Good morning everyone,
I'm taking a little time on this snowy Sunday to recap Marvel's very first issue of Star Wars. The first six issues of the title chronicled the original film. Most of us are familiar with the cover image, which shows Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Ben Kenobi, Darth Vader, the Death Star, and several Rebel and Imperial fighter craft. The first issue had an original publication date of July 1977.
The epic kicked off with the massive Imperial Star Destroyer chasing the Rebel blockade runner. In the midst ot the ensuing chaos on the smaller ship were the protocol droid C-3PO and his astromech counterpart, R2-D2. Meanwhile, the space battle was witnessed in part on the planet Tatooine by a young farmboy named Skywalker.
Villainous Vader and his legion of Imperial Stormtroopers had captured the Rebel ship and were now frantically searching for its passengers, as well as the transmissions that had been beamed aboard the vessel. Darth was ready to accomplish his objectives by any means necessary, even if it meant killing Rebels in the process.
Not far from the tyrant were the two droids. Artoo had befriended the young princess, who provided him with the information that the Empire had been looking for. He directed his companion to a nearby escape pod, which was soon jettisoned toward the desert planet below.
Leia was then left to fend for herself. She encountered a group of Stormtroopers and put up a good fight before a stun blast knocked her out of the battle. The troopers finally had something to report to their leader.
Back on Tatooine, an excited Skywalker couldn't wait to tell his friends in Anchorhead what he'd just seen. Camie and Fixer were less receptive than Luke's best friend, Biggs Darklighter. Biggs was doubtful, but understood his friend's enthusiasm. He wanted to get off the planet as much as any of them did.
It wasn't long before Leia was brought before Vader. She claimed to be on a diplomatic mission to her homeworld of Alderaan, a statement that the Dark Lord of the Sith swiftly refuted. He stated that she was part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor. After she was led away, Vader instructed his subordinates to send a transmission that all aboard the blockade runner had been killed, and to send a scanning crew to the planet to search for the escape pod that had been launched during the infiltration.
That escape pod had just landed in the Tatooine desert. It was a rough terrain that the droids were not built for. They decided to go on separate paths. Artoo's path led him to his imminent capture by scavengers known as Jawas.
Luke and Biggs were still talking together in Anchorhead. Darklighter confessed to his best friend that he was going to join the Alliance as soon as his assigned ship reached one of the central systems. Luke lamented the fact that he'd probably have to stay on and help his aunt and uncle with their moisture farm for yet another season.
While all of this was going on, a group of Imperial leaders were conferring about Vader, the Rebellion, and the new battlestation that the Emperor had approved. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Darth and Grand Moff Tarkin. Tarkin informed the group that the Senate had been dissolved, and that regional governors were now in control.
Doubt was expressed about the stolen plans, something that Vader affirmed he would acquire eventually. He went on to demonstrate the power of the Force, before Tarkin ordered him to cease. The Moff was confident that the tapes would soon be theirs, and that the Rebel Alliance would be destroyed.
A little while later on the desert planet, a large sandcrawler was rumbling toward a small farmstead. Included in its inventory were the robots R2-D2 and C-3PO. Both of them had been captured by the Jawas and were about to be put up for sale. They were put on display along with several other well-worn droids.
Their wares were being inspected by Owen Lars and his nephew, Luke. After careful consideration, Owen opted for C-3PO and an R5 unit. However, as soon as the astrodroid rolled on, its motivator broke. Threepio convinced Luke to suggest R2 as a replacement. This was suitable for Owen, and the droids now had a new master.
Luke was tasked with looking after the new acquisitions. While he was cleaning Artoo, he came across a snippet of a hologram. It was part of the message that Leia had recorded before the robots entered the blockade runner's escape pod. Luke was taken by her beauty and demanded to see the rest of the message. The stubborn droid refused to do so, even after his restraining bolt had been removed.
At dinner that evening, Luke told his uncle about his suspicion that the R2 unit might have been stolen, because he'd come across a recording saying that he belonged to someone called Obi-Wan Kenobi. He wondered if that meant old Ben Kenobi. Owen brushed Ben off as a strange old hermit and told his nephew to concentrate on his work. He also said that he needed him to stay for the harvest, and that Luke could send his application to the academy next year. Frustrated, Luke left the room, and went back to work on the droids. Beru chided her husband for forcing Luke to stay on when most of his friends had already gone, adding that Luke wasn't a farmer and that he had too much of his father in him. That's what Owen was afraid of.
When he returned to where he'd left the robots, only C-3PO came forth when summoned. He pleaded forgiveness for Artoo's rash departure. Luke went out to try to spot the astrodroid with his macrobinoculars. He was out of scanning range, and it was too dangerous to try to find him at night because of the Sand People.
Luke and Threepio left via the family's battered landspeeder to search for their missing comrade. They didn't know that Imperials had found the escape pod and a metal ring nearby, indicating that droids had been aboard. The speeder stopped after finding Artoo.
The astrodroid wasn't about to join them just yet. He warned that there were several creatures approaching from the southeast. Luke grabbed a blaster rifle from the speeder and went to find a place to scout. He saw a Sandperson (aka Tusken Raider) sitting by a pair of Banthas. The other Sandperson was right next to him. The creature raised his Gaderffii stick and shattered the old rifle, leaving Luke weaponless against his attacker.
I didn't know a lot about artist Howard Chaykin before I started reading this series. The one thing about this issue's cover that drew my eyes was the fact that the back part of Vader's helmet was uneven. The right side is much bigger than the left side. Writer Roy Thomas later admitted that the full theatrical movie wasn't available to view before this adaptation began, and there are some parts that didn't make the final cut. It's still a very well-respected version that is very much in demand by collectors.
Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the second issue of this adaptation. We'll find out what happened in the Tusken Raider battle, and see Luke's meeting with Kenobi. We'll also learn more about the Empire's new weapon and be introduced to a certain Correllian pilot and his first mate. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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