Lando Calrissian
Encyclopedia
Lando Calrissian is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....

. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...

 in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...

and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...

. He also appears frequently in the Star Wars "Expanded Universe
Star Wars Expanded Universe
The Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...

" of novels, comic books and video games, including a series of novels
The Adventures of Lando Calrissian
The Adventures of Lando Calrissian is a trilogy of science fiction novels set in the Star Wars galaxy 5–2 years BBY. The series serves as a prequel to the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The trilogy follows the smuggling days of Lando Calrissian before the movies and helps further...

 in which he is the primary protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Lando Calrissian first appears in The Empire Strikes Back as the administrator of Cloud City
Bespin
Bespin is a fictional planet, a gas giant in Star Wars films and books. The planet was first seen in the 1980 feature film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...

, concerned primarily with keeping the Empire
Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...

 out of his affairs. One day, Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

 arrives and threatens to take over the city unless Calrissian gives his old friend Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...

 over to the bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...

 Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....

. Calrissian reluctantly agrees to betray Han, but his conscience gets the better of him when Vader goes back on his word and takes Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe...

 and Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

 as prisoners. In the ensuing evacuation of Cloud City, he helps Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2
R2-D2
R2-D2 , is a character in the Star Wars universe. An astromech droid, R2-D2 is a major character throughout all six Star Wars films. Along with his droid companion C-3PO, he joins or supports Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in various points in the saga...

 and C-3PO
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...

 escape. He then assists Leia in rescuing the maimed Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

 from the underside of Cloud City. Afterwards, he joins the Rebel Alliance and promises Leia he will find Han.

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...

, Calrissian goes undercover to help Luke Skywalker rescue Solo from Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....

. During a heated battle with Jabba's henchmen, Han saves Calrissian from being devoured by a Sarlaac; in return, Calrissian helps Han and his friends destroy Jabba's barge. For his heroics, he is made a general in the Rebel Alliance. He then takes the pilot chair in the Millennium Falcon and leads the attack on the second Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...

. He leads the Rebels to victory by destroying the gigantic battle station and, with it, the Empire.

Pre-Empire Strikes Back

Calrissian's life prior to The Empire Strikes Back is chronicled in The Adventures of Lando Calrissian
The Adventures of Lando Calrissian
The Adventures of Lando Calrissian is a trilogy of science fiction novels set in the Star Wars galaxy 5–2 years BBY. The series serves as a prequel to the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The trilogy follows the smuggling days of Lando Calrissian before the movies and helps further...

series of novels. Early in his career, Lando is a prodigious gambler and wins the Millennium Falcon
Millennium Falcon
The Millennium Falcon is a spacecraft in the Star Wars universe commanded by smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca...

in a game of sabacc. He also wins a strange star-shaped droid named Vuffi Raa, who would be his friend and ally on many occasions. After acquiring the Falcon, and under the tutelage of his friend Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...

, Calrissian begins to develop his skills as a pilot.

In Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu
Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu
Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu is a science fiction novel set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was written by L. Neil Smith and originally published in 1983 by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books...

, he is conned by the Sorcerer of Tund, Rokur Gepta, into hunting down the titular object in the Rafa system. When he arrives, he finds it totally covered in sand and plastic pyramids, and inhabited by a dull and slow-witted society, the Toka. Lando eventually finds the mindharp, but the human governor of Rafa IV activates it. Majestically, the pyramids crumble and the Toka are revealed as the Sharu, an ancient civilization that had drained their intelligence away for safety. Once the Sharu are resurrected, they drive out all the humans. Lando is forced to return to Rokur empty-handed.

In Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka
Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka
Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka is a science fiction novel set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was written by L. Neil Smith and originally published in 1983 by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books...

, Lando tries to save a space-borne species called the Oswaft. During the mission, strange spherical droids appear and take Vuffi Raa away, for he is actually a scout for this strange culture. Then, he enters the sabacc championships, and loses to Han Solo. Han makes off with the Millennium Falcon.

In Rebel Dawn
Rebel Dawn
Rebel Dawn is the third volume in The Han Solo Trilogy, by Ann C. Crispin. It was first published in 1998.-Summary:Han Solo wins the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in an intense sabacc tournament on Bespin...

