Saraychev eruption from the ISS

Really gets spectacular about 1/2 way through.

Completely 100% Related!

Vader Falls Into a Volcano; That's Why He's Like That

I was sitting here thinking, trying to figure out how I knew that Darth Vader, at some point before A New Hope, fought Obi-Wan Kenobi fell into a volcano. I remember knowing this in second grade. Why the hell did I know this?

I realized that I was sitting in front of the Internet, so I asked it why I knew this. The Internet told me this, and mentioned a bunch of possibilities, including an issue of Dynamite, Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye, and finally, this interview with George Lucas from Rolling Stone, posted back in May of 1977 (!). Here, Lucas is talking about the backstory that he hopes to one day tell:

It's about Ben and Luke's father and Vader when they are young Jedi knights. But Vader kills Luke's father, then Ben and Vader have a confrontation, just like they have in Star Wars, and Ben almost kills Vader. As a matter of fact, he falls into a volcanic pit and gets fried and is one destroyed being. That's why he has to wear the suit with a mask, because it's a breathing mask. It's like a walking iron lung. His face is all horrible inside.

It's a good interview, and a great reminder of how much work and thought went into the original movie. (I'm not sure if "one destroyed being" is a typo or a very weird colloquialism.) Also, I don't want to be a George Lucas apologist, but I do think I hate the three prequels a lot less than most. In fact, I quite enjoyed them! Sure, there are a couple or three fatal errors in The Phantom Menace, but I think Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith do a decent job side-stepping these mistakes. I think all three prequels have the same idealistic spirit, dramatic urgency, and (for the most part) fun as the originals, as well as the attention to detail and deep respect for complex lore that made the Star Wars Universe so interesting for me in the first place.

I'm going to watch all six movies again! Who's with me?