Star Wars: Legacy #4 - Noob is the fourth installment in the Star Wars: Legacy comic book series.
Amidst a raging battle, a secret that will shake the galaxy comes to light! The bonds of old friendships will be tested to their limits, new and unexpected alliances will emerge, and the forces of darkness will pursue their sinister goals with renewed intensity. As the universe teeters on the edge of salvation or destruction, the fate of all rests on the shoulders of a surprising few. This latest issue of Legacy takes the uncharted future of Star Wars in an unforeseen direction—don't miss it!
Anson Trask is at the Imperial Base on Yinchorr, which also serves as the headquarters for the 407th Stormtrooper Division, attempting to locate his assigned squad. He encounters Darth Maleval during his search. Sergeant Ran Harkas intervenes, rescuing the "Noob" from the Sith Lord's anger and escorting him to Joker Squad, which is part of Company C, Battalion 9. Anson is introduced to Jes Gistang, Hondo Karr, and Vax Potorr. The troopers extend a welcome by inviting him to participate in their wager on how long he will survive. Lieutenant Gil Cassel then informs Joker Squad that Grand Admiral Veed and the Moff Council have given the order to eliminate the 908th division stationed on Borosk for their defection from the New Empire to the former Emperor Roan Fel; Joker Squad is tasked with carrying out this order.
Joker Squad is deployed to Borosk with the mission of capturing and securing the gun emplacements and shield generators along the perimeter wall of the 908th's Headquarters. After successfully securing the gun platform, the squad is granted a night of rest. Anson and Jes discuss their motivations for joining the Empire, and Jes shares brief backgrounds of the other members of Joker Squad. Lieutenant Cassel is confronted by Darth Maleval, who dismisses Cassel's idea of a truce with the 908th and asserts that the 908th will be made an example of. Hondo attempts to attack Darth Maleval from behind with his blade drawn, but is Force thrown into a wall. As Maleval departs, the squad debates joining the 908th or abandoning the fight altogether, but Sergeant Harkas reminds them that soldiers must complete their mission, regardless of the cost. One by one, the members of Joker Squad reaffirm their commitment.
The following day, the squad breaches the main fortress of the 908th Headquarters and advances into the main mess hall, where Vex triggers a mine and is killed. Jes is killed when enemy fire detonates one of the power packs on her waist, and Sergeant Harkas suffers severe injuries from the resulting explosion. After the battle concludes, Darth Maleval presents a captured 908th prisoner, Captain Jared Cassel, who is Lieutenant Cassel's brother, and orders Lieutenant Cassel to execute him. The Lieutenant refuses, and as Darth Maleval raises his lightsaber to kill both brothers, Hondo attacks the Sith Lord from behind with his sword. Darth Maleval strikes Hondo with a backhand before ensnaring his neck with a shock whip and electrocuting him. Anson shoots Darth Maleval in the back, killing the Sith Lord and saving Hondo. It is reported that Darth Maleval and Hondo Karr perished in the battle. Sergeant Harkas is taken away by a medical droid, leaving Anson as the sole surviving member of Joker Squad. A "Newbie" approaches Anson, seeking Joker Squad, to which he replies, "I'm it." The two troopers then depart to locate their transport ships.
In June of 2006, the Star Wars: Legacy comic book series was launched by Dark Horse Comics. The initial story arc, Broken, was originally planned to encompass the first six issues of Legacy, with John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, the series' creators, handling the script and artwork, respectively. Noob, a standalone issue featuring a new artist, was intended to follow Broken to allow Duursema some time to manage Legacy's monthly production schedule. However, the design work associated with the series' launch and the complexities of developing a new story with new characters proved to be more demanding than anticipated. As a result, Noob was moved up to become the fourth issue of Legacy and serve as an interlude to Broken.
Ostrander and Duursema decided to position Noob as the fourth issue because they felt that the conclusion of Broken, Part 3 provided the most logical break in the Broken narrative. They believed that disrupting the arc after its fourth or fifth issue would have been more detrimental to its overall flow. Although the fourth issue of Legacy was initially advertised as Broken, Part 4, with a projected release date of September 6, Dark Horse's official website later changed it to an advertisement for Noob, and Broken, Part 4 became the fifth issue of Legacy. However, the profile for Noob on DarkHorse.com has consistently and incorrectly listed the credits and publisher's summary for Broken, Part 4. Duursema has acknowledged this error.
While Travel Foreman took over as the artist for Noob, handling both the penciling and inking, Ostrander retained control over the script, with input from Duursema, as he wanted to maintain a degree of oversight over Legacy so soon after its debut. He described Noob as a "fill-in" issue but assured fans that he was dedicated to using its story to expand upon the Legacy era. Brad Anderson was responsible for the colors, while Michael David Thomas provided the lettering. Anderson and Duursema collaborated on the issue's cover art. Although Noob is not part of the Broken story arc, its cover follows the established pattern used by artist Adam Hughes on the covers of the first five issues of Broken, featuring three new characters against a bluish-gray backdrop.
