(Responding to bolded part) - Only because it's gotten into popular culture that (incorrect) way. Doesn't mean I'm not going to correct someone when they say it.NO! Han shot. PERIOD! "First" implies that Greedo shot at all.
Except no one talks like that and it's non-specific. "Han shot" something like 60 times throughout the trilogy. But if you say "Han shot first," everyone knows exactly what you're referencing (except for the goofballs who get it mixed up with that other time).
At the risk of sounding like an uber-geek for even having this debate (too late), "Han shot first" is not incorrect because Greedo had his gun drawn and had every intention of shooting (he even said he was going to kill Han), it's just that Han didn't give him the chance.
"Han shot" was never something anyone said from the moment the Special Editions came out, and it never would have caught on regardless, because it's awkward sounding and nondescript and doesn't look good on a t-shirt. "Han shot first" is the shortest descriptive summary of "Han shot Greedo before Greedo could shoot him," is the logical counterpoint to "Greedo shot first" from the Special Edition version, and Han's habit of shooting first also has the benefit of having been referenced in the EU both before and after the Special Editions came out.
Now I feel dirty. Here, just to keep things relevant to the thread:
