Hi everyone,
It's time for me to recap the thirty-third issue of Marvel's first Star Wars title. The cover depicted Baron Orman Taage and Luke Skywalker engaged in a lightsaber battle with a starry backdrop behind them. The tale was titled "Saber Clash!" The issue had a cover date of March 1980.
Luke, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 were just flying away from the planet Tatooine in the Millennium Falcon when they noticed the House of Taage vessel close to their flight path. Luke and Han assumed that it belonged to Baron Taage, whose omega frost towers they had just witnessed in action on the planet's surface (in the last issue). Luke convinced Solo to follow the mining explorer, knowing they probably weren't up to anything good.
In the Taage ship's docking bay, Orman was expressing his frustration with his failure to capture the young Skywalker. His brother Silas tried to remind him of the omega frost's success and to keep his mind focused on their next task. Artoo was monitoring the Taage's ship broadcast frequency and learned that they were heading to the Junction space station that supplied Yavin. As they entered hyperspace to reach that destination, Chewie and Artoo relaxed by playing a game while Luke practiced his saber techniques.
As the Falcon dropped out of lightspeed, Han and Luke saw the Taage ship orbiting above a Star Destroyer near the space station. Cargo capsules were moved manually between the station and the ships. Luke put on a spacesuit and tried to infiltrate the cargo crew, not knowing that Imperial Stormtroopers were in the immediate vicinity. He was captured, and Han and Chewbacca were left with no choice but to return to Yavin to report the bad news.
Back on the Alliance base world, Princess Leia Organa was visibly upset with the information. General Dodonna admitted that he'd sent Luke on his mission, just like he'd dispatched the princess to Metalorn (as shown in issue #30). Han expressed concern that the omega frost generators might be utilized on other worlds.
While Artoo was trying to learn his master's fate, we soon saw that Luke was very much alive and being held prisoner by Baron Taage. Orman was tormenting his foe as an omega frost conduction tower was being dispatched from his ship to a nearby asteroid. Luke took advantage of the Baron's distraction to reclaim his saber and escape.
The Baron then broadcast news of his captive's freedom and instructed his men not to pursue Skywalker. He alone wanted that pleasure all to himself. By the time Luke reached the hangar bay, Orman was waiting for him. Their saber battle favored the elder warrior, until Luke remembered a bit of advice that Obi-Wan Kenobi had once given him. Skywalker used that information to renew his defense. He eventually defeated his opponent and sliced the Baron's cybervision goggles from behind after Orman had turned off the lights.
Orman was in a state of shock afterward, while Luke climbed aboard the TIE and flew to safety. Orman's brother Silas was not concerned. He felt that his brother's defeat was a temporary setback, and Silas had planned ahead by ensuring that the stolen fighter had no weapons or communications and limited fuel. It appeared that he was more than ready for the next phase of their operation.
The Taages were an interesting villain subset, although most of them were largely forgotten during this series' second half. Orman was the family's military strategist, whereas Silas was the calculating scientist. It wasn't always clear how close their affiliation was to the Empire, though it was obvious that there was no love lost between Orman and Darth Vader after the Sith Lord defeated the Baron in a conflict never shown during this series' run.
That's it for this article. Next time, I'll cover the thirty-fourth issue of this series. We'll find out how far Luke got and how his fellow Rebels reacted to his capture. We'll also learn more about Silas' plans for the Alliance. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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