SPOILER REVIEW: Marvel's Star Wars #3

Great Review @Kyle. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. IMO it had everything I could want in a SW story. I just wish it was longer! It was really cool to see Luke in some vehicle action to further validate Biggs' claim of him being "the best bush pilot in the outer rim territories". We really only see Luke piloting in two battles in the OT...the Death Star, where he basically drove in a straight path along the trench to the target and on Hoth where he crashed and had to escape on foot. His command of the squadron in ESB and comments about his skills is really all we have to go on. It was just cool to see him do some crazy driving for once. I hope we will see more of that in the future, especially in his x-wing with Rogue Squadron or something.

I am also currently reading Heir to the Jedi. I'm about halfway through and it's been good so far. I'm curious about where all the new canon material from this period fits into the timeline chronologically. Obviously, Princess Leia #1 immediately follows ANH...sometime later Star Wars #1-3...Vader #1 & 2 clearly follow the events of Star Wars #3...but what about the Heir to the Jedi novel? I really don't know. My gut says it takes place after the current comics in the timeline. For instance, in the book, Luke moves an object with the Force for the first time. In Star Wars #2 he seems genuinely surprised that what Vader did by force-pulling the lightsaber from his hand was even possible. But in Heir to the Jedi, Luke also seems to theorize that it "should" be possible to move objects...why does he theorize if he has already witnessed Vader do that very thing? Anyway, the comics seem to immediately follow ANH so I feel that HTTJ takes place further down the road. Anyway, I foresee a huge amount of content coming for this time period. I mean, the Clone Wars TV show has 6 seasons which span a total of 3 years on the SW timeline. The same amount of time passes between ANH and ESB so these comics and novels could keep coming for some time. I say bring it!

As for Kenobi's mystery box...I think it would be neat if they throw back to Shadows of the Empire and have the box contain instructions on how to construct a lightsaber. However, once again in Heir to the Jedi, Luke has no clue how they even work, but eventually discovers that the complexity of the construction would require using the force to align the crystals properly, so I don't think it'd be that. One route they could go is a Jedi Holocron made by Obi-Wan himself with further instruction and training for Luke. After all Vader does say in ESB "Obi-Wan has taught you well..." Really? He spent like 2 days with the guy and then he died. I think more training is required (of course Vader probably didn't know how little time they actually had together). In the Heir to the Jedi novel, Luke states that he hasn't heard Obi-Wan's voice since the Death Star and it's clear he hasn't received any additional training. Who knows though? Maybe these stories will eventually overlap in the timeline a little bit. What I really think would be cool is if that is the last we see of the box...until episode VII comes out. Think about it...readers of the comic will be looking to discover what's in the box from now until December when TFA comes out and our new heroes discover it at Kenobi's place and set out to find out who this "Luke" is. It becomes the macguffen that propels the story...just a thought.

 

I agree. We will likely get the box pay off in the comic series...but it was mentioned that the upcoming material will contain easter eggs for the film (can't back that up with a reference - but I know I read it in an article recently). But it's possible. It would be a cool way to reward comic readers yet it would not be necessary that film only patrons have read the comics to understand it.

 

Obi-Wan doesn't talk to Vader in the comic (at least not yet). And Vader doesn't really talk to Obi-Wan exactly. He wonders out loud about Obi-Wan's training of Luke and he does so by pretending to speak to Obi-Wan. I would assume Vader still thinks Obi-Wan is dead and has become one with the force. He gives no indications that he is aware of his continued existense with his retained identity in the force as a spirit.

It's kind of like going through some old belongings of your hypothetical friend (let's call him Joe) who passed away several years ago and you find a picture of Joe with his girlfriend and then a picture of another girlfriend from the same time you didn't even know existed. You say, "Joe, you old smoothy...(smile)"...You know Joe is dead, but as a coping mechanism, you find yourself carrying on in one-sided conversations with him about various things as he comes to mind. This is kind of like what I think Vader is doing.