History Awesome / TheEmpireStrikesBack

-->'''Vader:''' No. ''[[LukeIAmYourFather I]]'' [[LukeIAmYourFather am your father.]]

* [[WinterWarfare The Battle of Hoth]]. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis ALL! OF! IT!]] The Rebel soldiers are about to be badly outgunned and face the Empire's crushing might, the scary quadrupedal [[WalkingTank All Terrain Armored Transports]] (Imperial Walkers) above all, but they still bravely hold the line to buy time for the evacuation of Echo Base, and even inflict quite a bit of casualties to the Imperials. And the valiant pilots of the Rogue Squadron (including Luke Skywalker) do their darndest to provide aerial cover with their Snowspeeders. It also doubles as a crowning moment of filmmaking due to the expert use of miniatures on both the AT-AT's and the Snowspeeders that hold up phenomenally well. Enough that it contributed to winning a special achievement academy award for visual effects. The battle is made even more awesome by the use of real life [[BackedByThePentagon Norwegian army reservists that played the soldiers in the battle]]. ''The Empire Strikes Back indeed!''

* When the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive finally works thanks to R2.

* [[WinterWarfare The Battle of Hoth]]. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis ALL! OF! IT!]] The Rebel soldiers are about to be badly outgunned and face the Empire's crushing might, the scary quadrupedal [[WalkingTank All Terrain Armored Transports]] (Imperial Walkers) above all, but they still bravely hold the line to buy time for the evacuation of Echo Base, and even inflict quite a bit of casualties to the Imperials. And the valiant pilots of the Rogue Squadron (including Luke Skywalker) do their darndest to provide aerial cover with their Snowspeeders. It also doubles as a crowning moment of filmmaking due to the expert use of miniatures on both the AT-AT's and the Snowspeeders that hold up phenomenally well. Made even more awesome by the use of real life [[BackedByThePentagon Norwegian army reservists that played the soldiers in the battle]]. ''The Empire Strikes Back indeed!''

* The Battle of Hoth. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis ALL! OF! IT!]] The Rebel soldiers are about to be badly outgunned and face the Empire's crushing might, the scary quadrupedal [[WalkingTank All Terrain Armored Transports]] (Imperial Walkers) above all, but they still bravely hold the line to buy time for the evacuation of Echo Base, and even inflict quite a bit of casualties to the Imperials. And the valiant pilots of the Rogue Squadron (including Luke Skywalker) do their darndest to provide aerial cover with their Snowspeeders. It also doubles as a crowning moment of filmmaking due to the expert use of miniatures on both the AT-AT's and the Snowspeeders that hold up phenomenally well. Made even more awesome by the use of real life [[BackedByThePentagon Norwegian army reservists that played the soldiers in the battle]]. ''The Empire Strikes Back indeed!''

* In the first film, all we really saw of the Force was mental; influencing minds, creating illusions, seeing without one's eyes, that sort of thing. Even the Force-choking Motti by Vader could have been along these lines rather than telekinesis. Then we see Luke trapped in an ice cave with a wampa, hanging upside-down by his feet. He can't reach his lightsaber, so with great concentration, he manages to pull it to him, free himself, and de-arm the wampa. And he taught himself to do this!

-->'''Yoda''': For '''800 years''' have I trained Jedi! My own council I will keep on who is to be trained!

* With a bit of discrete signalling on his wrist communicator, Lando is able to arrange for his security forces to ambush the Imperial personnel escorting him and Princess Leia, allowing for the heroes to escape Cloud City (except for Han, who is taken away moments before they can rescue him). While he wouldn't fully redeem himself until the start of ''Return of the Jedi'', Lando's cleverness prevents the whole batch of heroes from being captured or killed by Vader and Boba Fett.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[RootingForTheEmpire The Empire's finest hour.]]]]

* Even before revealing his true colors, Yoda is already dropping truthbombs, such as telling Luke straight out that WarIsHell.

--> '''Yoda:''' Judge me by my size, do you?\\
'''Yoda:''' For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must ''feel'' the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.\\
'''Yoda:''' Do, or do not. There is no "try."\\
'''Yoda:''' "Great warrior?" Hah! Wars not make one great.

** Above all, when Luke is clinging to that ledge, ''thoroughly beaten'' by Vader both physically and emotionally. Luke defies Vader's offer - "Come with me, it is the only way." - and [[DoomedMoralVictor steps off]] [[DrivenToSuicide the ledge.]]. He didn't expect to survive, but it was the only course that could still win the larger battle. It was what Yoda had warned him about. Vader was not out to kill Luke, but to corrupt him to the Dark Side of the Force; when Luke showed that he ''would'' destroy himself rather than submit to that, Vader learned that his son's integrity was too strong for him alone.

