It’s time for the FINAL FOUR of the Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2020-2024, the series where Chris and I break down our favorite moments from the last 5 years of comic storytelling! In Part I we covered spots #10-8, which included everything from the High Republic’s villainous Marchion Ro to the surprising return of the Grand Inquisitor, and then Part II covered spots #7-5, which had everything from kyber crystals, Wookiee Jedi, and a whole lot of Sskeer and Keeve Trennis! So what’s in store for spots #4-1 in Part III?! Head below now to see everything from Doctor Aphra (of course), weddings, spectral battles, a certain character’s big return, and more grab the final spots!
Chris
4. Aphra Lives! (Doctor Aphra #39 & #40 {2020}):
Listen, you knew this wouldn’t be a list produced by THE Mynock Manor if we both didn’t feature Aphra on our lists – especially more, you know we would probably both end up featuring at least the final issue in these lists. So, I will say, we are not here to disappoint. I am fudging a little as I am including two issues, but the finale of issue 39 draws right into the beginning of issue 40. But we’ll return to this. When Alyssa Wong took over the series, I had no idea what their writing style would be like, as I had not read any of the rest of their work. I had really grown to appreciate Gillen’s take on the character, so I was naturally a little curious how someone else would take her. But once Alyssa Wong started the first arc searching for more artifacts (the Rings of Vaale) and including some classic villains, the Tagges, I knew we would be in good hands. I was even surprised by how slowly Wong introduced some elements back into the series, especially Magna Tolvan. I was also starting to get nervous as we saw more and more crossovers appear in the timeline, but Wong deftly handled all of these very well, naturally including Aphra in the events of the story while still tying in to the main series’ story in a really satisfying way. This all came to a head when Aphra makes a stunning decision to sacrifice herself by ramming a Tagge ship into a moon to fully and completely purge Domina Tagge of her little Dark Droid problem. It was a stunning climax to see Aphra willingly surrender herself for people whom she loved – something she has only recently been able to both say and do something about – and still find ways to be her chaotic self. Sometimes, when characters have a sort of redemption arc (which we can argue Aphra does and does not have!), they become fairly flat. I was so impressed by the way Wong works with Aphra for forty full issues to bring Aphra to a place where we’d both believe she would sacrifice herself for the ones she loves while also being her chaotic, mostly-selfish-but-also-
3. Zeen and Lula’s Wedding Guest List (The High Republic Adventures: The Wedding Spectacular):
When The High Republic initiative kicked off, I don’t think any of us had any idea where any of this was going. In the first issue of the first volume of The High Republic Adventures, we were introduced to two characters: Zeen Mrala and Lula Talisola. These two were immediately put in comparison, and a sort of contrast, with one another in an effort to help us learn more about them. Zeen, a young woman from the Elders of the Path, was a Force-sensitive person who was raised in a cult trained to avoid the use of the Force. Lula, a young Jedi, was raised in such a way that she wanted to be the best Jedi who had ever lived. But when their worlds collided, both saw themselves changed in ways they had never expected, eventually leading to their wedding. But they were not the only focus of the series: as it progressed, we learned about their friends, too: Q’ort, Farzala, Kantam Sy, Torban Buck, and plenty more. Over the course of three volumes, we came to love the cast, even going back in time to Phase II, where we came to see a young Sav Malagan on Takodana. In this, I was very happy to come back to Phase III and see how Lula and Zeen’s story unfolded after the destruction of Starlight Beacon. Unfortunately, I felt like Phase III of THRA started to go off the rails just a little bit: the main story of the series seemed to be about Lula and Zeen, but then it shifted to the Battle of Eriadu, which was carried in a bunch of one-shots, even spilling into Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone. In this, the story became much too wide for me and became harder and harder to follow. Not only that, the series brought in so many characters that it has become mildly confusing and a little hard to follow. Thankfully, this one-shot changed the game for me a bit. I know Ryan is talking about the actual story of the issue in his pick later on, but my heart was warmed by the very last, non-story page of the book: the guest list. Seeing the entire cast of characters on the same page made for a really fun reminder of where we’ve been, and reminds me that even in the confusion and maybe too-sprawling story, we’re still focusing on characters we love and want to see flourish (and hopefully see again and again in further stories)!
