before Han and and Co. show up. He must balance his own feelings and tne good of two or three people against the good of several thousand people, knowing the Empire's power and Bespin's inability to withstand it. He almost certainly doesn't know Han and Leia's real importance or that by turning them over to Vader he could be jeopardizing millions or billions of people, nor does he know what Vader plans for them. Under the circumstances, he probably made the decision that seemed to offer the greatest good to the greatest number of people — his people. It was the wrong decision, mostly because he didn't have all the facts and he expected Vader to behave honorably, as Lando obviously would, and keep his side of the bargain. Lando did not wantonly or cravenly betray Han and Leia. He is is not on Vader's side, and he did change his mind when he realized he had been wrong. I think the end of TESB shows that Leia understands this, and if she can, surely fans can, too. [2]
Lando as "The Other"?
Lando, along with just about other character in the first two movies, was a subject of fannish speculation as they debated the identity of The Other.
One fan wrote: "We know he is an old friend of Han's, that he is a 'gambler, a conman, and a scoundrel.' We know... that he is now a responsible administrator. What else? He must be very lucky to live as a gambler -- yet Obi Wan tells us there's no such thing as luck. Does Lando feel stirrings of the Force that he is unaware of?" [3]
Pairings
Lando Calrissian/Han Solo is a popular slash pairing. Following the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018, Lando/L3-37 was also written.
Relatively few fics feature Lando with Tendra Risant, his Legends love interest. He is also paired with Luke Skywalker sometimes.
Fanworks
Fanfic
- Emperor Solo - a collaborative Tumblr fic in which Lando's administrative acumen is largely responsible for Han's success when the latter accidentally winds up as Emperor of the Galaxy.
Fanart
artist is Karen River, from eclectic (1985)
artist is Jenni Hennig, from Guardian #4 (1982)
artist is Bonnie Roberts, from Guardian #8 (1988)
portrait of Lando from Jundland Wastes #3, by Wanda Lybarger
art from Quastar #4, Larry Warner
art from Warped Space #46, Karen River
Lando from issue #10 of Jundland Wastes by Pat O'Neill
art from Jundland Wastes #15-16, D. Drake
Gee Moaven, portrait of Lando Calrissian, for "Circle" in Kessel Run #1
from Against the Sith #6 (1979)
from Against the Sith #9 (1980), Tracy Duncan
from Another Sky #2 (1992), Z.P. Florian
from The Jedi Journal #3 (1981), Dot Sasscer
from Organia (1982), Gail Abelove
from The Rebel and the Rogue (1983), J.R. Dunster
Archives and Fannish Links
Resources
References
- ^ from Jundland Wastes #2
- ^ from Jundland Wastes #2
- ^ from Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?