The Star Wars is a comic book series consisting of eight issues that was first published in September of 2013 by Dark Horse Comics. This series is an adaptation of the original draft penned by George Lucas in 1974 for what would eventually become Star Wars. In this version, Luke Skywalker is depicted as an older, established Jedi, while Annikin Starkiller takes on the role of the central character. Jonathan W. Rinzler is the writer behind the series, with illustrations by Mike Mayhew and editing by Randy Stradley.
While sharing some similarities with the final 1977 release, The Star Wars also presents significant differences in its narrative.
In the universe of The Star Wars, the Jedi-Bendu are portrayed as the long-standing personal protectors of a generally kind Emperor, a role they held for a staggering 100,000 years, prior to the emergence of the malevolent Knights of Sith. The core of the story revolves around Annikin Starkiller, a young man and the son of former Jedi Bendu Kane Starkiller. Annikin departs from their home planet of Utapau located within the Kessil system, heading towards Aquilae, a planet that remains independent from the New Galactic Empire. In contrast to the finished Episode IV, where Obi-Wan Kenobi serves as the wise mentor, The Star Wars features an older Luke Skywalker guiding the young protagonist, Annikin Starkiller.
Aquilae, the home of Princess Leia, becomes a target for the Empire's conquest due to its cutting-edge cloning technologies. The King of Aquilae discovers this scheme through one of his spies, Clieg Whitsun, an operative stationed on Alderaan, the Imperial capital planet. To defend his world, the Aquilaen King launches an attack on the Empire's Space Fortress, which results in a pair of droids crash-landing in the harsh Jundland Wastes region of the planet.
The King's death soon follows, elevating Princess Leia to the position of a potential puppet ruler for the Empire. Annikin Starkiller, now a Padawan under Luke Skywalker's tutelage, joins forces with Luke to protect the Princess. After rescuing her, they guide her through the Jundland Wastes to the spaceport town of Gordon, where they encounter Han Solo. In this version, Solo is a Urellian, a towering reptilian known for hunting Wookiees on their native planet of Yavin.
Solo, a long-time friend of Kane Starkiller, arranges for a freighter to leave the planet, with Valorum as the captain. During their escape from Imperial patrols, Kane sacrifices himself to ensure the safety of the others, and Valorum is revealed to be a Sith Knight.
After escaping Valorum by commandeering an Imperial ship, the protagonists are pursued through an asteroid field, forcing them to land on the Wookiee homeworld. There, they ally themselves with the Wookiees, who are engaged in a conflict with the Urellians, and they meet a Wookiee named Chewbacca. The group gathers at the residence of anthropologists Owen and Beru Lars, while Leia is captured by Imperial forces and taken to the Space Fortress.
In a rush to return to Aquilae and rescue Leia, Annikin disguises himself in stormtrooper armor to infiltrate the Space Fortress, but he is captured. Darth Vader, largely off-screen, instructs Valorum to execute Starkiller, but Valorum experiences a change of heart and frees Starkiller. Starkiller rescues Leia and escapes just in time, as Luke Skywalker leads a squadron of fighters piloted by Wookiees to destroy the Space Fortress.
Upon their return to Aquilae, now-Queen Leia appoints Annikin Starkiller as "Lord Protector of Aquilae."
On March 31 of 2013, WonderCon hosted the announcement that Dark Horse Comics was in the process of adapting the original Star Wars script into an eight-part comic series. Several early panels were showcased at the event and subsequently published by Bleeding Cool. A more comprehensive press release followed the next day, with confirmations on Dark Horse's Twitter account and website.
The series' artwork, crafted by Mike Mayhew, draws inspiration from the earliest concept art created by Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, and Colin Cantwell. The narrative is said to be even more overtly influenced by Akira Kurosawa's film The Hidden Fortress.
On May 4 of 2013, Dark Horse Comics released an exclusive digital preview of the first issue. This preview featured pages 6–8 of the comic, focusing on the meeting between King Kayos and his staff as they discussed how to address the Empire. The preview concludes with Kayos dispatching Count Sandage to ascertain the Empire's intentions and learning from his sons, Biggs and Windy, that Leia is departing unexpectedly.
A second preview was released on August 20 of 2013. In addition to showcasing the cover and the first seven pages, it included a trailer for the comic. Instead of utilizing John Williams' musical score, it featured the classical piece The Planets: Mars, The Bringer of War by Gustav Holst.
The entirety of the collection was later reprinted as part of Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Infinities, which was released digitally on December 16 of 2015 and in print on December 29 of 2015.
- "The Star Wars" Comic Book Teaser Trailer on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- " Launch Pad " — Star Wars Insider 153
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