2. Luke Skywalker Kinda Confronts His Father (Star Wars #43 {2020}):
I’ve talked before that one of the best things Charles Soule did in his Star Wars series was give Luke Skywalker a yellow lightsaber and give us the chance to watch his trajectory as he grew into the Jedi we watched on the second Death Star. I’ve mentioned seeing him get his green kyber crystal was a blast, but there was a much more powerful moment only pages before this. With the help of Dr. Cuata, a kyber specialist, and a new friend Gretta, from the Fallanassi, Luke got his hands on an ancient Sith kyber crystal. He learned a meditation technique that would bring him directly to the heart of the kyber crystal, confronting its master’s pain head on. When Soule wrote his excellent Darth Vader series, he introduced kyber bleeding as the natural means by which Sith would pour their pain and anger in a crystal, turning it from a natural color to a red hued blade. The Fallanassi would purify bled crystals by confronting visions of its Master, hoping to turn them into pure white crystals again. Luke’s meditation brought him before an ancient Sith Lord, Gol, who ruled over a Sith kingdom of sorts. But as Luke began to try and transform Gol’s life, and purify his heart, Luke was faced with something greater: a vision of his father, Darth Vader. As Luke sought to purify someone else’s darkness, he had to come to terms with his own. But, as the Luke we know and love came to face his darkness, he ended up seeing his father still had some good in him. As he faced this darkness, he chose to love instead of hate, to confront rather than to fear, and found the courage to face his father…and eventually change the galaxy.
1. The Ronin and His Droid (Star Wars: Visions – Takashi Okazaki):
Okay, let’s be real here: anyone who knows me knows that I was going to choose the Ronin Visions one-shot as my top moment. I have been ultimately enamored with the world of “The Duel” since the first season of Visions. Takashi Okazaki created one of my favorite characters when he created the Ronin and got two more opportunities to continue to flesh the character out. (For what it’s worth, Emma Mieko Candon’s Ronin: A Visions Novel is one of my all-time favorite Star Wars novels, as well, possibly in my top-two of all time.) The first thing I need to talk about is the art: in Takashi’s signature style, we are given a glimpse into a world that’s both familiar and extremely different. Familiar elements like TIE Fighters and Ewoks remind us that we’re in the galaxy far, far away, but they’re remixed in a way that shows us: this isn’t your 70’s franchise. I’ve been so in love with Takashi’s style that I had to buy all of his variants for the Ahsoka and Shadows of Starlight series, and am working on collecting the remaining covers that I am missing as well. But it’s not just the art: it’s the character of the Ronin that changes too. When we are introduced to the Ronin in the animated short, he’s quiet, but determined, a man on a mission. This one-shot is a prequel to the short, so this is a different man. He’s brash, he’s bold…and not someone you want to root for. But we know where his story is going, so you know that soon, he’s going to travel with a straw-hat bearing droid that right now belongs to….someone who really seems like he may be the good guy in this story?? Watching the Ronin become the character he is in the short is a joy – and if I have anything to say about it, Takashi and Emma would both get many, many more stories to come. Pick up the upcoming Treasury edition in August and enjoy this amazing one-shot for everything it’s worth.
Ryan
4. Ty Yorrick’s Journey Comes Full Circle (The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #4):
A lot of what makes a Top 10 moment for me (and Top 5 in my comic year-in-reviews) is the depth and variety a team puts into building out and carrying on a character’s arc despite the bigger events of what’s happening in any given era. Ty Yorrick, while involved in an important way for Phase I of The High Republic during the second adult novel, The Rising Storm, has largely been doing her own thing, via the comics, in a galaxy facing deadly marauders and Force-eating creatures. Her story’s been entertaining for taking us away from the main narrative, broadening the era beyond just the big, highlighted events, but also one I’ve been eager to return to because of the characterization and work put into her own problems and how she is and is not dealing with her problems. Ty’s been running ever since the accident with her friend, but from an eager monster hunting apprentice to the reappearance of her old Master, now a minion of the Nihil’s mad scientist, events keep pushing her to stand her ground and face the repercussions of her actions. Because while her choice to run has prevented her from being hurt again, she’s never considered how her actions hurt others, and watching her face this fact, well, it brought me to tears right alongside her. Cavan Scott’s mainly overseen her appearances and Rachael Stott’s also built a strong showing with Ty’s story and this team cranked it all up to eleven in the Saber for Hire miniseries. A check-in with Ty in Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone #4, out a few months after, revealed how she’d changed after her emotional breakthrough with her old Master, providing a look at what growth really looks like, and only strengthens how important this moment was for her and how well it paid off an already strong storyline and character.
