Hi there,
It's time for me to talk about the fifty-first issue of Marvel's first Star Wars title. The cover, drawn by Walt Simonson, showed Luke Skywalker using his blaster pistol against an advancing Imperial Scout Walker. The tale was titled "Resurrection of Evil." The issue had a cover date of September 1981.
The story started with the Rebel fleet. Ships were tracking the return of Captain Maraba Tev's X-Wing Fighter. The captain was returning from a dangerous spy mission in the Patriim system, and technicians were concerned when the fighter overshot the docking bay. Magnetic grapples were deployed to reel the ship in, but it still wasn't responding.
The crew had no choice but to shoot the foils away and reel in what was left. It didn't take long for the crew to find the captain dead in his pilot chair, still clutching a message canister. Afterward, General Rieekan announced to his fellow senior Alliance officers that the information Tev brought back was enough of a concern to recall several key members of the Rebellion.
Elsewhere, on a lush jungle planet, Princess Leia Organa and C-3PO were examining their surroundings to determine if it would suffice as a new Rebel base of operations. One potential problem was the presence of Gundarks. A pair of the creatures briefly separated the heroes, who then fled after the beasts' tongues were literally tied together in a brief skirmish. As they entered orbit, they learned of Rieekan's orders recalling them back to base, and set their return course.
Not far away, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 were investigating another world. Luke noticed a communications beacon mere moments before he was fired upon by a Scout Walker (a two-legged version of the All Terrain Armored Transport, also referred to as a "chicken walker" because of its size and gait). The walker cut Luke off from his X-Wing and put the Rebel hero between it and an AT-AT.
Imperial Major Kuhru was guiding the larger Walker. He informed the driver that Darth Vader had wanted a live prisoner for interrogation, but that their immediate concern was to destroy his ship. However, the smaller fighter was protected by an energy shield. Proton grenades distracted the scout walker, who rushed to defend the communications beacon per the major's orders.
When the smaller walker drew near, Luke brandished his lightsaber and cut one of its legs, causing it to topple face-first into the planetary muck. He then rushed to his X-Wing and evaded the AT-AT's fire before exiting the atmosphere. Artoo had been waiting in the ship and received Rieekan's message requiring their immediate return. The AT-AT was left behind with nothing to do but keep driving forward.
In yet another part of the galaxy, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca were following a ship piloted by the alien mercenary Shem-Lern in the hopes that he might be able to lead them to their comrade, Han Solo (who was last seen in the custody of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in issue #44). Lando received Rieekan's summons and started to change course. Chewie protested, but eventually consented after hearing Calrissian out. By the time that happened, the alien's vessel had already escaped into the asteroid belt ahead of them.
A while later, on one of the Rebel command ships, Rieekan addressed the heroes he'd recalled. He explained that they'd just received information that the Empire was building a massive weapon in space known as the Tarkin. It had the potential to be even more destructive than the Death Star. Because of that, he wanted the assistance of the people he knew who had been on the Death Star and survived.
On Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer, the Sith Lord was engaged in a debriefing with Major Kuhru. Vader was furious because he'd chosen the communications beacon over the opportunity to imprison a member of the Rebel Alliance. He suggested through the force that the commander take a walk, which he did in a halting manner. Another officer then reported to Vader that an airlock had opened and closed by itself, which Vader suggested was due to a faulty mechanism.
Rieekan's plans were being announced at the same time on the Rebel command ship. Lando felt a bit left out afterward. A while later, the Falcon landed on the planet Hockaleg, where crew members gathered before being assigned to duties aboard the new Imperial space station. Leia got the attention of a pair of them, who happened to be wearing the duty uniforms that she and Luke needed.
After a little persuasion by Chewbacca, the uniforms were quickly put on, and the quintet made their way to the shuttle bay. Luke used the Force to convince the Stormtrooper on duty that the five of them were indeed on the manifest. As they approached the massive complex, visions of prior conflicts and previous fears surfaced.
After the Rebels left the shuttle, we saw Vader speaking to Captain Voal, who was confused by his leader's orders to remove all security personnel from the main power reactor area. The Sith Lord was confident that Skywalker was walking into a trap. Little did he suspect that Voal was one of a handful of men who were plotting against him and intended to eliminate the Emperor's right-hand man.
This was the first Star Wars issue written by David Michelinie. This run with artists Walt Simonson and Tom Palmer is still my favorite from the series. All of the creative personnel took the franchise seriously, and I enjoyed all of the plot points from this storyline. This was the second issue of the title that I ever bought, and the story and artwork reeled me in immediately. I read this issue many times over, while eagerly awaiting what would happen next.
If you want to learn what happened, tune in tomorrow, when I'll recap the fifty-second issue of this series. We'll see what the Rebels did while onboard the Tarkin, and the culmination of Vader and the rogue Imperials' plans. We'll also see what Lando did after being snubbed by his associates. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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