I once heard that the only character in the Star Wars universe to actually hit everyone they aimed at was Princess Leia. Storm Troopers couldn’t hit squat, and every supporting cast seemed to have their fair share of hits and misses.
So when I heard back in 1997 that Greedo now shoots first, my first reaction was similar to everyone else’s: Why? Han was supposed to have fired the only shot. He’s a downright scoundrel. That’s what scoundrels do. But I won’t beat this dead horse anymore.
(Han shots first, and that’s how I’ll always remember it; and hopefully with Disney now owening Star Wars they’ll dig into the vaults and release the original unaltered trilogy on blu-ray (but I won’t hold my breath))
But I did wonder about one thing, how in the hell could Greedo miss from only two feet away. It got me thinking about that old fact that the only person in the Star Wars universe to actually hit all of her targets was Princess Leia. I mean jeez, she was even able to kill off a couple Storm Troopers after being shot in the shoulder in Return of the Jedi.
So cheers to you Princess Leia. You’re the most dangerous killer in the Star Wars universe.
the only way Gredo could miss is if he forgot his contacts that day and was hammered drunk
Good theory. He was in a bar, after all.
I love strips with the “pew pew!”
PEW PEW!!!!!!!!!
PEW PEW!!!
Greedo never fired a shot. Han killed Greedo so that Han could leave. Lucas added Greedo’s lazer blast after the fact to make Han seem less cold.
I am aware.
Leia went without a gun most of the time but made it count when she had one. quality > quantity
That she did.
Poor Greedo never had a chance.
He never did.
I would say that Greedo missed due to a few primary factors:
- If his shot was edited in after (dammit, HAN SHOT FIRST! He shot first because I would have shot first – but I’d have done it under the table) then Greedo was FORCED to miss. Logic – Han was around later, Greedo was not.
- “Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy.” Look it up at TVTropes.
- Even from two feet away, it is possible to miss. Stress, anxiety, and other emotions can screw with your aim for anything with more range than “contact.”
- HAN SHOT FIRST. Got it? Anyone who believes that Greedo shot first would believe the “Single Bullet Theory.” (Watch the Zapruder film – JFK clearly shows impact from a bullet travelling UPWARD. Oswald could not possibly have hit JFK with a straight shot – to do so would have required that he pulled a PLANNED ricochet off of the pavement. A couple of problems there:
(1 – John Wayne couldn’t make that shot, with Jesus Christ as his Sp:FX director.
(2 – Ricochets are, by nature, unpredictable. The typical rifle bullet is spinning about 300krpm as it flies.
(3 – the Carcano – and its cartridge – are utter shit.
(4 – I remember watching 101st ABN recreate Dealy Plaza, and try to recreate the shot. I was on TDY. Direct shots were possible, but the Kennedy dummy didn’t react the way he did on Zapruder. Planned ricochets? The best shots in the Army couldn’t pull it off. And the practise shots were taken at the same angle, from the same locations, shooting at the manhole cover on the scene – which was only hit11 times in 25. Yeah, the Carcano sucks THAT BAD.)
Or he was blind, stinking, drunk.
OK – that too! I do admit I tend to overanalyze things.
However, my mind also generally works fast enough that the delay isn’t noticeable…
The answer to your question, “how in the hell could Greedo miss from only two feet away”
I think this video will answer
(well sort of since his gun doesn’t fire) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cN1xBwTZFM
Unless the gun fires the jury is still out.