* The Battle of Hoth. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis ALL! OF! IT!]] The Rebel soldiers are about to be badly outgunned and face the Empire's crushing might, the scary quadrupedal [[WalkingTank All Terrain Armored Transports]] (Imperial Walkers) above all, but they still bravely hold the line to buy time for the evacuation of Echo Base, and even inflict quite a bit of casualties to the Imperials. And the valiant pilots of the Rogue Squadron (including Luke Skywalker) do their darndest to provide aerial cover with their Snowspeeders. It also doubles as a crowning moment of filmmaking due to the expert use of miniatures on both the AT-AT's and the Snowspeeders that hold up phenomenally well. Made even more awesome by the use of real life [[BackedByThePentagon Norwegian army reservists that played the soldiers in the battle]].''The Empire Strikes Back indeed!''

* The Battle of Hoth. The Rebel soldiers are about to be badly outgunned and face the Empire's crushing might, the scary quadrupedal [[WalkingTank All Terrain Armored Transports]] (Imperial Walkers) above all, but they still bravely hold the line to buy time for the evacuation of Echo Base, and even inflict quite a bit of casualties to the Imperials. And the valiant pilots of the Rogue Squadron (including Luke Skywalker) do their darndest to provide aerial cover with their Snowspeeders.

* [[ItWasHisSled Yoda reveals that he is a Master]] - the ''last'' Jedi Master. [[LateArrivalSpoiler Not astounding these days,]] but when the movie was new, it was the ''second'' biggest twist in ''Empire.'' (More on the biggest twist later.) He immediately became a FountainOfMemes.

** To truly put this into perspective, normal Star Destroyers are approximately 1,600 meters long, or about 1 mile. Super Star Destroyers are 12 times longer than normal Star Destroyers, at ''19 kilometers'' long. The ''Executor'' is the length of Manhattan!

** The above is immediately followed by a shot of the back of Darth Vader's helmet, as he surveys HIS fleet. Keep in mind, this is the first time in three years that audiences have seen the Dark Lord on film, and you'll understand why crowds in theaters worldwide burst into friggin' CHEERS.

** Luke single-handedly takes down another Imperial Walker, by himself, ''on foot'', with just a GrapplingHookPistol, his lightsaber and a grenade. At that, you'll understand why the Emperor is so concerned about the kid; as in, "If the boy can do that with barely a few days instruction from Obi-Wan Kenobi, what could he do once he is properly trained?"
** The Rebels manage to disable a Star Destroyer with the ion cannon, creating a gap in the Imperial blockade for the Rebel ships to escape through.

** Yoda's second dialogue sounds even more awesome after you've seen or read what the Jedi (or any Force sensitives) are capable of in the Prequel Trilogy, the [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], and even in [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]].

** Above all, when Luke is clinging to that ledge, ''thoroughly beaten'' by Vader both physically and emotionally. Luke defies Vader's offer - "Come with me, it is the only way." - and [[DoomedMoralVictor steps off]] [[DrivenToSuicide the ledge.]]. He didn't expect to survive, but it was the only course that could still win the larger battle. It was what Yoda had warned him about. Vader was not out to defeat Luke, but to corrupt him to the Dark Side of the Force; when Luke showed that he ''would'' destroy himself rather than submit to that, Vader learned that his son's integrity was too strong for him alone.

*** The best bit is Vader isn't even doing any [[PstandardPsychicPstance psychic wavy-arms gestures]], he's barely even making an effort. Imagine how brief it would have been if Vader had just wanted Luke dead.

** The setting for this particular duel was also amazing. The eerie, low-lighting of the carbonite chamber, the fog from the machines, and Vader's breathing grimly cutting in through the silence. A truly masterful set-up to the fight.

** Just about everything Vader does through this fight is awesome, when you realize that he was controlling both the pace ''and'' tone of that battle the entire time. He starts off by forcing Luke to make the first overt attack (which, by the way, is in direct contradiction to the Jedi code Yoda had just taught him, making it a nice TakeThat at the same time), then he almost playfully bats Luke around a little to show him what he's up against. In the second encounter, he does nothing but stand to one side and pummel Luke with Force thrown objects, showing him what a real adept is capable of, before knocking him onto the suspended walkway. And ''then'', he goes full bore berserk on the boy, and Luke switches from mildly out-of-his-depth action hero to full on [[OhCrap terrified]] and desperate to be ''anywhere else''. And Vader [[CurbStompBattle lays him out in about twenty seconds.]] And what does he do when Luke gives him some flack after all that? He takes off his fricken sword hand at the wrist with almost no effort at all. Only then does he start delivering his true BreakingSpeech. Pure badass.
* Also, when Vader kills Admiral Ozzel. Ozzel isn't even in the same room, and yet he easily force chokes him through the view screen; distance is no object to Vader.[[note]]Although more to the point, distance is no object to the power of The Force.[[/note]] It helps that he had a very good reason for it: Ozzel's tactical blunders spoiled the Imperials' chance at a destructive sneak attack and bought the Rebels time to evacuate Hoth. "YouAreInCommandNow, ''Admiral'' Piett." He gives Piett his promotion ''before'' Ozzel hits the ground.

