Good afternoon and Happy Valentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day, everyone,
My focus for this fourteenth day of February is the fourteenth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars series. The cover showed Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO poised and ready for battle. The story was called "The Sound of Armageddon!" The issue had a cover date of August 1978.
The tale began on Governor Quarg's flagship. Chewbacca was striking at Luke, thinking that the Tatooine native had fired upon the Millennium Falcon (when in reality it had been another of Quarg's men). Threepio and Artoo stood by and watched, unsure how to assist their friends.
None of them fully understood that their ship was engaged in a full-scale war with the dragon riders. Multiple beasts attacked the very craft they were in. Quarg refused to let their sonic jammer cease operation for even an instant, since it was what they'd used to lure large ships into their vicinity.
That included the Imperial Star Destroyer that was being piloted by the pirate Crimson Jack's crew. They were frantically trying to figure out how to evade its impact. Jack then learned that the Falcon had escaped from its hold shortly after the jammer began to impact their vessel.
As for the Falcon's pilot, Han Solo had been knocked off board (last issue). When he came to, he saw that he was being carried off by one of the dragon riders. Leia was still on his ship and preparing for any trouble that might cross her path, as the Correllian ship was being towed toward Quarg's flagship.
It wasn't long before Quarg and his associates realized how the Falcon's power could be used to boost their signal jammer. It was a task that Luke and his droids could help with, but they were busy fighting for their lives at the moment against a raging Wookiee. Artoo finally blasted his comrade with a burst of fire extinguisher, putting him down for the count.
Not long afterward, Leia was reunited with Skywalker and the droids. Quarg instructed his new machinesmith on his work, while he took Organa captive. None of them knew that Han was very much alive, and had resurfaced in an underground cavern where Quarg's former technos had made a home for themselves and the dragons of Drexel.
One of them explained to Solo their peaceful coexistence with the creatures. He noted that ultrasonic sound, like that emanating from Quarg's sonic jammer, had been known to drive some of the larger beasts mad, which would explain their frenzied actions during the current battle. Continued use of such a weapon could even kill the dragons. Han was shocked to learn that, as well as the news that Quarg planned to use his ship to augment the jammer.
Han agreed to join the technos, knowing it was probably the only way he could return to the Falcon. Meanwhile, the conflict continued. The droids worked on the task, albeit not at a fast enough pace for the general's liking. Luke, Artoo, and Threepio were working on the connection when Solo returned. He arrived to stop them, but Luke fought off his old friend.
Solo warned the farmboy that they were giving Quarg a weapon that could rival the Death Star's destructive capability before more dragons fell from the increased power of the jammer. Leia fled from the general moments before Chewbacca broke through his prison and attacked Quarg and his men. Luke explained to Han that the connection helped Quarg, but it also negated the jammer's effect on his ship. Everything was now fully functional again, including the weapons.
Han took the opportunity to man a gun turret. He aimed his scope at a beam right below Leia, who by then had been chased up that far ledge by the General himself. Luke swooped in and grabbed her mere moments before the Falcon's guns fired on the ancient ship.
Quarg and his threat were now gone. The pirates wouldn't harm the dragon lords or their animal companions ever again. However, that didn't mean that the Rebels were out of trouble just yet.
I still don't like how Carmine Infantino drew laser blasters, mainly because they were usually quite unlike anything shown in the Star Wars films. I understand writer Archie Goodwin's intentions of likening Quarg's ships to pirate ships of old, and can appreciate how he crafted Quarg into a kind of Napoleonic leader. I just wish that there had been more of a backstory or an aftermath involving the dragon lords. We were just starting to learn about them before this conflict was resolved rather violently.
Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow's topic will be the fifteenth issue of this series. The Falcon is finally free to leave Drexel. But before Han and his friends can leave the system, they still have to deal with Crimson Jack and his crew. Find out what happens then. Until that article is written, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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