After months of speculation, and a year or two sort of feeling it was time, the Star Wars (Vol. 2) and Darth Vader (Vol. 3) series which kicked off in 2020 will come to an end September 2024. They’ll both be large issues, 50 pages for 50 issues of storytelling, to help wrap up their stories and close out the era set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. What comes next? Marvel promises we’ll find out in the coming weeks, but could there be hints in the solicitations for the 50th and final issues of each comic? Or most importantly, what would you like to see? Check out the covers, solicitations, and my hope for what’s next below!
There has been plenty to love about this era of comics, be it Alyssa Wong’s Doctor Aphra run, the way Bounty Hunters came into its own, and Qi’ra coming back, but the constant crossover event situation in such a narrow window of time started to make this feel too busy and packed, all stuff I’ve litigated in my 2022 and 2023 comics year-in-reviews. Knowing the end is only a few months away, and the promise of what’s next is on the horizon, it’s certainly made me excited about the main comics again in a way I haven’t recently, though thankfully some of the recent prequel-set miniseries and all The High Republic content has been more than enough to keep me eager to read comics month after month. So what would I like to see next? Obviously more Doctor Aphra, but that’s a given due to her popularity and the tease she’ll return in her final issue, but otherwise I’m really hoping they take us post-Return of the Jedi, especially since it seems like the era is being defined more thanks to more shows and movies on the horizon, meaning I feel like they’ll allow the comics (and hopefully novels to come) to fill in some critical gaps or even explore something new or different. A Luke Skywalker-focused comic would be the ultimate request, with Charles Soule writing since his Luke content has been some of the best for both the character and the comic series, and it seems like issue #50 already hints he has some ideas in mind. Next on my list would be more prequel comics, as both the Mace Windu and Jango Fett miniseries have seemingly teased will happen, as the 10 year gap between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones is full of opportunity. And lastly, I wouldn’t be against some set post-The Rise of Skywalker, preparing us for what the galaxy will look like or tease what it could become by the time of Rey’s New Jedi Order film! The sequel trilogy has been the least touched upon via publishing at this point, so anything opening up that era would be a nice change of pace. Honestly, having a few series set in each of the above eras would be a great way to offer fans the chance to pick and choose what they want to focus on, instead of having to get all the latest crossovers, and might increase readership with so many options. While it’s fun to speculate, when will we learn next? SDCC 2024 takes place at July 25-28, which is the same week October’s solicitations would likely release, so if I’d have to guess the latest would be a panel at the convention!
But enough about what could come, how about what is set to come in the endings of Star Wars (Vol. 2) and Darth Vader (Vol. 3)?! Here are the covers and the solicits:
Star Wars #50 (Vol. 2), Out September 11
In Charles Soule and Madibek Musabekov’s STAR WARS #50, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker must teach his student Ben Solo a powerful lesson about the true balance between Light and Dark! He offers up a tale from the days of the Rebel Alliance that touches on multiple eras of Star Wars history, and brings this epic run to a thrilling, incredible climax!
I’m very surprised we’ll go to the future to finish up the current run, but I am absolutely thrilled to see Luke and Ben Solo together, as it makes me hopeful this is what Soule can build up to or work on in his future comics, if he is indeed coming back. The covers also reveal the issue’s The High Republic connection with Azlin Rell, the fallen Jedi who might just hold the secrets to ending the Nameless threat to the Jedi! Is he somehow able to connect with Luke? Is Luke trying to cleanse another kyber, which just happens to be Azlin’s? What is going on?! Either way, Soule has a real treat in store for us it seems!!!
Darth Vader #50 (Vol. 3), Out September 18
Acclaimed writer Greg Pak closes out the longest-running Darth Vader comic series ever alongside artist Raffaele Ienco and more in STAR WARS: DARTH VADER #50. Pak’s run reaches its stunning conclusion as the Dark Heart of the Sith comes full circle!
Darth Vader finally unleashes the unfathomable power he’s accumulated through the Schism Imperial against the only person in the galaxy he hates more than he hates himself: Emperor Palpatine! Also featuring the final twists in the saga for key characters like Luke, Leia, Sabé, Ochi, the droid ZED-6-7, Sly Moore, the members of the Schism Imperial and more!
If you’ve been reading the Manor, then you know my feelings on this series, but in brief I don’t think the “longest-running” title is the flex they think it is. Regardless, it seems at least we’ll finally see Vader put down low enough he’ll tell his son it’s useless to resist against the Emperor, instead of wanting the boy to join him like he did on Cloud City, while I’ll be very interested to see what fate the issue holds for Sabé. And then may Marvel let the Dark Lord rest!!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.