And now it’s all come down to this! The Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments in Star Wars Canon has reached Part III, the grand finale covering Chris and Ryan’s picks for their top 4-1 moments! If you haven’t already, make sure to get caught up with Parts I (spots 10-8) and Part II (spots 7-5) to see what we’ve already picked. Without any more pretense, head below for Part III’s dive into spots 4-1!
Ryan
4. Unlikely Allies Unite to Save Caleb Dume aka Kanan Jarrus (Kanan: The Last Padawan #5):
As fans were just getting to know the Jedi formally known as Caleb Dume on Star Wars Rebels, Kanan Jarrus’ backstory was being filled in by an excellent comic, as it showed the young Padawan dealing with the fallout of Order 66. Towards the end of the first arc Caleb’s captured by two clones, Commander Grey and Styles, clones he considered friends since they worked closely with him and his Master Depa Billaba who began pursuing him after Order 66, but his capture is a sacrifice he makes to ensure his latest mentor, Janus Kasmir, is let go by the clones. Kasmir, and ex-Separatist General Kleeve, both affected by their dealings with Caleb, end up teaming together to save their young friend from his captors.
Little Kanan tries to reason with the clones he used to call friends, but realizes it’s not enough and decides to take his chances in the cold vacuum of space as Kasmir and Kleeve attack the ship. After rescuing Caleb, the two rogues slowly realize their efforts aren’t enough against the bigger ship, but Caleb seems to sense something has shifted and orders them to continue the attack. It turns out his words before exited the other ship had some effect on Grey, who manages to finally see past his inhibitor chip and realize what they’d done to the Jedi, so he chooses to make things right, blasting the ship’s controls so Caleb can finally be free of the Empire’s gaze. No matter his age, Kanan has always had the ability to draw others around him, and that he’s able to help a clone see past the chip is another great example of the power of empathy.
Now that Rebels has ended, knowing the sacrifices of the clones, and the actions of the two rogues who couldn’t help but be endured to the young man who crashed into their lives, allowed Kanan to be in the right place to protect his found family and allow them the opportunity to defeat the Empire over Lothal adds an extra spice of melancholy to this moment from 2015. And knowing Kanan was included as one of the voices of the Jedi reaching out to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker only adds more importance to the combination of unlikely allies who helped save him in his most dire of circumstances.
3. Doctor Aphra and Tolvan Kiss (Doctor Aphra #16):
As the new canon brought plenty of LGBTQ+ representation across the books and comics, I was really excited and proud of how far Star Wars had come, but then I went to a fan panel at Celebration Orlando 2017 where actual fans who identified under the umbrella discussed how the new canon had been fairing, and it was a far more practical reception. As a cis white male, it seemed like so much at that time, but they rightly pointed out Star Wars had much further to go, especially with on-screen representation being the biggest (and obvious) shortcoming in the Saga. While The Rise of Skywalker tried with its queer kiss, it was far short of anything real and impactful, but thankfully LGBTQ+ fans are at least already getting plenty of representation in the tales of Doctor Aphra.
Almost 2 years before TROS’ attempt, the first kiss between two women in Star Wars visual media came in Doctor Aphra #16, where the mutual attraction between rogue archaeologist and Imperial Inspector Tolvan boiled over as they were facing certain death. It would only be the start to their complex and nuanced relationship, but it quickly became an entertaining and meaningful addition to the canon’s growing list of queer representation. Hopefully things will change on-screen sooner than later, while looking at how the Aphra series handled it should be a standard future bits of representation need to take to heart.
And it’s all thanks to one little kiss.
2. Vader Learns He Has a Son (Darth Vader #6 {Vol. 1}/Star Wars #6 {Vol. 1}):
A moment so large, it happened in two different series! When Vader rocks Luke Skywalker’s world, and many a Star Wars fans’ as well, with the revelation he’s Luke’s father, one has to wonder: how and when did he find out he had a kid if Obi-Wan and Yoda spirited his children away? In the Darth Vader series, Vader has tasked bounty hunters with uncovering the identity of the X-wing pilot who blew up the Death Star, curious about his connection to the Force. In the Star Wars series, we see Boba Fett confront Luke in the Lars homestead, and while Luke bungles his way out alive, Fett comes away with the only name that matters: Skywalker. In both Darth Vader #6 (Vol. 1) and Star Wars #6 (Vol. 1), we see when Vader is delivered the news, though it’s arguably more personal and window-shattering in the Vader series.
It’s an important moment in the Saga, as it sets the stage for the big reveal in The Empire Strikes Back, and, thanks to everything being canon now, it actually got to happen in the comics! It was still very early in Marvel’s takeover and it helped hammer home how important their tales could and would be in the future. There’s been plenty of big moments since, but this one started it all.
