From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Originated with the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back.
the X strikes back
- (snowclone) X returns after being defeated.
1991, C. J. Cherryh, The Kif Strike Back, Penguin, →ISBN: 2015, Kevin Carroll, 1862: the Confederates Strike Back, iUniverse, →ISBN: 2022 March 31, Bohdan Kucheriavyi, “Alibaba: Beijing Strikes Back”, in Seeking Alpha[1]:
