Rather than tread ground already covered by Marvel’s “Star Wars” and Goodwin and Williamson’s “Classic Star Wars,” I suspect part of the aim of “Empire” was to fill in the storytelling gaps. Two ways to do this are to give time to previously under-explored characters and to tie in prequel information with classic-era yarns. Both of those strategies are on display in the 2004 issues, which finds “Empire” moving firmly into the post-Battle of Yavin era after several stories that took place shortly before or concurrently with “A New Hope.”
Ron Marz’s “A Little Piece of Home” (Issues 20-21) feels like a Marvel story that never got printed. While Leia was not entirely ignored by Marvel (for example, she embarks on a solo mission to Metalorn in Issue 30, “A Princess Alone!”), she mostly took on the role of issuing orders – in other words, she was more “Battle of Yavin Leia” than “Escape from the Death Star Leia.” In “A Little Piece of Home,” she visits an old Alderaanian boyfriend, Raal, on a moon of Ryloth that he owns with his brother, Heeth. A trip to the brothers’ nature preserve goes awry and leads to Raal’s death, and the end of any hope of using the moon as a Rebel base. Just one more death for Leia to bottle up, I suppose.
Randy Stradley’s (under the pseudonym Welles Hartley) “Alone Together” (22) is a rare story about our heroes told from the perspective of an outside character – in this case, young Rebel mechanic Deena Shan. While random Rebels sometimes accompany our heroes on missions – think Mici Shabandar from “World of Fire” (Marvel UK) or Cinda Tarheel from “Serphidian Eyes” (Marvel Issue 64) – rarely do they rise above the level of a “Star Trek” Red Shirt.
As the point-of-view character, Deena changes that trend. She’s an “everywoman” of sorts, although possessing comic-book good looks. While the tale is par for the course (our heroes land on a planet, face some threats and escape), the point is that the outside character sees what the bickering Han and Leia don’t: That they are perfect for each other. Although Deena is smitten with Han, she puts a positive spin on things in the end: “Or maybe a farm boy is more my type after all.” Look for much more on Deena in future issues.
Also of interest to continuity gurus in “Alone Together”: Luke refers to his group as “Red Squadron,” thus confirming that Biggs calling it “Rogue Squadron” earlier in the series was a mistake on the writer’s part.
Although I’m jumping a bit ahead on the timeline, this seems like a good time to mention the February 2003 one-shot “A Valentine Story: Breaking the Ice,” written by Judd Winick with previous “Empire” writer Paul Chadwick showing that he’s a capable artist, too. This story marks a turning point in the Han-Leia relationship. Their banter was always part harsh, part playful, but the harshness dissipates a bit after the pair crash-lands on Hoth while attempting to deliver ships to the new base. Han’s concern for Chewie warms Leia’s heart, and she starts to cut him a little slack.
Jeremy Barlow’s “The Bravery of Being Out of Range” (23) continues the story of BoShek, who we first got to know in Jerry Oltion’s “The Spacer’s Tale” in “Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina” (1996). It’s probably a stretch to say he’s “the galaxy’s second-coolest smuggler,” as the cover blurb does. By itself, this issue ends on a disappointing cliffhanger as we learn that undercover Imperial agent Rasha Bex had been using the independent-minded BoShek to escape a Rebel cell. But we’ll revisit Rasha in later issues.
Marz’s “Idiot’s Array” (24-25) is a disappointingly standard tale of Han being sold out by an old acquaintance from his smuggling and gambling circles (Sheel Odala), tortured for information about the Rebel fleet by the Bothan information broker from Issue 19, and then rescued by the guilt-ridden Sheel. Part of what makes “Empire” better than Marvel’s run and the Goodwin/Williamson strips is that most “Empire” characters link up with other stories, whether they are movie characters like Biggs or BoShek, or newcomers like Deena and Rasha, whose stories continue down the road. But Sheel is never heard from again, nor does she appear in formative Han Solo stories even though Han recognizes her immediately after a two-year absence and they reminisce about old times. Basically, she’s “Empire’s” Silver Fyre (from the Goodwin/Williamson strips) – someone who serves a plot purpose but doesn’t have an arc beyond that.
With Han finally getting the spotlight in Issues 24-25, Luke finally steps to the fore as well, but Marz delivers another bland tale. In “‘General’ Skywalker” (26-27), Luke and his X-wing squadron (still labeled “Red Squadron,” the cover blurb tells us) lands on a jungle planet looking to set up a listening post. Inexplicably, they’re attacked by Imperials, and even more inexplicably, a clone trooper had been stranded on this exact part of the planet since the Clone Wars. At least that’s a nice tie-in to the wider saga, as is the introduction of an X-wing pilot named Senesca, who we know as Zev Senesca from Rogue Squadron in the Battle of Hoth — the one with a goofy grin who says “I’ve found them. Repeat, I’ve found them.”
The 2004 batch of “Empire” wraps up with “Wreckage” (28), a Boba Fett tale that I addressed in my review of the “Boba Fett” comics.
While this batch has its moments – “A Little Piece of Home” feels nostalgic in a Marvel way, and it’s neat to see BoShek and Zev – it’s the least imaginative stretch of “Empire” so far, and it also has the weakest art. Deena, Rasha and the stranded clone trooper (Able) will pay off later, but at this point they don’t stand out above true throwaway characters like Sheel Odala. Still, Han and Luke are in the “Empire” cast of characters now, so perhaps some of this title’s many divergent plotlines will soon converge into something epic.