While the Star Wars universe now contains volumes of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, the legend started with the three now-legendary films of the original trilogy... and there was also the Holiday Special stuck in there, but let's not talk about that. A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi revolutionized the film industry and world popular culture, and, despite showing their age here and there, are still a blast to watch, whether you're watching them for the first time or re-watching them for the ten thousandth.

The original trilogy is the core of the franchise, the best of the best which anything that came after can never equal, and what this article is about. Or, really, it's a shout out to all those true fans who appreciate their value and their place in the great works of human culture. There's a lot more to these three films than just the details that everyone knows. There's the lesser-known stuff that true fans know and obsess about, the secret handshakes of Star Wars fandom. And the internet is full of people who know this stuff, some of them with a creative streak. Here are a few products of their creativity, in comic form, which should make any true fan of the series smile.

24 What Could Have Been

Everyone has a few major decisions they make in life that they will always look back on to wonder how things could have been if they had chosen the other path. Most of these, even if they made a huge impact on us, are pretty mundane: choice of job, college or relationship are probably typical examples.

Most of us are lucky enough that we were never responsible for the rise of an evil Galactic Empire.

Darth Vader was not so lucky, and probably spend a good chunk of his solitary time brooding over what could have happened if he had just let Palpatine perish. This comic imagines what might have been going through his head as he lay perishing at the end of Return of the Jedi, having redeemed himself by finally actually ending Palpatine.

23 And This Is Why You Should Always Listen To Expert Advice

Although we don't ever see it, the Empire, being an advanced society with a highly developed bureaucracy, had to have had mundane civil servants like well, safety inspectors. And surely these guys were the occasional buzzkill for the more types that actually appear on the silver screen. Take this examine, which some version of surely happened behind the scenes when the Death Star was finishing construction. Though the inspector probably wouldn't have been reporting directly to Vader as seen here, Vader probably would have reacted exactly like this. And, honestly, whoever he did report to couldn't have responded much differently, as the problems weren't ever fixed. Who does build an exhaust port connected to the main reactor? The Galactic Empire, apparently, despite what anyone else might say. Well, they paid for it.

22 A Stormtrooper William Tell Would Have Been In Trouble

The Imperial Stormtroopers, inspired by the Stormtroopers of Nazi Germany, are the soldiers of the Galactic Empire and strike fear into the hearts of anyone who sees them, or hears their theme music, for that matter. But the fear ends as soon as you realize they couldn't hit the side of a barn.

Watch the heroes of the films run into the middle of fire while every single shot misses.

Seriously, everyone... go ahead and rewatch the films. Our rebels don't even always look like they think they might get hit. Of course, this is because Star Wars isn't the kind of film where our intrepid heroes get shot down by randoms, but, if you want an in-universe explanation, the Stormtroopers just seem incompetent. They must be kinda down about that. This is a very darkly funny take on that subject.

Comic by Down The Upward Spiral.

21 Can't Be Much To Do On Tatooine, Anyway

Tatooine is a barren, isolated place. To paraphrase the words of Luke Skywalker, if the universe has a bright center, Tatooine is the planet that's furthest from it. There isn't much to recommend Tatooine to anyone: it's a dirty, crime-ridden desert ruled by someone as ugly as Jabba the Hutt. Okay, maybe the Cantina band is something to recommend it, but that's one club in one city on a vast world, which is mostly completely barren and inhospitable. Life is hard, and there just can't be much to do. So those Jawas must have been pretty happy when they came across a couple of stray droids, not just because of resale value but because, hey, its a computer! Something to do other than scavenge the desert for trash is probably always welcome.

Comic by Brendan Yu.

20 Useful At The Annual Sith Lord Movie Night

While we're on the subject of alternative uses for computers, haven't you ever wondered what kind of stuff Vader could do with his suit that we never even see? Look at all those buttons on his chest panel, they can't all just be for life support. Especially given the advanced technology of the Star Wars setting, we could spend hours imagining the awesome stuff that suit could do... and we could get pretty silly.

Okay, it's not very likely that Darth Vader, serious guy that he was, had a popcorn machine in his suit, but it's fun to imagine.

And who knows, maybe he had a fun side that he kept to himself? I mean, although I am committing the sin of bringing the prequels into this, he had a sense of fun when he was a kid!

Comic by Jim Benton.

19 Even Sith Lords Can Appreciate The Magic Of Friendship

Let's run with the idea that Darth Vader has a hidden sense of fun. Again, we did know he used to have a decent sense of fun back when he was Anakin Skywalker and, after all, his kids have to take after him a little. What could the imposing icon of evil do to tickle that itch in private? Something twisted and wrong? Does he collect hummels? Or something even more wicked? Does he.... watch My Little Pony? Okay, we talk smack, but it is kinda cute, looking at the guy siting there so intensely focused on Pinkie Pie and friends, and their philosophy. Who knows, maybe, if this was true, the course of Galactic history could have been altered? Now, fans would react to this worse than they did to Jar-Jar Binks, but it's worth a giggle to think about.