, Calrissian helps Han Solo, Chewbacca
Chewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

, and Solo's old flame Bria Tharen (then a Commander in the Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....

) in a raid against the Hutt
Hutt (Star Wars)
The Hutts are a fictional alien race in the Star Wars universe. They appear in The Phantom Menace, Return of the Jedi and The Clone Wars, as well as the special edition release of A New Hope. They also appear in various Star Wars games, including those based on the movies, and the Knights of the...

-controlled slave world of Ylesia. During the raid which promises generous rewards to Han and his compatriots, Tharen's Red Hand Squadron double crosses Lando and the rest of Han's friends. In the ensuing chaos, Han is branded an accomplice and a traitor. Back on Nar Shaddaa (then Solo's home) word soon spreads, and Calrissian punches him out. The two do not see each other again until The Empire Strikes Back, set three years later.

Later, he wins the mining facility of Cloud City from its current ruler, Baron Raynor. He becomes a responsible leader, keeping his operations out of the eyes of the Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...

. These events are chronicled in the comic book story "Lady Luck," written by Rich Handley and Darko Macan, and its sequel, "Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array," by Rich Handley.

Pre-Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars comic book series released by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 featured Calrissian as a prominent character following The Empire Strikes Back. In the comic series, he has a crime lord arch nemesis named Drebble, and Calrissian will frequently make use of his foil's name as a cover identity so that any animosity he generates while using the alias will be brought against the real Drebble, not Calrissian himself. Drebble features in the comic story "Lady Luck," in which he receives a first name, Barpotomous. Calrissian's use of Drebble's name backfires when the alliance hears how much trouble "Drebble" has been causing the Empire, and orders Calrissian to find and decorate him.

Post-Return of the Jedi

Following the events of Return of the Jedi, he builds a mining complex on the Nkllon called Nomad City. The city consists of an old Dreadnaught carried across the landscape on the night side of the planet.

Nomad City is destroyed during Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a fictional character and major antagonist from the Star Wars galaxy. He first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, published between 1992 and 1994...

's campaign against the New Republic
New Republic (Star Wars)
The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...

, portrayed in The Thrawn Trilogy
The Thrawn trilogy
The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the...

. When Emperor Palpatine
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...

 reappears in Dark Empire
Dark Empire
Dark Empire is a Star Wars comic book metaseries produced by Dark Horse Comics. It consists of a six-issue limited series written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Cam Kennedy , followed by a second six-issue limited series by Veitch and Kennedy and a two-issue limited series written by Veitch and drawn...

and begins his own campaign against the New Republic
New Republic (Star Wars)
The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...

, Calrissian rejoins the Republic's military at his previous rank. After Palpatine is finally destroyed in Empire's End
Empire's End
Empire's End is a trade paperback collecting a series of comic books written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Jim Baikie, published in 1997...

, Calrissian leaves the military. When Kessel is abandoned following Admiral Daala's attack on the planet in Darksaber, Calrissian takes over the planet, converts its prison into a mining complex, and mines spice from the planet for a number of years.

During The Corellian Trilogy
The Corellian Trilogy
The Corellian Trilogy is a trilogy of novels written by Roger Macbride Allen that are set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe galaxy. They follow Han Solo and his family as they return to Solo's homeworld, Corellia. There, they are caught up in local turmoil as Solo's cousin, Thracken Sal-Solo makes...

, Calrissian goes on a galaxy
Star Wars Galaxy
Star Wars Galaxy may mean:* Star Wars Galaxies, a Star Wars themed MMORPG platform for Microsoft Windows* Star Wars galaxy, the fictional galaxy where the setting of the Star Wars saga occurs...

-wide hunt for a rich wife. The businessman, reasoning that marriage is partly a financial relationship, meets Tendra Risant, whom he marries. With his inlaws' money and his entrepreneurial abilities, he opens a mining facility on the planet of Dubrillion on the Outer Rim. On the side, he unofficially runs an asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

 training facility for smuggler pilots.

In Vector Prime
Vector Prime
Vector Prime is a science fiction novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore and published in 1999. It is the first installment of the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars universe.-Summary:...