1. Lobot’s Sacrifice (Lando #5):
Before 2015, if you’d told me I’d not only want more Lobot content, but care deeply for his fate, and I’d actively cry whenever he appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, I’d have thought you were on deathsticks. After the Lando miniseries, Charles Soule’s first foray into Star Wars writing with an undeniably fantastic art team of Alex Maleev and Paul Mounts, I’m the one on deathsticks for not believing you. When Lobot is first introduced in the series, he’s a smooth-talker with a conscious, going along with Lando’s schemes but acting as the angel on his shoulder, constantly trying to push him towards something less savory, something worth believing in. It was a jarring but exciting development, but it immediately brought up a question with a likely sad and horrifying answer: why is he mute and unemotional in TESB? As Soule has proven excellent at, and I really saw for the first time here, the answer unfolds in epic tragedy fashion, as Lobot decides to let his implants take over his brain so he can help his best friend, and ex, escape Palpatine’s pleasure yacht; Yeah, it’s wild beyond even the emotional stakes involved.
What really makes this moment land is how Soule builds up Lobot and Lando’s friendship over the first few issues and then, as the situation on the yacht gets more and more out of control, throws us a curveball: Lobot stabbed by the Emperor’s Royal Guard hidden on the ship. Knowing he’ll survive doesn’t lessen the impact of the moment, as the friendship we’ve seen between the two instead adds to the peril of the situation, with the question I mentioned earlier hanging over every development. When Lobot makes the call to succumb to the implants, allowing Lando and his bounty hunter ex Chanath Cha to jettison in escape pods with him, his final words play out in a holographic message to his best friend, and had I not already been crying, I would’ve at this point: Lobot urges Lando to start investing in something more than himself for once, a moment which also helps adds to Lando’s backpedaling on Cloud City.
By taking such an innocuous part of TESB, Lobot’s reliability as enemies surround Lando and his friends, and develop it into a friendship with a tragic past, was a stroke of brilliance, offering a glimpse how the comics, now working hand in hand with every other aspect for canon as one story, could adjust the way we see even the most mundane parts of the films while still providing fresh and exciting tales in the Saga we all know and love. This moment nags the top spot because the idea these nuggets of story are hiding where we least expect them is one of my favorite parts of expanding a universe through multiple avenues of media…and I’m also a sucker for a good tragedy.
Chris
4. Luke Rescues Kes Dameron and Shara Bey (Empire Ascendant #1):
If you’re surprised to see this moment so high on this list, trust me: I am, too. I never would have expected that such a short story would have such an impact on me, but here we are. Released as part of the Empire Ascendant wrap-up of Phase I and introduction to Phase II, we have our earliest canonical introduction to famed Resistance General Poe Dameron’s parents, Kes Dameron and Shara Bey. The two are working together to, ah, renovate part of Hoth in order to make the icy caverns a more suitable base for the Rebel Alliance. During their renovations, part of the cavern collapses, making both think that they are about to face certain destruction and doom. Before they succumb, though, Luke Skywalker makes a grand entrance, rescuing the two.
So why this moment? Why this instead of some of the other moments – maybe some that are cooler, or more exciting, or more dynamic? I think I chose this one because it is the small moments that really make up the core of the franchise. When Luke rescues the pair, he reminds them (and us) of the values that undergird the Rebellion. They don’t just fight evil: they are a family, working to save each other and the galaxy from the forces that threaten to enslave them. No matter what the situation is, the Rebellion hears the cry of the oppressed, doing everything they can to save them. That’s just what they do.
3. Darth Vader’s Red Crystal (Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith #5):
Good guys have green and blue lightsaber blades, and the bad guys have red sabers. Or, at least, that’s what George Lucas told Samuel L. Jackson when the latter asked about the possibility of wielding a purple blade. This axiom holds true for most of Star Wars, but presents a problem for the new Darth Vader, just days after the end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the reign of the evil Galactic Empire. You see, Sheev Palpatine, newly minted Emperor of the Galaxy, has tasked the Dark Lord with creating his own lightsaber. After an intense battle with a powerful Jedi named Kirak In’fila, Darth Vader wields the Jedi’s blade with avarice, but the crystal still shines with a powerful green hue.
No good Sith can leave that as is! Traveling to his new base on Mustafar, Darth Vader has to access the deep crevices of his psyche in order to bring out all of the rage and anger that he has built up inside. But it’s not easy: there’s still a spark of goodness left in him. But the internal battle that ensues as Vader tries to “bleed” his saber crystal into the red blade we’ve come to attribute to him brings out some of the best internal work on Vader yet. And more than that: the arts, colors, and penciling of the issue come together to bring out the very best of the comic medium, bringing all of the medium’s strengths to bear in telling the story of Vader’s loss and transformation.
