May 21, 1980: "The Empire Strikes Back" Premieres

May 21, 1980: Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back premieres, the sequel to the 1977 blockbuster.

To the franchise, the film introduces the characters of Emperor Palpatine (alluded to in the previous film but not shown), Jedi Master Yoda, and Lando Calrissian, and the elephantine All-Terrain Armored Transports (AT-ATs); takes the character of Boba Fett, introduced in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, and puts him in live-action for the first time; and drops the biggest bombshell, or "plot twist," in film history: 

Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones, physical form by David Prowse): Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill): He told me enough! He told me you killed him!
Vader: No. I am your father.

Luke: No... no... that's not true! That's impossible!

Vader: Search your feelings: You know it to be true!

Luke: Noooooooo! No... 

This, of course, leads to the additional twist in Episode VI, with Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) also being a child of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, making her Luke's sister, throwing a massive monkey wrench into the love triangle between Luke, Leia and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

There are people who believe The Empire Strikes Back is not just the greatest Star Wars film, but the greatest film of all time, in spite of the fact that it doesn't have a happy ending. (Sure, Luke and the rebels get away, but... ) These are people who root for Darth Vader, for the Dark Side of The Force.

These are people who probably root for the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, for the shark in Jaws, for Barzini in The Godfather. I wonder who they root for in World War II films.

To put it another way: If you think Empire is better than Jedi because it was darker and had an unhappy ending, then why isn't Godfather III your favorite Corleone movie?

Boba Fett has featured in 2 episodes of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History. In 2013, Atul Singh played him, with Ray William Johnson providing his voice, stepping into the 3rd and last battle between Adolf Hilter, played by "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist, and Darth Vader, played by "Nice" Peter Shukoff. In 2015, Fett was played by rapper-gymnast Ivan "Flipz" Velez, with Nice Peter providing his voice, against Marvel Comics anti-hero Deadpool, played by actor Robert Hoffman, with Epic Lloyd providing his voice. 

 

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May 21, 1980 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 4 and 5, and the New York Islanders went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games. The NBA Finals ended 5 days earlier, with the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Graig Nettles and Ruppert Jones both hit home runs in the top of the 11th inning, to make a winning pitcher of Rudy May, despite his having blown a save for starter Tom Underwood. Eric Soderholm, Lou Piniella and Bobby Brown also hit home runs. Reggie Jackson did not play.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 5-1 at Shea Stadium. Pete Falcone outpitched J.R. Richard.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-8 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the San Diego Padres, 4-3 and 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell only batted once, drawing a walk as a pinch-hitter in the 1st game.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Eddie Murray went 1-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Tony Armas singled home the winning run in the top of the 14th inning. Rookie Rickey Henderson went 3-for-5 with 2 stolen bases. George Brett went 0-for-6, and was batting .247. He eventually got up to .401, before dropping to .390.

* The California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 9-8 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The M's scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to win it. Robin Yount went 0-for-4 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4 with a walk.