The Endor strike team disrespects their gear

If you watch ROTJ, it is clear that Han, Leia, and Luke really don't care about the equipment they brought with them. Kind of surprising, considering they work for the rebels, who seem to operate on a shoestring budget.

Check out these events:

1) Leia, after meeting Wicket and taking off her helmet, ends up leaving it there. I can understand her wanting to get out of the area fast (she had just busted up two scout troopers and made a lot of noise doing it), but could she at least take her helmet with her? That thing couldn't have been cheap. It looked like it had communications stuff built into it and everything. She should have kept it, if for nothing else then to assist her in head-butting stormtroopers.

2) Han-I'm-too-sexy-for-a-helmet-Solo loses his camoflague trenchcoat after being captured by the Ewoks. Did the Ewoks forcibly remove it and turn it into a tablecloth or something? Somehow, Han didn't think he needed this coat later, even when sneaking up on the enemy bunker in a bright white shirt and a black vest (Of course, when you bring two shiny droids on the commando mission, maybe camoflague is optional for everyone). But even Leia, who went native when she got to the Ewok village, changed back into HER camoflague.

3) Luke-after dispatching the speeder bikers, ditches his helmet. He removes it (what's this removing the helmet after the bike chase thing? "Okay, the high-speed chase is over. I won't need this helmet again.") He doesn't have it later, in fact, he's not even carrying it!

Then he ditches his camoflague poncho, but that's understandable because he knew he was headed to the Death Star, where his black ensemble would look much, much cooler.

Any thoughts on Han and co. losing their rebel-provided things? Was there a supply guy back on Home One who took them to task for not bringing back all the gear that was assigned to them?

 

At that point (in the movie timeline anyways) the Battle of Endor was a do or die thing.

Either they complete their missions and the Empire is dead.

Or they are.

Either way, they don't need their equipment anymore.

 

Luke used FORCE AREA CAMOFLAUGE for everyone. That was sarcastic.

 

being parts of the main cast, luke and han probably didnt want to look like rebel loosers.

 

Those helmets looked really dorky anyway!

 

If it was a "do or die" situation as you say, I'd keep as much of my equipment as I could to help me do a little more doing before I died.

 

What a wonderfully pertinent observation.

However, in the new DVD editions, you'll be ecstatic to discover that Luke is wearing a CGI helmet throughout the final confrontation on the Death Star, thus clearing up yet another massive plothole.

 

Heh, these are good points. But in a battle, I think Han would prefer not to wear a big jacket.

 

In ESB ladders appear out of nowhere.
In RotJ, helmets and ponchos disappear for no good reason.
In the EU, Warus disappear to other dimensions.
While watching the movies, a fanboy's pizza disappears without a trace.
After making the movies, Mark Hamill's movie career was never seen again.

I sense conspiracy!

 

And what about that thing Han threw at the officer in the bunker? You know he's thinking to himself afterwards "Gee, I hope we didn't need that to complete the mission." He's just lucky it wasn't sensitive explosives.

 

However, in the new DVD editions, you'll be ecstatic to discover that Luke is wearing a CGI helmet throughout the final confrontation on the Death Star, thus clearing up yet another massive plothole.


Ya, but I heard it's really going to be a beanie with a propeller on top...It was given to him by Palpaclown who's now trying to get him to turn to the dark side of the Farce.

 

Wascally -- tears of joy.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

Plot hole? I was pointing out no plot hole. It's just a funny/strange thing in the movie if you notice it. My post was meant to be half-serious, half-tongue-in-cheek...

Those helmets WERE kind of dumb-looking. Maybe Luke and Leia were looking for a chance to get out of sight of the rest of the team, then ditch the ugly helmets and just be like, "Oh, my helmet? It must have fallen off during the speeder bike chase!"

And Han should have kept the trenchcoat, and stocked it full of weapons, a la Neo in The Matrix. Or maybe not.

Using CGI to put the helmet on Luke for the throne room scene would be amusing. "I can't believe this helmet doesn't protect me from the Emperor's lightning! Cheap piece of @#$%!"

Notice that none of the commandos are allowed to ditch THEIR helmets. Enlisted men get no respect. But maybe that's where they all were during the Battle of Endor...off in the forest, ditching their helmets.

"Where were you guys?"
"Oh, we were, um, fighting the OTHER legion of stormtroopers. Yeah, that's it."

 

That's actually an even better question. Why did the Rebellion's Crack Strike Squad leave all the hard fighting to the main characters and the plucky Ewoks?

Perhap's they'd been sent to locate the lost helmets... Thus neatly closing both stupendously gaping plot holes in one fell swoop.