3. Qi’ra Returns (War of the Bounty Hunters #1):
Qi’ra gets so close to her goal of taking out the Sith who rule the galaxy and make it a miserable place for the downtrodden, she can basically taste victory before a bunch of metal punks screws it all up. This a story told over three years and three crossover events, ensnaring the comics in her plans and all the fallout which comes alongside them, and how it all played out was a mileage may vary thing (I rather liked it all overall, though I have my problems). But readers can’t deny the shock and absolute delight which came with her initial return, the seemingly endless tons of promise, questions, and hopes along with it, no matter how they felt about it in the end. Much like the comics getting to show when Vader learned the name of the pilot who took out the Death Star, letting them proliferate Qi’ra’s story, taking a recognizable movie character and building out a whole new path for her and her future, still feels like a gamble worth making that, besides in a novel, felt like the right place for more of her story to unfold; At least publishing’s been a little more consistent with output than the screen side of things, right? Hopefully we’ll see Qi’ra again soon, somewhere, scheming once again. Legends had the Shadows of the Empire multimedia event during the timeframe between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but canon got Qi’ra’s hidden empire…choke on it (her words, not mine!).
2. Polycule Pony Club (Doctor Aphra #40 {2020}):
Like I said in an earlier pick, it’s always more about the journey than the ending, but with Alyssa Wong’s Doctor Aphra (2020) run, even the ending was worth the journey…and then some. What really made issue #40 work so damn well was not only all the fantastic character focus preceding it, but also the way Wong plays with fan’s expectations and Aphra’s history, so that when the truth of what’s happening is revealed, it’s a welcomed surprise. Yet how the series in general and the finale itself pushes representation in the franchise, both the polycule choice itself between Chelli Aphra, Magna Tolvan, and Sana Starros and what it means overall, that you don’t need to limit stories to one or the other romance outcomes, is what makes it so memorable in the long-run, as it validates fans who don’t often get to see themselves in stories, especially one in a galaxy far, far away, making them feel as welcomed as they should be. It’s always been important, but it’s grown even since the issue released, as the fascist choices of the Trump administration are doing everything they can to erase the queer community simply for existing. It’s vital stories offer a safe space for everyone, especially those fighting for their existence when they should simply be allowed to be, and the representation this series consistently offered was a bright spot only the High Republic managed to get close to and also help expand. So when a franchise is willing to close down its most diverse live-action output to date, celebrating the visible diversity and inclusion found elsewhere in the franchise is a salve, though not a fix, and is an even bigger win when it’s done in such a thoughtful, well-planned, and absolutely delightful way like what Alyssa Wong did with the series and its fitting finale.
1. For Light and Wife (The High Republic Adventures: The Wedding Spectacular):
In the 2020-2024 era, the big thread of Lula Talisola and Zeen Mrala’s potential relationship has been a fundamental backbone to the entire High Republic era, and even when Phase II went to the past, the year long wait only made the desire for answers grow and allowed fans to become even more invested as they guessed and wondered if Lula was alive and how her survival could be explained. While there was no question it would be Daniel José Older writing their story to the very end, he’s been the steward of their journey throughout The High Republic Adventures – Phase I and Phase III, Midnight Horizon and various other appearances, guiding their relationship through turbulent times, better days, and such a joyous occasion, the way he keeps surprising and building such emotionally fulfilling content feels unprecedented. While there’s still more to Lula and Zeen’s story after their marriage, The Wedding Spectacular issue was such a joyous expression of their relationship, Older’s themes and views, and a celebration of all the artists who’ve contributed in big and small ways throughout the years that, had it been the end of the overall series, it couldn’t get more picture perfect. There’s still uncertainty ahead of Lula and Zeen, and all their friends, after the wedding, but having them find some time to enjoy life before war comes their way, feels both fitting for these characters and for readers, as it’s a reminder to enjoy what you can and not let those who would want to tear it away from you win by focusing on the negative. It’s something to live by as the world enters a politically dark era.
And there you have it, our Top 10 Unforgettable Star Wars Comics Moments from 2020-2024!! Here are some fun facts about our lists: 6 spots were from Charles Soule’s work across both our lists, which tracks given he was in charge of so much story across multiple series; 8 spots across both lists were from The High Republic era, which kicked off in 2021 and is just closing out its main story in 2025. Of those 8 moments, Daniel José Older wrote 3 and Cavan Scott wrote 4 (one was Soule’s); Doctor Aphra and Alyssa Wong’s run got three spots (two on Ryan’s list, one on Chris’); and Qi’ra, who fueled all the big crossovers of the era, only got one spot (but a high one!).
If you’re curious, we also have our Top 10 Unforgettable Star Wars Comics Moments from 2015-2019 to check out as well!!
Feel free to share what your picks for Unforgettable Star Wars Comics moments are in the comments or over at Bluesky!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky. Chris is the Manor’s Sous Chef. You can follow him on Bluesky as well.
All comic panel images credited to Marvel/Dark Horse/Lucasfilm