For the longest time, the Star Wars
expanded universe focused primarily on the universe created by the Prequel
Trilogy. While Original Trilogy content was still being released, it was paltry
compared to the avalanche of content surrounding the Clone Wars and the Jedi
Knights. This is mostly because the universe surrounding the Prequel Trilogy
was fairly new and ripe for exploration at the time, with plenty of new planets
to explore and characters to discover. For a writer, it was a goldmine.
This was up until Disney got control
of the Star Wars license, and the focus of the expanded universe was almost
entirely shifted back towards Luke and company. The Clone Wars cartoon was brought to an end, replaced by Rebels, set in between Episode III and IV, and Marvel got the licensing back to make comics set in the
Star Wars galaxy, nearly all of them set just after A New Hope. The main reason for this was to try and remind people
who may have fallen out of the Star Wars loop
in the years after Revenge of the Sith came
out why they loved these characters and this universe before revisiting it in The Force Awakens.
The headlining attraction of these new
comics (and one that’s still running to this day) was their flagship Star Wars comic, focused on the
Rebellion’s adventures fighting off the Empire as Luke begins his Jedi
training. It’s a fun series, and well worth checking out if it sounds like
something you’d be interested in. There’ve also been mini-series focusing on a
single character, such as Han Solo,
Princess Leia and Lando. But for
me, the true shining achievement of the Marvel comics came with their other
main series: a little comic known only as Darth
Vader.
It’s strange to think about this, but
Vader has never really been in much of the original expanded universe. There’s
much more Star Wars content focusing on him as Anakin Skywalker than as his
Sith Lord counterpart. This all changed when Disney got control, as they turned
Vader from a stoic and ominous villain to a full on monster. Wondering where
they got the inspiration for Vader’s scenes in Rogue One? It just might’ve come from these comics.
Written by Kieron Gillen, Darth Vader sees Vader just after his
failure at the Battle of Yavin. The Emperor is keeping a close eye on his
Apprentice, going so far as to enlist a Sherlock Holmes-esque Imperial officer
to keep a close eye on Vader, as well as begin training cybernetically-enhanced
replacements for him, complete with artificial Force powers.
Vader is none too happy about this,
instead following his own path as he searches for clues as to the identity of
who exactly blew up the Death Star. His travels bring him into contact with
several major Star Wars villains, including Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, and even
a hive of zombie-like battle droids.
The best character he meets with is
one completely original to the comic, however. In issue #3 he teams up with
rogue archaeologist Doctor Aphra, a fun Indiana Jones-type character with a
chip on her shoulder and accompanied by a pair of murderous droids who want
nothing more out of life than to torture everything in the galaxy. Aphra and
her droids accompany Vader for the bulk of the story, adding some levity and humour
that Vader himself doesn’t provide.
The series even crosses over with the
mainline Star Wars comic at one
point, in a big event known as Vader
Down. In this storyline Vader’s Starfighter is shot down over the planet
Vrogas Vas, an ancient Jedi homeworld that has since been reduced to ruins. The
Rebels give chase, hoping to put an end to Vader’s tyranny once and for all.
It…doesn’t go very well for them.
It’s hard to talk too much about Vader without giving anything away, it’s
just that good. Each of the 25 issues is packed to the brim with fun action and
mysteries that keep the reader engaged. If you’re a fan of Darth Vader and you
haven’t read it yet, I’d highly recommend it. You won’t be disappointed.
BREAKING NEWS
You didn’t think I’d go the entire
post without talking about that, did
you? It’s time to look at the latest news straight from Lucasfilm!
This week we finally learned the true
title to Episode VIII, and no, it’s not The
First Order Strikes Back. The next installment in the Star Wars saga will
be known as Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
So a couple of things are interesting
about this. First off, the red logo. If memory serves me right, the Star Wars logo has been red a few times
in the past, including in promotional material for Return of the Jedi and Revenge
of the Sith, as well as a few Clone
Wars episodes focused on Darth Maul or some other Sith presence. Generally
seeing red in logos gives a movie a more foreboding air, as red tends to be a
colour signifying danger. To me this, in combination with the more subdued
title, means that we’ll be seeing a far darker side to the Sequel Trilogy than
we saw in The Force Awakens.
And second, it’s important to remember
that the word “Jedi” can mean both singular and plural. The title isn’t
necessarily referring to just Luke, it could be referring to Luke and Rey,
Luke’s dead class of padawans, or even Kylo Ren. Maybe that’s looking too far
into it and it’s just about Luke, but you never know with these things.
I’ve seen some people running around
the internet saying that we’re going to be getting our first look at Last Jedi during the Super Bowl, but I’d
say that’s doubtful. Most likely we’ll be seeing the first teaser at Star Wars
Celebration in April, after Rogue One has
come out on Blu-ray and the publicity for that is finished. An April release
also would mean it would likely be seen in theatres alongside Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, a fellow
Disney sci-fi movie.
Whenever we see it, it’s very exciting
to think that we’re less than a year away from reuniting with Luke Skywalker
himself, and see what the galaxy has next for our heroes.
No comments:
Post a Comment