Good afternoon all,
Today's topic is the fiftieth issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. The cover, beautifully drawn by inker Tom Palmer, showed R2-D2, C-3PO, Princess Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian in the foreground, with images of Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi, Yoda, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and a squadron of Imperial Stormtroopers in the background. The first part of this story was called "The Crimson Forever!" The issue had a cover date of August 1981.
The tale began somewhere in the galaxy, as the Millennium Falcon was being attacked by incoming Imperial TIE (twin ion engine) fighters. Chewie was piloting the ship while Lando was occupying one of its gun turrets in an effort to hold off the smaller ships. Just when things looked grim, the Falcon was saved by a Rebel blockade runner.
Leia was aboard the larger vessel and informed the Falcon's crew that they were seeking their assistance on a task that was at the time deemed to be more important than the search for Solo. A while later, both ships entered the atmosphere of the planet Golrath. The volcanic world was being utilized as a temporary base for the Rebellion following the battle of Hoth.
After landing near the magma smelting plant, Lando, Chewie, and Leia made their way toward the medical quarters. Outside, Threepio and Artoo were fretting over the fate of their master, Luke. Skywalker was being attended to by the medical droid 2-1B. Leia explained to Lando that Luke had been afflicted by something called the Crimson Forever.
She went on to explain just what had happened since the Falcon's absence. Luke led his squad on a patrol when they came across an Imperial Star Destroyer that was just floating in space. Artoo detected no life forms on board the Imperial craft, so they decided to investigate. Inside, they came across several crew members' bodies lying around, with their skin turned a bright shade of red.
Luke ordered the use of survival helmets or breath masks moments before one of his pilots discovered a large red gem that had tumbled out of a carbonite canister. The pilot immediately started feeling ill, and an evacuation began soon thereafter. Skywalker opted to leave the Star Destroyer just as it was, in the hopes that it might still hold some clues.
Unfortunately, Luke was the only one of the pilots from his group to have survived thus far. Leia thought that his knowledge of the Force might still be keeping him alive. It was definite that the jewel was the source of the affliction, and as we soon found out, it was something that Chewbacca had seen before.
As Leia was begging her Wookiee friend for more information, Skywalker was engaged in a sort of trance. He saw visions of Vader and received advice from his mentors, Yoda and Kenobi, as he engaged in a rematch with the Dark Lord of the Sith. They reminded him to focus on what was real and what wasn't, after he expressed doubts regarding what they'd told him about his father's identity.
The second part was Chewbacca's story, a flashback named "Rage of the Red Nebula!" It happened not that long ago, as Han and Chewie were returning from a mission for the Rebellion, when they found the Falcon under attack by a pair of Star Destroyers. Solo plotted coordinates for a safer destination, and their ship emerged from hyperspace outside a world called Terminus, which was known around the galaxy as a hub for shipping various items.
They set the Falcon down using stolen credentials and set out for a bar minutes later, when they were ambushed from behind. When Han and Chewie woke, they found themselves in chains, prisoners on a ship called the Nova Prince. They were bound for the Red Nebula, which was in a relatively unknown portion of the galaxy.
A humanoid named Klysk appeared in a hologram, stating that he was a representative of those who owned the ship. He explained that they were searching for great rewards that would be shared with their captive crew if they worked hard. He then gave a demonstration of what happens to those who disobey by shocking Han with a mild electric charge.
They were then shown an image of the prize, which would be worth a ton of credits. Han guessed correctly that Klysk had been to the Red Nebula before, and that they would need help navigating through the comets and meteors from planets and stars that had exploded long ago. Solo got the ship to their destination safely, and they landed and disembarked moments later.
The temple that contained the treasure looked to be untouched, unlike most of their surroundings. Klysk's captives were free to keep any other valuables they noticed along the way. Han and Chewie led the charge past laser cannons to the temple, where they were met by a temple priest (who looked very similar to Klysk).
It was rather naive to assume that the red jewels would not be guarded, as evidenced by some of Han's fellow mercenaries, who were attacked by a large, blue, hairy beast. Han was able to obtain the jewels while the creature was preoccupied with Chewbacca, whom it saw as a cub. A while later, Han returned to Klysk's ship, where he handed over the treasure before being abandoned on the planet.
