Hi everyone,
The focus of this article will be the sixty-fourth issue of the first Star Wars comic book series. The cover showed the face of a green alien, with images of Luke Skywalker's face in its red eyes. The tale was titled "Serphidian Eyes." The issue had a publication date of October 1982.
The story began with an alien projected onto a screen that looked much like the one shown on the issue's cover. Princess Leia Organa was standing in front of the display, along with several fellow Rebel Alliance members. She explained that the being was a native of a planet in the Belial system. The Rebellion was concerned about the Empire's influence in that sector of the galaxy, and that its current ruler had definite leanings toward their foes.
C-3PO and R2-D2 were unable to participate in the meeting because of their upcoming maintenance appointments. Berl joked that he could pull a few strings to get them involved, but Luke and Cinda were confident they could handle the job on their own. A short time later, a trio of X-Wing fighters took off from Arbra en route to Belial.
After a short hyperspace jump, the ships were nearing Serphidi. Cinda spotted a quartet of ships on her radar, which turned out to be TIE fighters. The Rebel ships fought well, but Cinda's ship was damaged in the melee. She lost a set of S-foils as she crashed on the planet below. Having vanquished their foes, Luke and Berl soon landed to come to their friend's aid.
Cinda was in better shape than her fighter. However, she and her comrades soon faced another threat, which was a cadre of armed natives who rode large green lizards. They fired a series of energy bolts from their lances. One shot took out Berl permanently, while another injured Cinda. Luke managed to escape, but fortunately, his attackers chose not to pursue him.
Meanwhile, Luke was exploring his new surroundings. He heard the cries of someone in danger and found that another native was caught in the clutches of a large plant. A single shot from his pistol freed the elderly man, who was named Elglih. He was very thankful for Luke's timely assistance and invited him to his home for shelter and a warm meal.
After dinner, Luke thanked his host and his wife and got the explanation that Elglih had promised. He started by saying that the planet was once known for its superior technology, but that it was often used for destructive purposes. They became embroiled in senseless conflicts for many generations. Everything changed when a pact was signed that outlawed technology and united its populace under the rule of a sole king. Their aggression was then funneled into a series of jousting contests, like the one that the old man was training for when Luke found him.
Things changed slightly when the current shah came to power. He insisted that the bouts become matches to the death. He added that he could only be supplanted by someone who defeated them in such a contest, which is just what Elglih wanted to do, for the sake of his people. Many before him had failed in that effort, but Elglih was confident that he would succeed. He then got the idea that young Luke would be his squire. Luke was reluctant at first, but realized it might help him learn more about the current ruler, and agreed to the role.
Inside King S'shah's castle, the monarch was satisfied with his captive. Cinda stood before him being judged, and was horrified to learn that she was intended to be his future meal. What she didn't know was that Luke was training with Elglih. He was a bit rusty at first, but continued to improve more and more until it was time for the competition to begin.
Cinda was being tended to by an aide of the king's before she fought off a guard. She was almost about to leave the castle when she was accosted from behind by S'shah. A little while later on, Elglih was announced as a contestant. However, he announced that he could not participate because of a recent injury, and that his squire would serve in his stead. Luke then saw Cinda on the sideline, an observation which made the contest a bit more intriguing for the king.
Both combatants were evenly matched at the start, but S'shah proved to be more proficient, due to his additional experience in such competitions. Luke's lance was broken during the fracas, and he had to resort to using a hefty slap to dismount his opponent. He then grabbed his foe's lance after unseating him, and was forced to use it after Elglih pointed out that the king had taken a small blaster from his belt. One burst, and the shah's rule was over.
The people could now celebrate their freedom. Elglih had accepted the crown, although he thought that Luke had rightly earned it. Skywalker was happy enough that Cinda was free and that the planet would now be an ally of the Rebel Alliance. On the way back, the two pilots talked about how they missed Berl's presence at the celebration they had just attended. Luke understood Cinda's sympathy for their fallen colleague and noted that Berl gave his life knowing that he'd at least helped one planet find its freedom.
I first received a copy of this issue for my tenth birthday (most comic books at the time had publication dates that were 2-3 months ahead of when they could be found on store shelves). Having read the previous storyline, I knew that the events in this issue took place either before or after that. I wasn't a big fan of penciler Joe Brozowski's work, but longtime comic book inker Vince Colletta saved the art for the most part. It wasn't uncommon back then for comic book companies to have issues like this prepared in case of a late or missed deadline or other reasons, and this issue seemed to be serviceable in that regard. This was the one and only appearance of the Serphidians in this series.
That's it for this article. I'll return to covering the regular ongoing storyline in a bit. Next up is a recap of the second Star Wars annual. Luke, Lando Calrissian, and Threepio run into a bit of trouble on another planet and wind up hearing a tale from Han Solo's past. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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