Good afternoon,
It's time for me to recap the sixth issue of Marvel's adaptation of the first Star Wars movie. The cover showed a Y-Wing facing off against a trio of TIE Fighters, while Darth Vader took on Luke Skywalker on the ground with Princess Leia Organa looking on. The tale was titled "Is This..The Final Chapter?" The issue had a cover date of December 1977.
The story started with Rebel fighters zooming toward the massive space station known as the Death Star. Note: In this issue, the Rebel attackers identify their designations as blue, whereas in the film, they are red. Luke is one of those pilots who begins their attack run. Imperial gunners inside the station start to scoff at what they believe to be a futile attempt.
Vader soon realizes their danger. He decides to board his own fighter, knowing that they will probably have to destroy the fighters ship-to-ship. Those reinforcements are soon picked up by Rebel command back on the planet of Yavin 4.
The TIE fighters pose a challenge to the Rebels. Biggs Darklighter's friend Porkins is the first Rebel casualty in the war. While Vader and his crew zero in on the intruders, the Rebel flight leader makes his attack run. Unfortunately, his proton torpedoes didn't enter the thermal exhaust port. They simply impacted on the surface. His craft is swiftly disabled, and the commander makes a last lunge at the station, sacrificing himself and his ship in the process.
Luke soon hears a familiar voice in his head, belonging to Ben Kenobi, the Jedi who took on Vader (in issue #4) and briefly taught the young farmboy in the ways of the Force before his ultimate defeat at the Dark Lord of the Sith's hands. He quickly assumes a leadership role and guides the remaining fighters down the trench toward the exhaust port.
The next casualty is Darklighter, one of Luke's wingmates and oldest friends from Tatooine. Vader's TIE Fighter is about to have Luke's X-Wing in his crossfire when a bolt from behind knocks out his TIE escorts, one of which crashes into his ship and sends Vader's craft careening helplessly out into space.
A hoot can be heard from the comms from the Corellian pilot Han Solo. It was his ship, the Millennium Falcon, that fired at the Imperials, clearing a path for the final blow. Luke turns off his targeting computer and trusts in the Force before releasing his proton torpedoes.
The missiles find their mark, and the Death Star erupts in a blinding flash of light minutes after the Falcon and the remaining Rebel fighters escape. A festive ground crew awaited the heroes back on Yavin. The only immediate concern was getting R2-D2 patched up after being blasted by a laser bolt from Vader's TIE.
A while later, a grand procession awaits the saviors. Luke and Han are awarded medals for their bravery by Leia, as Chewbacca, C-3PO, and a restored Artoo watch as those gathered around them cheer loudly. This was the first significant victory in the war against the Empire.
Although this issue skipped a few details from the movie, it did wrap up the adaptation in a satisfying manner. The inking really cleaned up Howard Chaykin's pencil art. The cover was nothing like the action inside the book, but that happens frequently in comics, especially when the cover artists aren't the same as the artists for the story.
This was just the beginning of Marvel's coverage of the Star Warriors. The series continued with issue number seven, which I'll cover tomorrow. Han and Chewie embark on a new adventure. We'll see where they end up and what happened to their earnings after delivering their passengers safely to Yavin. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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