Mark Hamill Never Wanted A Star Wars Collectible To Be Seen
According to Mark Hamill, this particular Star Wars collectible was never meant to see the light of day, but now it has.
This article is more than 2 years old
Mark Hamill is a fun guy. If there is one thing that pop culture can (hopefully) agree on, it is that the once and maybe future Luke Skywalker has revealed himself to actually be a pretty cheerful, funny nerd of a person. While the merits of the effects of social media on the world can certainly be debated, it at least gave us a direct line to the thoughts of Mark Hamill on the regular basis, via his very active and popular Twitter. In just the most recent of the many delightful things he tends to post, Mark Hamill showed off some of the weird autographs that he has given over the years…though he does not that he had the understanding that these particular trading cards were not to be shown in public. Oops.
The original post that Mark Hamill retweeted was from Steel City Collectibles (whose handle is @SCCTradingCards) and it is unclear whether they are the original owner or whether the Star Wars actor has someone else to blame here. Thankfully, he seems to be gently joking about this one. The trading cards appear to be from the original Topps Star Wars series one from 1977 (one possibly from 1980, as it shows a scene from The Empire Strikes Back), which is the most sought-after of its kind to collectors. One can naturally assume that the cards being autographed by one of the original stars of the franchise from a galaxy far, far away will also boost their asking price. However, Mark Hamill’s autographs on these particular cards are a little…unusual.
In his caption, Mark Hamill explains that he felt free to get a little loose with what he wrote on these cards because there was a condition that they never be shown in public. But we are glad that whoever made that reneged on their promise to the Joker himself, because they are pretty funny. One card displaying C-3PO points out a notorious error in composition that makes the golden droid look, um, excited, while another shows the scene from A New Hope in which Luke finds his home burned and family dead with a dialogue bubble saying “Darn it! I told Uncle Owen not to smoke in the house!” Never let it be said that Mark Hamill doesn’t like a little dark humor.
The next of Mark Hamill’s colorful additions shows Luke Skywalker standing next to a Tattooine moisture vaporator in a regrettable bucket hat, with the very 1970s caption “World’s Largest Bong For Sale Call Luke 555-WEED,” which Disney would probably not love. The fourth is apparently Mark Hamill’s favorite, which sees Luke walking through whatever that cylinder of lights in Cloud City was with the caption “This Vader Guy is a Loser… Hope He Doesn’t Have Kids.” Harsh, Luke.
But it is this kind of irreverent attitude that has made Mark Hamill into a beloved pop culture figure, suitable to play both surly space wizards, murder clowns, and pumpkin-headed dream janitors. You do you, Mark.