Comic by Direman.

18 Computers Are Computers, They Are Going To Be This Annoying

Maybe The Empire should have listened to the kind of outside advice that they scorned a few entries back, and this wouldn't have happened. Or maybe this is just a universal curse on those who use computers, regardless of their importance, regardless of the technological advancement. I don't think there's anyone reading this now who doesn't believe on some level, due to painful personal experience, that this is true.

Just because we never saw any of these technical difficulties on screen doesn't mean they weren't happening behind the scenes.

But it's hilarious to think about what might have happened if a technical problem had come up at an inopportune time such as this. It definitely would have altered the course of the movies, and kind of undermined the whole awesome terror of Imperial Power.

Comic by Ctrl-Alt-Del.

17 There's Always Two Sides To A Story

We always cheer when our heroes thwart the forces of the evil Empire, but have you ever stopped to think about how it is from the other perspective? The Stormtroopers are probably normal people who just see themselves as doing their jobs. They probably have wives and kids, show kindness to strangers (off-duty at least), and we might even like them if we got to know their stories. But, as it is, we don't think about how some of the actions of our heroes might have affected his guys, and what horrible things might have been caused. Take the Stormtroopers who didn't recapture R2-D2 and C-3PO at the beginning of A New Hope, thanks to Obi-Wan's use of the force: sure, our droids were safe, but those guys are probably gone now.

Comic by SeeMikeDraw.

16 Looking At It From The Other Perspective Spoils Things

And, following our project of looking at the story from the Stormtroopers' perspective to its logical conclusion, things get really kind of grim. Because, y'know, the rebel alliance actually ends people. You don't want to think too hard about that, because then you have to think about all the pain caused by, well, the thing we were cheering on while it was happening on screen.

And as much as we're able to see this as just "stopping the bad guys" when we're watching it, these people had friends and family.

They are probably very upset that, say, Han Solo shot him with a blaster, and are going to miss him very much. Grieving widows aren't going to care about nuances of good and evil, they're going to be way more concerned that somebody just ended their husband.

Comic by Penny-Arcade.

15 Greater Than Even The Sith Could Imagine

"Good, good, let the hate flow through you," is one of the most famous quotes from the Star Wars franchise. The line was originally uttered by Emperor Palpatine at the climax of the final film of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, and it has since gone on to live a vibrant afterlife as an internet meme, chiefly employed by trolls to celebrate angry reactions. And, after all, isn't the internet the best possible home for that kind of sentiment? Nothing defines the anonymous hordes that populate the world wide web better than their overflowing, amorphous rage and hate directed against everything and anything, usually to be found in the land of comments sections. The Sith, given their values, would be right at home on 2018's social media.

Comic by Geogantart.

14 Before Instant Messaging

Star Wars takes place "a long, long time ago," but most of the technology they have is pretty advanced by our standards. It was even more advanced by the standards of the mid-1970s when the original series was first conceived. Of course, the 1970s version of advanced technology often seems kind of quaint to us now, in 2018.

Nobody in Star Wars even seems to have cell phones!

You'd think any civilization that could come up with super-fast space travel and lightsabers could come up with that, but apparently not. Still, might be for the best. We kind of feel that the epic drama would be a little compromised in it, in any way, shape, or form, involved anything like text messaging. It would kind of ruin the magic, wouldn't it?

13 That's What You Get For Giving A Farm Boy A Weapon

Obi-Wan was on Tatooine waiting for Luke to get old enough to be trained in the ways of a Jedi. The two finally meet at the beginning of A New Hope, and we see the magic happen as Luke as introduced to the lightsaber and the force for the first time. But maybe Obi-Wan should have started a little slower? Luke's an uneducated farm boy who was so ignorant about weapons when Obi-Wan introduced him to a lightsaber that he pointed it at his eye. He could have been seriously hurt, or worse! Like this. After all, it is a deadly weapon. While we laugh at this comic, there was actually a pretty good chance of this happening, and Obi-Wan would have seemed much less wise and admirable then... and so much for defeating the Empire, right? Oops!

12 Hey, They're Thoughts Everyone Has

Apart from Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda was the other great Jedi master of the original trilogy. Introduced as Obi-Wan's own master (although the prequels would muddle this up pretty good), Luke sought out his expertise in The Empire Strikes Back, and was not disappointed. Yoda, despite his appearance, was a legendary master and, in just a few weeks, trained Luke up enough so that he was ready to face Darth Vader one-on-one and live to tell the tale.

Yoda is an awesome master, but he still also has a sense of humor and a sense of fun.

He is a three-dimensional character. Which means he probably has senses for other things as well, which wouldn't belong in a movie meant for all viewers, like Star Wars. What he actually liked to think about we'll never know, but this comic presents an amusing possibility.

