Good Saturday afternoon, everyone,
It's time for me to recap the thirty-sixth issue of the first Star Wars comic. The cover depicted Luke Skywalker in a body of water, battling a pink and purple horned creature while Lady Domina looked on. The story was called "Red Queen Rising!" The issue had a cover date of June 1980.
The tale began in orbit around the planet Monastery, as the Millennium Falcon was warned to stand by for Imperial inspection by a Star Destroyer. The larger craft soon hauled in the Correllian freighter via tractor beam, and its Imperial crew was quick to conduct a scan of its contents, including the smuggling compartments that they were apparently made aware of.
On the planet, Luke was awake at dawn. He didn't get much sleep because he was busy thinking about how to convince the world's people that the Empire was the real threat to the galaxy. He and Darth Vader had been sent as emissaries of their representative groups to present their case to the council. A while later, Skywalker saw what he assumed was another beast preparing to attack Domina.
The young Jedi leapt to her defense and engaged in a brief battle with the blue panther-like creature. His lightsaber made short work of the animal, whom he later learned had been a pet of Domina Taage's. That act seemed to sway the lady's favor toward Vader, who approached her afterward.
Domina's brothers, Orman and Silas, were being kept in stasis containers on the same ship that had captured the Falcon. The Imperial commander's men found nothing out of the ordinary on board, but took the captain Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca as their prisoners. After their departure, Princess Leia emerged from the hidden panels in one of the storage compartments. She and C-3PO were safe. She instructed the protocol droid to make contact with Skywalker to update them on what they'd learned.
Luke and Artoo ended the call moments before Domina and her companions arrived in Skywalker's quarters to invite him to meet with the temple elders. Luke didn't know that Domina's brother Ulric had talked to her earlier, and falsely stated that Orman and Silas had died by Luke's hand. Vader wanted Skywalker and was more than willing to persuade Domina to make that happen. After speaking with the Sith Lord, Domina thought back to a time years earlier when Orman told Silas that their sister would never marry into the Imperial family, and that he didn't want her innocence and purity corrupted.
In the council chambers, Domina announced that the order members had opted to revoke the circle of elders' authority and named her as all-high priestess. She went on to declare Luke and the Alliance must be eliminated as threats to the natural cycle of galactic life. Luke protested, but Domina pointed out Luke's recent violent activities as examples proving their decision was just.
Skywalker tried to point out that Vader was likely behind the grand scheme, which the Imperial leader took as an accusation. He was willing to face the young pilot in a lightsaber battle. Domina would not allow either of them to fight in their chamber but instructed that both warriors would meet at sundown in the crystal valley.
Meanwhile, Leia was busy creating diversions on board the Star Destroyer. She was able to deactivate the cruiser's artificial gravity long enough to free Solo and Chewbacca and turned off the tractor beam, allowing the Falcon to escape. The ship made its way toward the planet before the crew knew they had a guest on board, who turned out to be none other than Baron Orman Taage. He soon revealed himself by holding the pilots at gunpoint. The Baron wanted vengeance on Skywalker and Vader, not knowing that the two in question were about to face off on the planet in a contest of skill.
Domina definitely changed after the events in this issue. While Silas and Orman were largely forgotten after this storyline, Domina Taage would make one post-Empire Strikes Back appearance and would not be seen in another Marvel Star Wars magazine until after the company reacquired the license in 2015. I liked the fact that Han had revised his smuggling compartments and was a little surprised that the Empire even knew about them. I know that the Marvel creative staff were rather limited by Lucasfilm as to what they could and couldn't do, so I guess I'm okay with the Taages' involvement in the affairs of the Empire versus the Rebellion.
Next up is the thirty-seventh issue of this series. The final part of this story arc kicks off with the showdown at sunrise on Monastery. We'll see which contestant is the victor, and just what Orman had in store for Han and company. There will also be a brief precursor to the next Star Wars movie adaptation. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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