2. Doctor Aphra Lives! (Darth Vader #25 {Vol. 1}):
Look, I understand that this point is not going to surprise a single soul who is reading this page. We seriously just did an entire retrospective about her first series, where we mostly sung her praises. It was hard for either of us to pick low points of the series itself, and we were wont to talk about anything that the character could do better. So, please, indulge me as I speak a little bit more about our favorite rogue archaeologist.
As the end of the Darth Vader on-going series was coming to an end, one of the biggest questions on our mind was: what will happen to Doctor Aphra? Her relationship with the Dark Lord had always seemed…tenuous, at best. She was initially approached by Darth Vader as someone who could help him get what he wanted. Between their trips to Geonosis, their fragile alliance on Vrogas Vos, and leaving her to fend for herself when kept at Sunspot Prison, we really had no idea what Vader’s plans for the good-ish Doctor were.
And, scarily enough, neither did she. So, she did what she does best: she turned on him. Finding her way into the Emperor’s Throne Room, Aphra spills the beans on Darth Vader’s plan to build a secret army, potentially living up to his Sith title and turning on the Emperor. This pleases Sheev, but irritates Vader to no end. So, he does what he promises: he moves to eliminate her. Thankfully, both for her and for us, Aphra had a trick up her sleeve. But first, she puts on a good show, making us and Vader think that she sees her end coming.
Jettisoned out of an airlock, it feels like the end of our favorite Doctor. But she has secretly been using tricks learned across the series to survive in the vacuum of space long enough to be pulled back into a ship, surviving into her own series!
1. Darth Vader Learns about Luke (Darth Vader #6 {Vol. 1}/Star Wars #6 {Vol. 1}):
When the Marvel Star Wars flagship series launched, we as readers had no idea what to expect from the upcoming series. The first arc in the series, wherein the Alliance uses its newfound momentum after the Battle of Yavin to push back against the Empire, was, for the most part, a rousing success. From the mission to Cymoon I to the tiff between Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker, the series seemed to have a lot of promise. (Remember, we’ve already looked at Sana – one of the best additions the series gave us!) But the real meat of the story came toward the end of the arc, when Boba Fett returns to speak with Darth Vader. But it didn’t really seem to suggest, up until the end of the sixth issue, to be changing the dynamics of the films much at all.
You see, we still had no idea how much the publishing side of Star Wars would affect the films. For the most part, a lot of Dark Horse material, while being pretty good on its own right, was still fairly tertiary to the films. A lot of stories existed on the peripheries, interacting near the films without much freedom to touch them directly. This idea was thrown right out the window for fans with the Marvel series: these comics were going to be important. They promised to make us rethink what we knew about the series, what we thought we knew about the series, and what we were going to learn about the series. And it all started when Darth Vader learns the truth about who destroyed the Death Star, a bit earlier than we initially thought….
At the beginning of the Darth Vader series, which ran concurrently with the first arc of the flagship title, Darth Vader hires Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan to find out the identity of the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star. Boba Fett, after a mission to Tatooine, is successful, finding out the Rebel pilot is Luke Skywalker. The name doesn’t mean much to Boba (even though, humorously enough, he did meet Anakin in the Clone Wars), but it means everything to Darth Vader.
At this point, both the flagship title and Darth Vader’s title differ a little, showing the emotional ramifications of Darth Vader’s discovery. In the flagship title, Vader’s anger explodes out of him, cracking the viewport in front of him. In his own title, this brings up many memories of his life as Anakin Skywalker and his time with Padme Amidala. Suddenly, realization after realization hit the Dark Lord: everything he knows has been a lie. Sheev Palpatine has lied to him about the fate of his wife. His whole life, his devotion to the Emperor and the Empire, is shaken to its core, and his whole life is set on a new trajectory.
This news really serves to frame the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. Sure, he’s a murderer, there’s no excusing that. But when you remember that nine-year-old kid on Tatooine, saying good-bye to his mother, learn that he has been denied the family he’s desired since that day, it’s hard not to feel something for him – and heighten our anticipation that much more for his eventual turn.
On the behalf of the Manor, Chris and I extend our warmest thanks to you, dear reader, for diving into the Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments in Star Wars Canon with us! Not only do we hope you enjoyed our list, but we’re really hoping it maybe changed your mind about reading a comic series (or 6) to see some of the deeper context to these moments. At the very least, this list should help solidify the importance of the comics to the canon and the greater Star Wars Saga as a whole.
And always, please share with us your Top Moments in the comments or on social media!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. Chris is the Manor’s Sous Chef. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWerms, You can follow the website @MynockManor.
All comic panel images credited to Marvel/IDW/Lucasfilm