Solo was then reunited with the temple priest, who led him to an underground chamber with a scope that allowed them to track the departing ship. It collided with the planet's sun, vaporizing all on board. Han then admitted that he'd only given Klysk a pair of stones before leading him to the area of the woods where he'd left the jewels.
Only one of the gems was still there. The priest feared that another one of the pirates had purloined the other, which was a concern because there was a danger involved in separating them. The culprit was lying a few yards away, and the priest said he was able to undo the damage he'd incurred.
The duo then returned to the temple, where Chewie was still being fawned over by the creature. A while later, the priest provided a ship for them to leave in peace. Threepio had just finished translating Chewbacca's story when a Rebel soldier informed the group that Luke had succumbed to the Crimson Forever.
The third and final part of this story was called "Against the Scarlet Night!" Leia, Lando, and Chewie set off in the Falcon for the Red Nebula. One other ship was detected as they exited hyperspace, which Chewbacca thought might have been Boba Fett's fighter, the Slave I. He dreamed about what he'd do to the bounty hunter before they came across the vessel, which was a damaged House of Taage mining explorer.
After finding a docking bay, Lando and Leia donned spacesuits and entered the craft. Inside, they found more dead crew members, all with the telltale signs of being afflicted by the Crimson Forever. They were about to venture further into the ship when the bounty hunter IG-88 held them at gunpoint. He took the Rebels to his employer, the lady Domina Taage.
Domina was happy to learn of Luke's fate, since she held him and Darth Vader responsible for her brother Orman's death (as seen in issue #37). She explained that she'd heard about the Red Nebula from spies, and her ship blasted away at its surface while her hired bounty hunters took the jewels and the priest who'd been guarding them.
The priest eventually divulged what he knew about the gems' power, not long before the Taage ship was attacked by a Star Destroyer. Imperial Stormtroopers squared off against the bounty hunters, but the priest managed to free one of the gems from its sealed canister during the struggle before expiring. Domina sealed off her part of the ship before the malady could affect them.
Lando took off his helmet, claiming that he'd contracted the Crimson Forever. That ruse was enough to scare Domina, IG-88, 4-LOM, Bossk, and Dengar. It gave him and Leia the opening they needed to escape. They departed in the Falcon, before thinking things through.
Some time later, both ships reconvened near the Star Destroyer that we saw in the first part of this issue. Domina and Leia's factions agreed to let the gems be reunited. 2-1B was correct in noting that the virus could be fatal to those trying to fight off its effects. However, we soon saw Luke alive and well, presumably because of his guidance from the Force.
Both groups later left peacefully. They had no love for Domina, but Lando told her hirelings that because she'd committed acts against the Empire, the Imperials might offer a reward for information regarding her whereabouts. It was a proposition that the mercenaries were intrigued by.
The first and third parts of this script were illustrated by Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer. The middle part was drawn by Al Williamson, who drew the Star Wars newspaper strip for several years and embellished The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi comic book adaptations with Carlos Garzon. This was the last appearance of any of the Taage family members until Marvel reacquired the license about ten years ago. Domina has since made most of her appearances in the Doctor Aphra books. It was also the last appearance of 4-LOM in this series, although he and his partner Zuckuss would play key roles in the recent Bounty Hunters comics.
The Crimson Forever story is a well-loved part of this series' history. It wouldn't be the only appearance of Golrath, and most of the bounty hunters returned in another pre-ROTJ storyline. The only questions I had afterward were if Klysk and the temple priest were of the same species since they looked so similar, and what happened to the large blue temple guardian after the Taage ship devastated its planet. The last part of this tale felt a bit rushed, but I still felt that things were wrapped up adequately.
That's all I have for now. Next time, I'll discuss the fifty-first issue of this series. A new writer will join Simonson and Palmer as they embark upon a new two-part story. The first segment shows the Rebels pursuing their previous goals, and a new, powerful threat posed by the Empire. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment