Comics Commentary: Star Wars #1, 2

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New RetroZap! writer Dennis Keithly discusses the first issues of the new Marvel series!

Spoiler Alert! This article discusses plot details of the first two issues of Marvel’s new Star Wars series and contains minor to major spoilers.

By now, most know that last year the creative forces at Lucasfilm made the decision to elevate the Star Wars’ Expanded Universe to the status of “Legends” and thereby pave the way for a new expanded universe. The move was prompted by the desire to allow the producers and creators of the upcoming sequel trilogy the creative license to tell new stories without being encumbered by the weight of the scores of novels and countless comic books that came before. While this move upset many, the silver lining with the reboot of the expanded universe was that a new story group was created with the purpose of aligning the new novels and comics with the movies so that all subsequent material would be canon.

In addition to the rebranding of Legends, Star Wars’ license with Dark Horse expired in 2014.  Marvel, another Disney property, picked up the reins for the comic franchise in January of this year. With all the changes, questions concerning the future of Star Wars comics naturally arose. Could Marvel successfully follow up Dark Horse’s run? While canon, would the new stories matter? Would the stories be any good? With the release of Star Wars #1 in January, and #2 this month, we’ve received early, and positive, answers to these questions.

Star Wars #1

This series follows Star Wars from page one by replicating the classic introduction of the movies complete with a full page panel with the introductory phrase  “A long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away…”, “Star Wars” title shot, and opening crawl followed by panels dedicated to a starship making its way into the “frame,” if you will. The story is rooted after the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. If it were not for the movies, this type of introduction might seem ridiculous, but in the context of Star Wars, it is the perfect beginning.

Luke, Han, and Leia along with Chewbacca, Artoo Detoo, and See Threepio have arrived at Cymoon 1 under the guise of emissaries of Jabba the Hutt in the Corellian Industrial Sector in an attempt to sabotage and destroy an Imperial weapons factory. Han performs undercover as…himself posing as Jabba the Hutt’s negotiator. Jabba apparently has resources that the Empire wants. An Imperial officer attempts to instruct Han that a soon-to-arrive, Imperial negotiator will dictate terms that Jabba will have no choice but to accept. The Rebels then spring into action only to find that the Imperial negotiator has arrived, and it is none other than Darth Vader himself. Luke makes a discovery in the factory, that as a Jedi, he cannot ignore, and Han plots an escape from the facility, which has become overrun with stormtroopers.

Issue #1 does a wonderful job getting the characters right. Han is cocky and sure of himself. He quickly figures out how to get under the skin of the Imperial officer and presses all the right buttons. Luke is perhaps overconfident, but he is following the virtuous path of the Jedi. Threepio cannot help himself but prattle non-stop despite multiple admonitions to “shut up.” However, perhaps the most interesting character is the Princess. It speaks volumes that after the Battle of Yavin Leia has not simply settled into an administrator’s role with the Rebellion. Instead, she has set out on a mission with Han and Luke. She adopts a disguise and is not afraid to get her hands dirty in a fight. She is very much the heroine that blasted her way out of the Death Star in A New Hope and would eventually rescue Han from Jabba in Return of the Jedi.

Perhaps even more interesting, Leia calls for the assassination of Vader. Chewbacca is perched outside the facility that Han, Luke, & Leia have infiltrated. He acquires Vader in his sights after the Dark Lord’s arrival on Cymoon 1. After Han instructs Chewie to get out, Leia countermands Han and orders Chewbacca to kill Vader. Perhaps as a Rebel leader she was taking advantage of a target of opportunity, or perhaps she was speaking from a darker place of revenge. After all, Vader has subjected her to the interrogation droid on the Death Star and marched her to the bridge where she had a front row seat to the destruction of her home planet. Either way, Leia exhibited an iron will and ruthlessness that will likely be revisited in the future.

The issue ends with a cliff hanger. Alerted to Vader’s arrival, Luke deliberately confronts the man that killed his mentor on the Death Star. Obi-Wan emerges from his place in the Force and urgently counsels Luke to flee. Luke stubbornly refuses to do so and comes face-to-face with Darth Vader because he believes he can “end this now.” My initial reaction to this was that Luke was not ready, and this was way too early in the series to introduce such a conflict. For one, in the Star Wars canon, The Empire Strikes Back was the initial face-to-face confrontation between Luke and Vader. The audience never quite knew how Vader came to know so much about Luke let alone who he was. Many, myself included, had come to believe that he had detected something familiar through the Force during the Battle of Yavin (i.e. “The Force is strong with this one.”), and then caused his Imperial agents to investigate. In the end, we were left to wait another month until issue #2 was released…

Star Wars #2

…and issue #2 picks up where issue #1 left off. Luke and Vader are about to square-off with Luke screaming for revenge for the death of his father. Vader, oblivious as to Luke’s identity, is unimpressed by the accusations and matter-of-factly states that he has killed many fathers in his time, so really, why should a Dark Lord of the Sith be impressed? Vader dominates Luke in a brief duel and chides Luke for being an unworthy child, unfit to carry a lightsaber.

It isn’t until Vader grabs Luke’s saber through the Force that he experiences a crushing realization. This lightsaber was familiar. This lightsaber belonged to Anakin. The last time Lord Vader saw this lightsaber, Obi-Wan walked away while Anakin burned on the lava shores of Mustafar. These scenes and panels were expertly managed. Vader is incapable of facial expression to convey emotion. The panels of the book prohibit real movement, further restricting the character’s ability to convey emotion and thought through motion. Therefore, it was up to the script, art, and lettering to bring the gravity of the situation to the page, and Jason Aaron (writer), John Cassaday (artist), and Chris Eliopoulos (letterer) came through admirably.

Issue 2 provides an opportunity to take stock of Luke’s development as an aspiring Jedi. Luke starts off as brash, young man as he boldly challenges Vader. This quickly turns to brooding and self-doubt as Luke realizes just how ill-prepared he was to confront the Dark Lord. Luke is nearly pleading for forgiveness from Obi-Wan as he watches the demise of many of the slaves he freed mere moments before they are slaughtered by Vader. He nearly surrenders to his doubts, chiding himself for being nothing more than a farm boy from Tatooine. However, it his reflection on his humble beginnings that sparks the moment of inspiration to plot an escape and reclaim his swagger. I’m excited about this theme for Star Wars. The era between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back left Luke without a mentor. While Yoda’s training went a long way towards completing Luke’s voyage to becoming a Jedi, Luke had years where he had no guidance in the ways of the Force other than his own instinct.

Another hallmark of the original Star Wars trilogy was the banter between Han and Leia. The Empire Strikes Back featured many of these exchanges such as “We don’t have time to discuss this in committee!” and “I’m not a committee!” and “I’d rather kiss a wookie,” and “I can arrange that! He could use a good kiss.” That same style of banter has been evident in the first two issues of this series. However, Han breaks the usual routine of witty put-down or insult followed by stunned response or witty comeback by yelling at Leia that her pestering was not helping. At least for me, this added gravity to their situation. In the movies, Han never let anyone see him sweat. No matter whether they were fleeing from a Star Destroyer, evading TIE fighters, or running from stormtroopers, Han’s swagger and confidence always shone through. He always believed he would escape and that his plans would work. He wasn’t so sure this time.

It is interesting to note that at the time of this episode, Han still didn’t believe in the Force. This is after Han witnessed, albeit briefly, Obi-Wan, the crazy old wizard himself, duel Vader aboard the Death Star and Luke destroy the battle station with a shot that was “one-in-a-million.” He insists that the Force doesn’t exist despite the clear evidence that Vader was using it to prevent their escape. In fact, Vader uses the Force in a manner that is nearly unprecedented in canon and reminiscent of feats completed by the protagonist of the LucasArts videogame The Force Unleashed. The closest we get to Vader’s feat is when Yoda lifts Luke’s X-Wing from the swamp on Dagobah. This begs the question, what exactly will convince Han of the existence of the Force, and will that question be answered in this series?

A few other random thoughts from this issue: first, I found the appearance of Jawas interesting. I hadn’t thought they were considered to be more than mere vermin by most of the galaxy. In addition, their use as slaves on Cymoon 1 suggests that either Imperials had more interest in Tatooine than previously thought, or slavers were rounding up Jawas for sale to the Empire. Second, the unintentional comedy that is Threepio continues. He always tries his best, but when pulled out of his protocol comfort zone, as can be seen when he has to convince some scavengers to leave the Millennium Falcon alone, he often finds himself in way over his head. Someone really needs to coin a phrase for describing what subsequently happens to Threepio. Third, this series further demonstrates just how far Vader has fallen and foreshadows the Sith Lord we see in The Empire Strikes Back. Vader sacrifices stormtroopers without a second thought, mercilessly slaughters slaves, destroys an underling that caught him in a compromising state, and threatened the life of the factory’s overseer should he fail to save the facility and capture the Rebels. While Anakin shed tears on Mustafar after committing atrocities there, Vader seems unmoved by his own actions.

Final Thoughts

The first two issues read like the opening act of a Star Wars movie. I’m anxious to see how this series progresses and whether this act will be followed up by a second and third to tell a complete story. What exactly will our band of Rebels do once they escape from Cymoon 1? There are incidents that have only been hinted at from the movies, and while developed in the Legends, are once again ripe for exploration in the comics. Star Wars and comic fans have a lot to look forward to with the ongoing Star Wars series. These stories count, and they have the potential to reshape what we know and understand about the saga.

 Upcoming Comics

Fans can look forward to Marvel’s next Star Wars property, Darth Vader, debuting this month. Next month sees the launch of yet another new property as Princess Leia hits the shelves. Marvel is offering even more Star Wars in April with a new series focusing on Kanan from the Rebels television show.