, Calrissian asks Solo and Chewie to help him with a business transaction on the planet of Sernpidal. During this trip, Chewbacca meets his demise, saving Solo's son Anakin from the moon the Yuuzhan Vong
Yuuzhan Vong
The Yuuzhan Vong are a group of fictional characters from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They rise as a threat to the New Republic in the New Jedi Order series of novels....

 sends crashing onto the planet. Solo, Anakin, and the thousands of people they saved head to Dubrillion, where the first major clash between the biological Vong and the mechanical New Republic occurs. Calrissian's ground defenses, as well as his newly-created shielding technologies, help save Dubrillion from the initial assault. When the Vong retreat, the Skywalker family
Skywalker family
The Skywalker family is a fictional family in the Star Wars series. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force...

 launch a desperate attack with the Star Destroyer Rejuvenator and its task force. Calrissian serves as gunner for Solo on the Falcon, but the Rejuvenator and most of her complement of ships are destroyed.

In Dark Tide: Onslaught
Dark Tide: Onslaught
Dark Tide: Onslaught is the first novel in a two-part story by Michael A. Stackpole. Published and released in 2000, it is the second installment of the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars universe.-Summary:In the aftermath of the Second Battle of Helska, the New Republic believes that the...

, Calrissian helps the Solos organize an escape route for Skywalker's Jedi Academy. He poses as a citizen of the besieged world Talfaglia in order to deliver 17 Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...

 "hostages" to the Yuuzhan Vong; this is actually a strike team, which attempts to destroy the cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...

 facilities on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. He also creates Yuuzhan Vong Hunter Droids, two of which prove crucial in the assault on Myrkr to destroy the voxyn queen, and dozens more are used in assaults on Vong strongholds throughout the war.

In Star By Star
Star by Star
Star by Star is the tenth installment of the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars universe. It is a science fiction novel written by Troy Denning and published in 2001.-Summary:...

, Calrissian's efforts are crucial in delaying the Vong victory in a battle on Coruscant
Coruscant
Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...

. Instead of using mines to attack the Vong piecemeal, he lets them into the minefield, then turns them on the approaching enemy. Over one thousand of the Vong are destroyed or damaged. He also rescues the kidnapped Ben Skywalker from the clutches of the treacherous Senator Viqi Shesh.

In Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream
Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream
Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream is the twelfth installment of the New Jedi Order series, set in the Star Wars universe. It is the first novel in a two-part story by Aaron Allston; the sequel is Enemy Lines: Rebel Stand...

, Calrissian leads the ground troops to a quick victory, then volunteers to lead a small task force to destroy Vong ambushes of convoys and find out how they tracked said convoys. These efforts are wholly successful, with large Vong capital ships destroyed with minimal effort, time, fuel, and munitions.

Finally, when the newly located Galactic Senate on Mon Calamari sets out to vote for a new Chief of State, Calrissian and Talon Karrde provide "incentives" such as silence, money, and blackmail to convince a group of corrupt senators to vote for Cal Omas, who supports the Jedi. When Omas is elected, Calrissian , Karrde, and Star Destroyer owner Booster Terrik lead the Smuggler's Alliance, with Han Solo commanding, to victory over a massive Yuuzhan Vong force in the rout at Ebaq 9.

Calrissian eventually retires to private life after proving crucial in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar and creating a new Holonet to replace the one the Vong destroyed.

In the seventh novel of the Legacy of the Force
Legacy of the Force
The Legacy of the Force is a series of nine science fiction novels set in the Star Wars fictional universe, taking place approximately 40 years after the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope...

series, Fury
Fury (Star Wars novel)
Fury is the seventh book in the Legacy of the Force series. It is a paperback by Aaron Allston and was released on November 27, 2007. It was #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list.-Plot summary:...

, Calrissian announces to Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo that he and Tendra are having a child.

Reception

Lando Calrissian was chosen as the 11th top Star Wars character by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 and the character was chosen as the 12th top Star Wars hero by Jesse Schedeen. Schedeen also said that Calrissian was one of the characters he would most like seeing in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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