General Rieekan receives word from Rebel spies that the Galactic Empire is constructing a new superweapon known as the Tarkin. Realizing the danger the new weapon poses, Rieekan sends for the group of Rebels who survived the original Death Star, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2. The three Rebels and two droids are sent to the planet Hockaleg in the Patriim system in order to infiltrate an Imperial construction crew and make their way on board the Tarkin. However, Darth Vader observes as the Rebels arrive in the giant weapon, and sets events in motion to capture his long sought after adversary, Luke Skywalker. But little does the Dark Lord know that some of his own men are secretly plotting against him due to his vicious punishments imposed against their fellow Imperial officers.
David Michelinie and Walt Simonson begin their regular run on the title with this issue. The names of Walt Simonson, Tom Palmer (inker), and Louise Jones (editor) can be seen in the close-up of the blueprints to the Tarkin during the briefing-room scene.
Creatures called gundarks make their first appearance in the Expanded Universe, but they are very different from their later Expanded Universe and canonical forms. The creatures in this issue were retconned to be long-necked gundarks.
In this issue, Luke has and uses a lightsaber, despite having lost his in The Empire Strikes Back. While this is also true of issues 45 and 49 of this series, the art in those issues did not clearly show the shape of the hilt. In this issue, however, the hilt seems to be that of his first lightsaber, the one lost in issue 44 (corresponding to the events of The Empire Strikes Back).
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