** In the radio drama, Vader does acknowledge Ozzel, and his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech is both just as contemptuous towards the habitual screwup as his refusal to acknowledge Ozzel in the film and not even bothering to speak to him ''at all'' in the novelization, and extremely satisfying to those who have had to put up with similar levels of incompetence and/or stupidity from anyone else. Essentially, Vader is giving a voice to their frustrations.

** How about the fact that Boba is able to get semi-huffy with the Sith Lord and ''live''!

** Not only that, it's possibly George Lucas's crowning achievement in scriptwriting. He had the idea, but then he set it up so that everything made sense, then delivered what could be considered '''The''' twist in modern fiction. And don't forget Mark Hamill selling the impact and all four people who knew the twist and managed to keep it secret until the reveal on the big screen.
* Darth Vader just force deflecting Han's blaster shots ''with his hand,'' no lightsaber necessary, then Force-ripping his blaster across the room. You think you're going to be able to just shoot Darth Vader? Please!
** Imagine yourself as Han Solo for a moment. You've just outrun a bunch of Imperials and finally made your way to a small out of the way planet for a chance to rest and repair your ship. You've met up with an old friend of yours and are on the way to a nice meal with the possibility of romancing Leia a bit afterwards. Then you open the door to find none other than Darth Vader waiting for you. Do you look in disbelief to the friend who betrayed you? Turn and hightail it out of there with Leia and Chewie in tow? No. Without a single second of hesitation you immediately pull out your gun and ''start shooting that motherfucker.'' Further proof that Han is the biggest badass to ever swagger across the galaxy; too bad Vader has more than enough power with the Dark Side to make up for that.

* John Williams' music is its usual awesomeness, but two aspects of this score particularly stand out. Firstly, the Imperial March, which makes its debut in this film; rarely has music been quite so badass. The second is at the very end of the film: The Rebel fleet has fled the galaxy after the destruction of their main base, Luke is psychologically shaken by the confrontation with Vader and learning the man is ''his father'' (not to mention getting his hand lopped off) and Han has been frozen in a block of carbonite and taken off by a notorious bounty hunter to be sold to a wicked gangster. But as Lando speeds off to rescue his friend and Luke and Leia stare out at the stars, what music is blaring behind them all? [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Han and Leia's Love Theme]].

* In ''both'' Star Wars timelines, the hand and lightsaber are retrieved. Let the logistics of that sink in a moment.

-->'''Vader:''' No. ''I'' am your father.

** Upon finding out that the Snowspeeders' laser guns can't do anything against the armor of the [=AT-ATs=], Luke devices a tactic to bring them down using the aircrafts' towing cables to entangle their legs. ''On the spot''. He can't do it himself after his [[GuyInBack gunner]] gets killed, but Wedge Antilles manages to pull it off perfectly. And another Snowspeeder caps it off by shooting and destroying the downed AT-AT now that it's immobile.

* Han heading out into the snow to find luke:

** Upon finding out that the Snowspeeders' laser guns can't do anything against the shields of the [=AT-ATs=], Luke devices a tactic to bring them down using the aircrafts' towing cables to entangle their legs. ''On the spot''. He can't do it himself after his [[GuyInBack gunner]] gets killed, but Wedge Antilles manages to pull it off perfectly. And another Snowspeeder caps it off by shooting and destroying the downed AT-AT now that it's immobile.

** Upon finding out that the Snowspeeders' laser guns can't do anything against the shields of the [=AT-ATs=], Luke devices a tactic to bring them down using the aircrafts' towing cables to entangle their legs. ''On the spot''. He can't do it himself after his [[GuyInBack gunner]] gets killed, but Wedge Antilles manages to pull it off perfectly. And another Snowspeeder caps it off by shooting and destroying the downed AT-AT now that its shields are disabled.

* [[YouHaveFailedMe "Apology accepted, Captain Needa."]] This was also ''Needa's'' SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. Having just been outmaneuvered and out-bluffed by Solo, Needa is tasked with explaining his failure to Vader, and there's no question in anyone's mind how [[YouHaveFailedMe Lord Vader deals with setbacks]]. What does he do? He flies himself to the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executor_(Star_Wars) Executor]]'' to stand before Vader, take full responsibility, and fall on his sword, sparing his ship and crew from the Sith Lord's wrath. Vader's quoted line seems to imply that even he was mildly impressed by Needa's actions. Compare Needa's execution to Ozzel's, whom Vader pointedly refused to acknowledge ''while choking him to death''.

** The Rebels manage to disable a Star Destroyer with the Ion Cannons, creating a gap in the Imperial blockade for the Rebel ships to escape through.