The title of Noob refers to its main character, Anson Trask, who is a recent graduate of stormtrooper training. Ostrander recalled the term from his time with the Boy Scouts of America, where it was used as a synonym for "newbie" or "rookie." He was unaware of its usage in online communities and later stated that if he had known, he likely would not have used it, as he felt it could potentially draw unnecessary attention and detract from the story. Randy Stradley, the issue's editor, jokingly mentioned on the Jedi Council Forums that "noob" was chosen after Lucas Licensing prohibited them from using "FNG." When creating Darth Maleval, Ostrander took inspiration from the title of a novel by French author Pierre Boulle, as he was drawn to the sound of "Maleval" and believed it would be fitting for a science fiction setting. In the script for Noob, Ostrander described Lieutenant Gil Cassel as being in his late twenties, but Foreman's artwork depicts him as an older man. Stradley took responsibility for this inconsistency, stating that he would have made corrections after receiving the artwork if time had allowed.
With a release date of September 6 planned for Noob, a four-page preview was made available on DarkHorse.com in late August. However, the issue was subsequently delayed to October 4 due to accumulated delays from previous issues of Broken. Duursema apologized for the delays, citing the unexpected challenges involved in exploring new territory. Noob was ultimately released to comic book stores on October 11. The issue, including advertisements, spans thirty-two pages and features twenty-two pages of story content.
Noob, along with issues eight through thirteen of Legacy, was later compiled in the trade paperback Star Wars: Legacy Volume 2: Shards, which was released on March 26, 2008. Noob is positioned as the second issue in the collection, following Legacy (2006) 8, which takes place earlier chronologically. This same arrangement is maintained in the hardcover omnibus Star Wars: Legacy Book 1, which was released on June 5, 2013. Within the hardcover edition, both Allies and Noob are presented after Broken. Additionally, Noob was included in the Polish language omnibus Star Wars Komiks 2/2008, which was published on October 17, 2008. Also featured were the Star Wars comics "Moment of Doubt," "The Way of the Warrior," and sixteen pages of Star Wars: Legacy (2006) 0½. The cover art for Noob was used as the cover for the book. Dark Horse made Noob available digitally on August 3, 2011, and the issue was later bundled with the rest of Legacy and the miniseries Star Wars: Legacy—War in the digital "Star Wars: Legacy XL Bundle," which was released on February 12, 2014.
Prior to the release of Noob, its events were alluded to in Broken, Part 3 by General [Oron Jaeger] (/article/oron_jaeger) of the Empire-in-exile. In that issue, Roan Fel retakes the fortress world of Bastion from Krayt's Imperials, partially due to Jaeger's efforts in gradually replacing the planet's stormtroopers with those loyal to Fel. When Fel inquires whether all of the troops have arrived, the general replies, "The 908th has been delayed."
During the design of Noob's cover, Duursema consulted two different reference images for Maleval's species, the Quarren. One depicted them with three-fingered hands, while the other showed them with five-fingered hands. Despite preferring the three-fingered design, she ultimately opted for consistency with the five-fingered look used by Travel Foreman in the interior artwork. Consequently, Maleval is depicted with five fingers both inside and on the cover of the issue.
Jes Gistang's inclusion in Noob marked her as the first named female stormtrooper to appear in Star Wars canon. However, an image of an unnamed female trooper had previously been featured in the preview issue Star Wars: Legacy (2006) 0, and Star Wars creator George Lucas had confirmed the existence of female stormtroopers while developing background material for the 1977 original Star Wars film. Gistang's weapon was first officially named in the 2009 Legacy Era Campaign Guide: the BB-23 heavy blaster cannon. The guide states that the cannon's power pack requires replacement after ten shots, which contradicts the claim in Noob that a new power pack is needed after only four shots.
Anson Trask, Ran Harkas, and a reorganized Joker Squad continue to have supporting roles in Legacy's sixteenth, seventeenth, and forty-eighth issues, as well as issues three and four of the sequel miniseries Star Wars: Legacy—War. Hondo Karr returns in Legacy's twentieth and twenty-first issues as a new member of the Galactic Alliance Remnant's Rogue Squadron, but he abandons his position in the series' forty-first issue, which also uses flashbacks to depict how he initially joined the Jokers. The term "noob" is used again in Legacy (2006) 14, spoken by Captain Gunn Yage of Darth Krayt's Empire.
Various characters and organizations from Noob were given entries in the 2008 edition of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. Furthermore, Hondo Karr, Darth Maleval, and Joker Squad are detailed and expanded upon in the 2009 Legacy Era Campaign Guide. Karr's entry confirms his Mandalorian heritage, which is only subtly suggested in Noob. Both the Jokers and Jes Gistang are specifically mentioned in Imperial Icons, an article featured in the 2014 edition of Star Wars Insider 148. The Jokers are recognized as a noteworthy stormtrooper unit within the Star Wars Expanded Universe, while Gistang is identified as one of the "best-known members of the rarely-explored ranks of female stormtroopers."
In 2009, Hasbro Inc. released a set of Joker Squad action figures as part of their Star Wars: The Legacy Collection line. The set includes six figures: Trask, Harkas, Gistang, Karr, Potor, and Darth Maleval. Each figure is packaged with at least one weapon that appears in Noob: Maleval with his lightsaber and shock whip, Gistang with her heavy blaster cannon, Karr with his knife, and each stormtrooper with a blaster rifle. The packaging, advertised with the tagline "As seen in Dark Horse Comics Star Wars: Legacy No. 4," includes a brief summary of the events of Noob. The set was sold exclusively through the online retailer Entertainment Earth. In 2011, Gentle Giant Studios released a 1/6 scale statue of Jes Gistang, referring to her as a "rarely seen but often asked for character."