History Film / TheEmpireStrikesBack

* DaylightHorror: The bright white Cloud City, where it's immediately apparent something is not right. Though its most sinister scenes take place in the darkly lit industrial areas underneath, the welcoming and futuristic interior of the city winds up being an unsettling location as the Empire infiltrates it and lays a trap for Luke using Han and Leia.

* VillainBall: Vader picks it up big-time on Bespin. Both Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett complain about Darth Vader's plan to freeze Han in carbonite, Lando because Han is his friend, Fett because he wants to collect Jabba's bounty on Han. Vader reassures Fett that the Empire will compensate Fett if Han dies, but coldly tells Lando that he is altering the deal. Now, consider the fact that Boba Fett is just one guy; Vader could kill him and have his body tossed off the side of Cloud City, and no one would care. For that matter, Vader could have tested the carbon-freezing process on Fett, and no one would have minded. Lando, by contrast, was the administrator of Cloud City and had a loyal security force at his command that he subsequently used to rescue Leia, Chewie, and Threepio, which of course led to the ruination of Vader's plans. If Vader had been thinking rationally, he would have realized very quickly that Lando was the one he needed to assuage, but Boba Fett he could ignore or even dispose of. So why did Vader do the opposite? Well, Fett was evil and Lando wasn't, so of course Vader would favor Fett, even though it was against his interest.
* ViolationOfCommonSense: When the ''Millennium Falcon'' is being chased through an AsteroidThicket Han suggests going ''closer'' to one of the really big ones. Leia is incredulous but it actually works because the TIE fighters are too scared to go close and the heroes are able to hide in a cave on the asteroid. Of course this [[ThatsNoMoon comes with its own problems]].

* WellExcuseMePrincess: Han and Leia, in spades.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[AvertedTrope Han tries]] ''immediately''. Vader simply [[BulletCatch blocks the shots with his hand]], then Force-pulls the blaster away from Han.

* MercyKill: As revealed in the next film, Vader's Force chokes are intended to be this. For example, Captain Needa opted to confess his failure in the asteroid field to Vader directly because he knew with Vader, at least the worst he'll do to you is asphyxiate you without having to lay so much as a finger on you, and he'll spare your crew as well, which is more than can be said for the Emperor--and Vader, as he very strongly implies to Moff Jerjerrod the next year, appears to have counted on it.

* MyFistForgivesYou: After Captain Needa has failed to apprehend the ''Millenium Falcon'', he reports his failure to Darth Vader, who force-chokes him to death:
-->'''Darth Vader''': Apology accepted, Captain Needa.

** The movie has more locales, more action, and features the first Luke/Vader lightsaber duel. While the Force in the first movie was vaguely defined telepathic and telekinetic powers, ''Empire'' shows the Force can also give you superhuman physical abilities and low-grade clairvoyance.[[note]]Although the clairvoyance part was hinted at in the previous movie.[[/note]]

* SoProudOfYou: A villainous example with Vader towards Luke. Several times during their duel, Luke has surprised Vader with his resourcefulness, ability, and power in the force. Since Vader was once a Jedi when the Order still had a large presence and is a trained force user with years of combat experience, Vader is most likely beaming with pride on the inside that his son could become so powerful in only a few months (over a year at best) when it would take other normal Jedi years to gain the same results.
-->'''Vader:''' The force is with you, young Skywalker.\\

* TakingTheBullet: Captain Needa [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to a Force Choke [[TheMenFirst to save his crew from Vader's wrath]].

* MomentKiller: Just as Han and Leia were into their first kiss, C-3PO bursts in, chattering about the reverse power flux couplings.
** Well, he ''has'' found the [[OppositesAttract reverse]] [[SlapSlapKiss power flux]] [[BigDamnKiss coupling]].

* StealthPun: [=C-3PO=] [[LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone isolated]] [[OppositesAttract the reverse]] [[SlapSlapKiss power flux]] [[BigDamnKiss coupling]] in the ''Millenium Falcon'' before [[MomentKiller he interrupted Han and Leia's moment]].

* ObfuscatingStupidity: How Yoda first acts around Luke, [[SecretTestOfCharacter to ascertain Luke's mental preparedness for Jedi training]].

* GrewASpine: Luke, when he left Yoda's training to save Han and Leia.

** The TropeNamer: Han tells C-3PO this when 3PO gives him the odds of surviving within an asteroid field. Later, Leia tells 3PO [[BigShutUp to shut up]] when tries to give the odds of surviving a direct attack on a Star Destroyer.

* BreakoutCharacter: Boba Fett, famously, became incredibly popular and marketable after a subtle yet significant role in this film.

Rescued by Han Solo (Creator/HarrisonFord), he recovers just in time for the Empire to discover and lay siege to their base. Upon evacuation, Han and Leia Organa (Creator/CarrieFisher) flee in the damaged and malfunctioning ''Millenium Falcon'', struggling to stay ahead of the Imperial Navy, while Luke goes to train with the mysterious Yoda. Eventually, circumstances reunite the friends for a climactic confrontation with the Empire, including a showdown with Darth Vader (Creator/DavidProwse, with voice dubbing by Creator/JamesEarlJones) in which Luke learns a terrible truth...

* ElectricTorture: In Cloud City, Han is strapped to a gurney and lowered over a device that appears to administer brief, intense electric shocks.

