Striking from a secret base, the Rebel Alliance has won a huge victory against Sheev Palpatine’s evil Empire. Join me as I review A New Hope from within the Legends chronology in the latest Legendary Adventure!
The Jedi Order has been destroyed and the Clone War is over. Young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was influenced by the evil Sith Lord, Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious. Now known as Darth Vader, the young warrior has turned his blade against the Jedi, wiping them out from Imperial Center to the ends of the galaxy, facing even the last Jedi Knights personally. The Clone Troopers have turned on their Jedi Generals, annihilating the Jedi who fought on the front lines of the Clone War. In a surprise move, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine declared himself to be the first Galactic Emperor, ruling over a universal Empire, all based on a plan formulated by his Master, Darth Plagueis.
This is not the first Sith Empire to have ever been built. Millennia ago, Sith Emperor Darth Vitiate built a new Sith Empire. He had grand plans for galactic domination, but he was fought by his own Dark Council, rogue Sith Lords, the Jedi Order, and Republic operatives. The in-fighting in the first Sith Empire caused its own downfall, splintering the Sith Empire into Sith territories ruled by antagonizing Sith Lords. Darth Bane would eventually cull the Sith Order and institute the Rule of Two, hoping that would aid the Sith Order’s survival. Knowing that the Sith had lost before, what was Emperor Palpatine’s hope? Without an opposing Jedi Order, he believed that none could stand against him.
The rise of the Empire has both a new regime and the means by which corporations, factions, and powers could rise in its growth. For example, the Centrality and Corporate Sector Authority both grew in prominence in corners of the galaxy which the Empire had not colonized yet. Both have the tacit support of the Empire, and use their freedom to consolidate their power and oppress galactic citizens. In the meantime, criminal enterprises such as the Hutt cartels, the t’landa Til, and Black Sun have all gained immense power. The Empire works closely with some of these criminal enterprises, but the Empire does not publicize that support. Darth Vader has worked with Black Sun Vigo Xizor closely in particular, and has ushered in many treaties with the Hutts.
In light of the growing tide of evil in the galaxy, it’s up to both normal individuals and brave organizations to stand against the Empire and all forms of darkness. In the early days of the Empire, a rebel organization called Whiplash organized rebellious individuals to band together to fight the Imperials. Whiplash garnered the respect and support of early surviving Jedi such as Even Piell, Jax Pavan, and Laranth Tarak. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, who for all appearances seemed all-knowing, a few Imperial Senators, who served first as Senators in the Republic, secretly plotted against the Empire, trusting in the power of the Senate to curtail the worst abuses that the Emperor could imagine. These Senators, led by Bail Organa, Garm bel-Iblis, and Mon Mothma joined with former Sith student Galen Marek, training droid PRAXIS, Jedi Master Rahm Kota, and Imperial pilot Juno Eclipse to form the official Alliance to Restore the Republic. The newly christened Rebel Alliance started to mount attacks on Imperial installations.
The Clone War is over, but the Galactic Civil War has begun.
To combat the growing rebel activity, Imperial scientists worked around the clock to create a terrifying battle station known as the Death Star. The Death Star was built on the back of slaves and prisoners, all pressed into service to create the station to quell rebellion and tighten the Emperor’s grasp on the galaxy. Wookiee prisoners are rounded up on Kashyyyk and brought to the station to perform heavy lifting and manual labor. Prisoners from planets such as Despayre are brought from the surface to the station in an effort to use the penal colonies for the good of the Empire. Unfortunately for the Empire, one Imperial librarian went rogue, leaking the plans for the station to be intercepted by Rebel forces… (This is, of course, only one of the ways that the Death Star plans were leaked in Legends.)
