Good afternoon all,
Hope everyone's doing well. Today's focus will be on the one hundred and fifth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars title. The cover showed Luke Skywalker and several Hoojibs engaged in battle with a pair of husky men in what appear to be pirate costumes (as you'll see in the inner pages, the strangers' flesh is miscolored on the cover). The story was called "The Party's Over." The issue had a cover date of May 1986.
The tale began on the planet Zeltros. Luke and the Hoojibs were the Hiromi's willing captives. Their captors were preoccupied with making themselves a few tasty treats in the palace's kitchen when a loud voice from the other side of the door yelled that the kitchen's occupants were to exit with their hands up, and that they were now the prisoners of the mystery intruders.
While the Hiromi pondered this, Luke reached out with the Force to sense the unfamiliar presence. The strangers then broke through the door moments later. The green-skinned beings, dressed in what seemed to be similar to the pirate garb of days long past, They had never encountered Hiromi before, and were disappointed to not find the Nagai that they were after.
Plif, using his telepathy, found out that the intruders were Tofs, who came from the same system as the Nagai. Both sides were enemies. As their commander ordered his soldiers to sweep the building, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and the Wookiee Chewbacca were being held at gunpoint by the Nagai in the royal ballroom. One of the soldiers communicated with his superior, Den Siva, who had just tied up Princess Leia and Dani in one of the outer rooms.
Han, Lando, and Chewie listened in on the conversation and learned Dani and Leia's fate. None of them knew that Siva was working with the Tofs. The Tof commander ordered that the female prisoners be taken away, along with the four Zeltron teens (who first encountered the Tofs in the last issue). He then demanded that Siva lead his allies to the rendezvous point and trick them into an ambush, or he would eliminate Dani.
A few moments later, the Hoojibs rushed past them. They evaded the pirates' blasts, and Plif was able to fill Leia and Dani in briefly. He then rushed off, continuing the guise that the creatures were vermin that were not worth the marauders' attention.
One of the Tof leaders had one of Luke's saber hilts and was curious about its function. Luke acted before the Hiromi could be taken out and clubbed by activating the blade. The commander was furious, thinking that the ignition that slew his comrade was the Hiromis' fault. Luke, now freed of his bonds, explained that the sabers belonged to him, and he wanted them back.
The Tof who now held one of the sabers charged at the Jedi. Luke levitated the other saber hilt to his free hand and swiftly defeated and disarmed his foe. His Hoojib colleagues went on the offensive as well and jumped up to bite the Tofs multiple times.
Some of the Tof soldiers ran after the Hoojibs, oblivious to Leia and Dani's presence. The Alliance members used that to their advantage and kicked out at them before ascending the nearest staircase. A few Tofs raised their blasters, only to find that they didn't work (probably because the Hoojibs had drained the weapons' energy), but rushed to attack.
Even though it wasn't fully shown in the story, the Tofs were defeated by Luke, the Hoojibs, and the Hiromi. Luke freed his sister and Dani. Afterward, the Hiromi celebrated another victory. Skywalker was happy for their enthusiasm, noting it would be good to have such positivity when he began his sneak attack on the Tof command ship, a declaration which suddenly made the Hiromi scared again.
It seemed quite obvious to me upon first read that the Tof were based on pirate tales of yore. Except for the green skin, they were very similar to the characters shared in storybooks for many generations. How they came to despise the Nagai was not yet uncovered, but it seemed they were a bit more brutish, since they preferred to club their opponents rather than use the traditional weapons of the time. I found the premise to be about as silly as the rather cowardly Hiromi themselves.
Well, we're continuing to near the end of this series. Next time, I'll recap the one hundred and sixth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars book. We'll find out the fate of the four Zeltron teenagers as well as that of the ballroom occupants. We'll also see Luke's raid of the Tof ship with the timely aid of a few companions. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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