Issue eighty-four of the Legends comic book series, Star Wars, is titled Star Wars 84. Roy Richardson penned the story, David Mazzucchelli provided the illustrations, and Marvel Comics released it on March 20, 1984. This issue contains the tale "Seoul Searching," where Han Solo stumbles upon the legendary key crystal.
Han Solo is tasked with extending invitations to planetary leaders for a Galactic Congress. After delivering an invitation to the people of Zhotta 3, Solo and his Wookiee companion decide to unwind at a shady cantina located on an obscure world. Solo's skill at cards allows him to win money from every gambler present. However, one gambler proposes a final wager with higher stakes. He bets a crystal recovered from the Seoul system and a holomap of the system against Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. Solo expresses doubt, as the common belief is that Seoul 5 was annihilated in a cosmic war long ago, with only remnants of Seoularian presence found in abandoned outposts.
The gambler, irritated by Solo's skepticism, shares his story. He served as an advance scout for the Galactic Empire Exploratory Division when a meteor struck his ship as he entered hyperspace. Upon reaching the system, he landed on the fifth planet and found the crystal. He returned to the Empire, but the escalating war prevented him from acquiring the funds for a return journey.
To prove his story, he uses the crystal to telekinetically hurl Chewbacca across the room. Intrigued, Solo accepts the bet. The gambler wagers a "Full System," confident in his victory, as the odds against beating his hand are "astronomical." However, Solo holds the winning hand. Enraged, the gambler draws his blaster, accusing Solo of cheating. The other cantina patrons, also upset about their losses to Solo, draw their weapons, intending to attack. Solo and Chewbacca barely manage to escape without their winnings. However, Solo has taken the holo-map and the crystal and decides to investigate the gambler's story.
The Millennium Falcon arrives in the Seoul 5 system, where they observe Seoul 5, confirming the spy's account. As they prepare to land, Chewbacca detects humanoid life-signals emanating from the planet. Solo is surprised by the presence of another group, but they proceed to land near an ancient city. Solo decides to explore alone, instructing Chewbacca to remain with the ship for a quick escape if necessary. Despite his skepticism, the Wookiee agrees to stay with the Falcon.
The humanoid lifeforms detected by the Rebels turn out to be an Imperial landing party. Despite Palpatine's demise, their large ship has arrived at Seoul 5 under the orders of one of the Emperor's Imperial Governors in pursuit of wealth and power. The leader, Captain Drezzel, detects the arrival of the Millennium Falcon and orders his telepathic "pet," Adjutant Ssssk!, to locate the intruders.
The Imperials enter the main city, where they find Solo examining an ancient statue of the Mother Goddess, Onrai, the supposed mistress of the planet Notron, the origin of all Humans in the galaxy. Solo doubts the claim of Notron, as many other planets make the same claim. As he contemplates the statue, he is struck by a telepathic assault from Ssssk!, causing him to collapse.
After a brief exchange of blaster fire, Solo activates a button on the statue, transporting him through a hidden passage into the crystal room described by the gambler. However, the Imperials have already occupied the room. As Solo approaches the crystals, they begin to resonate loudly, drawn to the crystal he possesses. Before he can investigate further, stormtroopers appear, forcing Solo to hide.
Inside a small room, Solo discovers two tied-up xenoarchaeologists, Dr. Ualp Xathan and his assistant Fem Nu-Ar. They explain that they led the Imperials to the planet during an information-gathering expedition. Upon discovering the crystals, they learned that the Seoularians used them to power their city. Unfortunately, Ssssk! mind-probed them and informed Drezzel. The Imperials imprisoned the archaeologists, intending to use the crystals for weapons development.
Nu-Ar begs Solo to help them escape and prevent the Imperials from misusing the crystals. Solo agrees, unties the archaeologists, and uses his hiding spot to stun the stormtroopers. As the trio attempts to gather the crystals, the other crystals begin to hum again. Intrigued, Dr. Xathan asks to see Solo's crystal. Upon seeing it, the archaeologists are shocked, identifying it as the key crystal, the main crystal that powers all the others. Before they can decide what to do, the Imperials, led by Drezzel, storm the crystal room and open fire.
Trapped, Solo tells the archaeologists to return to the entrance while he provides cover. Before Solo can escape, Ssssk! arrives to confront him. Fortunately, the crystal enhances mental energy, allowing Solo to deflect the adjutant's attacks and turn them against him. Ssssk! collapses, and Solo is free to escape. However, he accidentally inserts the key crystal into a slot on a Seoularian pedestal. The action floods the chamber with light, blinding the Imperials and allowing Solo to escape.
However, this action has unintended consequences. Locked in with the other crystals, the crystal room's power begins to surge uncontrollably. Knowing that the area is about to explode, Solo and the archaeologists flee through the trap door and race back to the Millennium Falcon. As the city emits a loud whine, the Falcon takes off, pursued by TIE fighters. Before the fighters can attack, the Seoularian city is destroyed in a massive explosion, destroying the TIE fighters as well. As the Millennium Falcon escapes, Solo remarks that he hasn't witnessed such an explosion since he and Chewbacca "blew away the Death Star." The archaeologists lament the loss of archaeological knowledge but thank Solo for the rescue, relieved that the Imperials cannot use the crystals. As a final gesture of gratitude, Nu-Ar kisses Solo, who thinks that he has finally received a pleasant surprise from his adventure.
Star Wars 84 introduces the planet Notron, which is later identified as an ancient name for Coruscant.
- UPC 071486028178; June 1 , 1984 ; Marvel Comics ; Original print [1]
- (No UPC) ; October 13 , 2015 ; Marvel Comics; Digital format [2]