Comic by Kevin Bolk.

11 Putting The "Pal" In "Palpatine"

Emperor Palpatine is presented as the epitome of pure evil, but he had plenty of supporters so there must have been something to like about him. This meme comic attempts to reframe him from that alternative, supportive point of view. It's a bit awkward but definitely worth a chuckle. And it probably isn't that different from some of the Empire's own spin that it presented for its populace, given that it's not that different from the kind of political speak that we hear every day in real life. We can imagine a slightly inebriated patron of the Cantina of Mos Eisley bringing up a few of these points at the bar, probably just before either shooting first or getting shot. Hey, I mean, it's all technically-kinda-sorta true, right?

10 But They're More Likely To Rock Out To Some Pink Floyd...

The last movie of the original trilogy came out in 1983, but the story of the movies have been revisited again and again in other forms, such as books and video games. One such video game take on Star Wars was 2008's Kinect Star Wars, which took advantage of the Xbox 360's motion-sensing Kinect add-on through a series of mini-games. Some of these mini-games actually made sense, involving stuff such as lightsaber dueling, but others were completely bizarre.

The game's dancing mini-game, which is mocked in this comic, is one of the weirdest things we've ever seen.

If you've ever wondered what Darth Vader with disco fever looks like, well, now you know... although I don't suspect you ever have. Stuff like this only goes to prove that the Dark Side is truly terrifying.

Comic by ActionTrip.

9 Fun Fact: The Pokémon Has Had More Actual Screen Time

The cultural legacy of Star Wars takes many forms. One of the odder of the prominent tributes to the franchise takes the form of a Pokémon, Wobbuffet, which is named after a bounty hunter from The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett. The more meme-focused sections of the internet have a small thing for pairing the Star Wars and Pokémon franchises anyway, and this direct link just invites attention. This is probably an accurate representation of what would happen if the two characters ever were to meet. Heck, the inhabitants of the Pokémon world find Wobbuffet about this annoying, can you imagine how the guy it was named after is going to feel? He would probably happily throw himself back into the Sarlacc's maw if he knew that a creature such as this was ever going to be part of his legacy.

Comic by Jazun.

8 This Must Be The Only Movie In The Underworld

Even if Star Wars in general is considered one of the greatest things to have happened in the history of entertainment, the Star Wars Holiday Special has to be one of the worst. How exactly does one describe it without lessening the travesty of the whole thing? It features Carrie Fisher celebrating the virtues of "Life Day" (Wookie Christmas) to the due of John William's dramatic Star Wars theme... right.

Once again, hard to adequately express in words.

It's hard to believe anyone would actually voluntarily watch the thing, but this Sally Forth strip depicts a man who does just that, and commits the probably-criminal offense of forcing others to do so alongside him. His fellows are appropriately horrified, and our general faith in humanity is restored. But, then we remember that the actual special still exists, and it wavers again.

7 A Force Perhaps More Evil Than The Sith

While still on the subject of Star Wars and holidays, let's try to associate the subject with something less nightmare-inducing for a moment. Let's all read this comic in which R2-D2 and C-3PO skillfully thrown some Stormtroopers off their scent, in a way that would make Bugs Bunny very proud. I mean, to be fair, the Stormtroopers' choice to move on seems fair to us. We would move on to the next house too. But we doubt the Empire would see it that way, and these guys probably got it worse than the schmucks who Obi-Wan worked over in the actual film. The Emperor, being evil probably even actually likes Almond Joy! Which goes to show you that we all have to make a few sacrifices if we want to serve our government.

Comic by BlueMilkSpecial.

6 The Most Awkward Father's Day Ever

The revelation that Darth Vader is Luke's father is such a famous plot twist that it's not even considered a spoiler to talk about it anymore. Oh yeah, and we find out that he's Leia's dad too, which also used to be a plot twist even though its pretty much common knowledge now.

Now, the Skywalker offspring obviously never had a close relationship with dad.

He was evil, then they found out he was their father, then he turned good and then perished about twenty minutes later. But it definitely would have been strained and weird if he had lived long enough to try, so maybe we should be thankful it got to end how it did. Still, its kind of amusing to think about. This card does a good job expressing how they would probably have to feel.

5 He Could Always Build His Own

Once again: Stormtroopers are people too, and they have feelings just like anyone else. They need love just as much as anyone we actually care about in the rebel alliance does. This one-panel comic depicts one such Mr. Lonely. We admit, his interests are a little weird from our perspective, but love takes many forms and always deserves equal respect. Hey, we'd probably feel a lot differently if we also lived in a world with sentient robots. We're personally rooting for him to connect with the Jetsons' Rosey, seen on the bottom right, because we think she also probably needs a little companionship after toiling away for her human masters all day. May love set them both free!

Comic by Brevity.