* HiddenInPlainSight: The ''Millennium Falcon'' hides on the back of a Star Destroyer.

** The tubes Luke fall into deserve a mention too, its apparently where anyone who falls into the chasm ends up, and there are traps randomly opening into the void below.

** Perhaps the most controversial change was Creator/TemueraMorrison overdubbing all of Jeremy Bulloch's lines as Boba Fett. Supporters argue that it makes the film tie in better with the prequel trilogy, while detractors dislike it for [[FanonDiscontinuity exactly that reason]] in addition to it being disrespectful to Bulloch's performance.

[[header:[[center:[-'''''Franchise/StarWars'' Films'''\\
'''''Skywalker Saga:''''' '''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace I]]''' | ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones II]]'' | ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith III]]'' | ''[[Film/ANewHope IV]]'' | ''V'' | ''[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi VI]]'' | ''[[Film/TheForceAwakens VII]]'' | ''[[Film/TheLastJedi VIII]]'' | ''[[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker IX]]''\\
'''''A Star Wars Story:''''' '''''Film/RogueOne''''' | '''''Film/{{Solo}}'''''-]]]]]

[[header:[[center:[-'''''Franchise/StarWars'' -- Skywalker Saga'''\\
''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace I]]'' | ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones II]]'' | ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith III]]'' | ''[[Film/ANewHope IV]]'' | '''V''' | ''[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi VI]]'' | ''[[Film/TheForceAwakens VII]]'' | ''[[Film/TheLastJedi VIII]]'' | ''[[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker IX]]''-]]]]]

** You misunderstand. The Emperor in this film is not "often described" as having chimpanzee eyes, he ''literally did''. The eyes of a chimpanzee were superimposed over Marjorie Eaton's face to make "him" look stranger (though it goes without saying that Palpatine's appearance in this film - the original version at least, not the Special Edition with Creator/IanMcDiarmid) looks absolutely nothing like the character does in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

JustForFun/TheOneWith [[LukeIAmYourFather that ever-famous line]].

[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Try to describe]] ''[[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere The Empire Strikes Back]]'' [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere here.]]

No. Try not. Do, or do not. {{There is no try}}.

* NearVillainVictory: The Battle Of Hoth. The Rebels know full well they have no hope of winning, and the whole battle is basically just to buy time in order to evacuate as many people as possible. Furthermore, it's implied that if Admiral Ozzel hadn't [[NiceJobFixingItVillain ruined the ambush by coming out of hyperspace too close,]] and thus gave the rebels time to turn on the DeflectorShields, the Empire would have wiped them out entirely and that would be it.

* NeverTellMeTheOdds: TropeNamer. Han tells C-3PO this when 3PO gives him the odds of surviving within an asteroid field. Later, Leia tells 3PO [[BigShutUp to shut up]] when tries to give the odds of surviving a direct attack on a Star Destroyer.
** Earlier on Hoth, Han goes out into the cold to save Luke, despite the guards warning him about the likelihood of freezing to death. After Han leaves, R2-D2 gives the low odds of surviving overnight in the cold. But after the blast doors are closed, 3PO applies this trope to himself by noting that R2 has been known to make mistakes … from time to time.

** Han's off-screen run-in with a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell convinces him to leave the rebels.

* NotNowKiddo: When on their way to save Han from the Bounty Hunter, R2-D2 links up with the city's central computer and learns about the purposefully deactivated hyperdrive on the ''Falcon''. But when trying to alert his friends, C-3PO cuts in and changes the subject.
-->'''C-3PO:''' No, we're not interested in the hyperdrive on the ''Millennium Falcon''. It's fixed!
* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Yoda refuses to train Luke because of his anger, the offscreen Obi-Wan replies, "Was I any different when you taught me?"

* OffTheShelfFX: Due to the scale necessary for the Star Destroyer's bridge model, ILM used an off-the-shelf ''Millennium Falcon'' model kit for the shot where the ''Falcon'' is hiding on the back of the bridge.

* PrecisionCrash: Luke goes to Dagobah to search for Yoda, and crash-lands into some random swamp - a short walk from Yoda's home.
** It's possible that the Force led him to that exact spot, though this is not mentioned in the film. In Creator/TimothyZahn's ''[[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Heir to the Empire]]'', Luke himself ponders this possibility.

* RunningGag: Again, the hyperdrive on the ''Falcon'' failing. By the third time, Leia and Chewie just kinda look at each other, neither one of them surprised at ''all.'' Eventually, Chewie goes into a rage, and Leia just does a FacePalm.

* YouAreInCommandNow: A TropeNamer from the same conversation that named the below. Vader promotes captain Piett to the rank of admiral just as Admiral Ozzel's body hits the ground. Vader says the words in the TropeNamer when he promotes Piett.

* StandardSciFiArmy: The Battle of Hoth is the first pitched battle to be featured in the franchise. The Imperial Army utilizes AT-AT walkers as heavy armor, AT-ST walkers as support, and elite infantry, while the Rebels utilize light infantry, speeders for air cover, and light anti-vehicle turrets in defensive trenches. While the Rebels do succeed in inflicting casualties, including taking down two walkers, the battle is hopelessly one-sided in favor of General Veers and Blizzard Force.