The Alderaanian consular ship, the Tantive IV, races across the galaxy to deliver the stolen Death Star plans to former Republic General, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had served alongside Bail Organa during the Clone War during the Battle of Christophsis. Bail and Obi-Wan had a tenuous relationship at first, but after a mission to a Sith Temple, the two came to an understanding, maybe even respect for one another. Unbeknownst to Leia Organa, Obi-Wan, now known as Ben Kenobi, has hidden himself away on Tatooine to watch over young Luke Skywaker, child of Darth Vader. Darth Vader’s ship catches Leia’s ship in space over Tatooine, where Leia comes face to mask with Vader, and she is brought into Imperial custody. Before being captured, in order to spare the plans from capture, she sends them with two droids, C-3PO, the droid built by Anakin Skywalker, and R2-D2, the astromech who formerly belonged to the Queen of Naboo, Queen Amidala, to the surface of Tatooine to deliver the plans for the stations in her stead.
There, the droids are intercepted by Jawas, eventually being sold to the Lars family. One of the droids, R2-D2, escapes the custody of the Lars’ farm to find Ben Kenobi in an effort to bring him back into action. The Lars family is killed, which convinces Luke Skywalker, their nephew, to leave Tatooine with Ben Kenobi and begin his Jedi training. He would be the first of a new Jedi Order that would stand against the evil of the Sith and the rising darkness that threatened to envelope the entire galaxy. The new Jedi Master and Padawan duo find their way to Mos Eisley, and at Chaluman’s Cantina, come across Han Solo and Chewbacca, both of whom are in desperate need of credits after being hurt by the Rebel Alliance previously.
The six (the two Jedi, the two smugglers, and the two droids) go to Alderaan to connect with Bail and Leia Organa in an effort to join the fight against the Empire. Unfortunately, the Death Star has destroyed the planet moments before, after Leia failed to produce the name of a suitable military target for the Empire to destroy. (Unfortunately for the Empire, this event has changed the hearts and minds of many aboard the station, who now seek to escape the station and the Empire.) They are stranded on the Death Star, so while Ben Kenobi turns off the tractor beam that brought them in, Han and Luke rescue the princess and bring her back to Yavin, where the Rebels are based. (Also, while they escape? Other former employees of the station leave with the rebels.)
But before they can escape, two former brothers must come together for a final battle. Before reaching Han Solo’s legendary Millennium Falcon, Ben Kenobi is confronted by his former student, Darth Vader. (Luke knows that they have a history and that Ben taught Vader, but believes Vader to be different from Anakin Skywalker, as you recall.) The brothers lock blades a second time, bringing years of history to bear on a few single moments. The pair had traveled the galaxy together: from investigating the loss of Jedi Knight Vergere on Zonoma Sekot, to training a Padawan in the heat of battle on Christophsis, to helping Master Yoda on Vjun, the two had become inseparable. But now, they are enemies in the epic battle between the Jedi and the Sith, and one comes out victorious.
The Rebels then lead a daring attack on the station as it approaches Yavin IV, desperately seeking a way to destroy the station before it destroys them. The Rebel attack is majorly successful, ending in the destruction of the station and giving the Empire a huge black eye. But this is not the end of the war. Darth Vader has not been killed. The Emperor was safe on Imperial Center, still content to rule the galaxy through fear. Luke Skywalker is now without a Jedi Master, aimless and searching for ways to grow in the Force. Leia’s home planet has been destroyed. Neither Chewbacca nor Han Solo have officially joined the Rebel Alliance. But hope remains for the galaxy….
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Dark Times Era: Republic Commando – Order 66 | Kenobi | Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader | Coruscant Nights I – Jedi Twilight | Coruscant Nights II – Street of Shadows | Coruscant Nights III – Patterns of the Force | The Last Jedi | Han Solo Trilogy #1 – The Paradise Snare | Han Solo Trilogy #2 – The Hutt Gambit | The Force Unleashed | Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu | Lando Calrissian and the Flamewinds of Oseon | Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka | Death Star| Han Solo at Stars’ End | Han Solo’s Revenge | Han Solo and the Lost Legacy| Han Solo – Rebel Dawn| Shadow Games | Han Solo in Canon and Legends