The 1996 Star Wars story Shadows of the Empire provided a sort of rough draft of the current run of Star Wars comics. The original Shadows offered an at-the-time unprecedented look at what Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader were up to in between their on-screen adventures. Fans got to see how their favorite characters dealt with the fallout of Empire Strikes Back and how they tried to rescue Han Solo before Return of the Jedi. Twenty five years later, Star Wars comics are covering the same time period between films. But with the benefit of a quarter-century’s worth of movies, television series, books, and comics, the current comics can tell a similar story in a more expansive and emotionally satisfying way.
Shadows of the Empire was a massive multimedia project that encompassed novels, comics, trading cards, toys, a soundtrack, and a Nintendo 64 game. The main story was told in the novel written by Steve Perry. It details Luke and Leia’s attempts to rescue Han from the bounty hunter Boba Fett with the aid of smuggler Dash Rendar. At the same time they are having to deal with attempts on Luke’s life by Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun criminal organization. Xizor is established as a major foil for not only the heroes, but for Darth Vader as well. While Vader wants to find Luke and turn him to the Dark side, Xizor wants to kill him in an attempt to ruin Vader’s plans and supplant his position as the Emperor’s right-hand man. Dark Horse Comics released a comic miniseries written by John Wagner and illustrated by Kilian Plunkett that supplemented the novel while also focusing on the exploits of Boba Fett as he evades fellow bounty hunters on his way to deliver Han Solo’s frozen carbonite body to Jabba the Hutt.
The project was successful in whetting fans’ appetites for new Star Wars material ahead of the release of the Special Editions and the Prequel Trilogy. After Disney acquired Star Wars in 2012, Shadows of the Empire was one of many stories that were wiped from canon and re-classified as Star Wars Legends stories. Marvel Comics has published new series detailing events that take place between movies. The publisher is now set to embark on War of the Bounty Hunters, a massive, months-long crossover between all Star Wars comics titles that covers the hunt for Han Solo. With the benefit of new characters and a completely different outlook on the Star Wars universe, the comics will be able to build on what came before.
Dash Rendar is No Han Solo
Every good Star Wars story needs a cocky Corellian smuggler, but with Han Solo frozen in carbonite, it was up to Dash Rendar to fill that role. Rendar was a pretty blatant rip-off of Han, as he was an outlaw who fell in with the Rebel Alliance, despite claiming to have no loyalty to the cause and only being in it for the money. He is first hired by Lando to track down Han Solo, and then hired by Leia to protect Luke while he and a group of Bothan spies steal plans for the second Death Star. Rendar was perhaps Shadow of the Empire’s most notable addition to Star Wars canon at the time, as he was the protagonist of the Nintendo 64 game and even received his own action figure. But he lacked the swagger of everyone’s favorite nerf-herder and is killed off at the end of the story. While later Legends tales would establish that he actually faked his death, Dash Rendar has not made an appearance in the new Star Wars canon beyond a brief mention in a Solo: A Star Wars Story tie-in book.
At the time of Shadows’ release, such a character was an unfortunate necessity. Fans mostly knew the characters who had appeared in the movies, and Han’s absence left a hole in the story that needed to be filled. While someone like Lando could have fulfilled the role of “hot-shot” and “scoundrel,” it made some sense that Lucasfilm would want to introduce a fresh character. Dash was detached from the emotional core of the Star Wars saga, and his death at the end could provide some stakes to the war. But Star Wars comics in recent years have done a great job of expanding the universe and introducing characters who would also fit into the “rogue” category while still being unique. Doctor Aphra, the morally gray archeologist who has worked with both Rebels and Imperials alike, is the most notable addition from recent Star Wars comics. The fan favorite has a led two series of her own, which have enriched her backstory and character. Sana Starros is another outlaw and smuggler with her own personality who worked with Han (and was even married to him for a time). Aphra and Sana are also both members of groups missing from most Star Wars stories, namely women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. With established characters like these, Dash Rendar can remain on the scrapheap of Legends where he belongs.
Darth Vader: Hero or Villain?
Shadows of the Empire was in a unique position when it came to Darth Vader, as he could not take on the main heroes but was too popular to leave out entirely. It would have been difficult to have him behave like a straight villain, as his redemption at the end of Return of the Jedi was coming up. The solution was to pit him against a rival: Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun criminal organization. Because Xizor was not particularly likable and was trying to take Vader’s place in the Emperor’s eyes, it enabled readers to root for Vader. Prince Xizor drives much of the plot of Shadows, and he is the rare common enemy for both Vader and his children. He was also a difficult character to connect with, as he tries to kill Luke and seduce Leia. The fact that he has not reappeared in the new Star Wars canon points to the fact that he was a mostly forgettable criminal who was not much more than an obstacle to occupy Vader’s time.
The bounty of Star Wars stories that have come out since Shadows of the Empire have benefited Darth Vader’s current comics stories immensely. When Shadows first debuted, the prequels had not been made yet, and Lucas was keeping Vader’s backstory a tight secret. Now that fans have learned about Anakin Skywalker’s upbringing and what made him turn to the Dark side, they have a much deeper understanding of him. The current comics stories have been able to draw on this history, Anakin’s relationship with Padme, and the trauma that turned him into Vader in the first place. They have also provided him with a much more formidable foil: the Emperor himself. The prequels showed how Anakin was manipulated and lied to by Palpatine, twisted into becoming his dark apprentice. And readers know full well where this relationship is headed: with Vader throwing his master to his death. By pitting Vader against the Emperor, it connects more closely with the character’s arc, sowing the seeds of his fate and creating a more satisfying story.
You've Taken Your First Step Into A Larger World
Despite its placement between two important chapters in the Star Wars saga, Shadows of the Empire is a largely stand-alone story. It shows fans that characters kept busy between the two movies, and explains who the Bothan spies were who gave their lives to secure the plans for the second Death Star, but that’s about it. It does not feel a part of a wider universe. That is all changed with the current run of Star Wars comics. Their stories are more tied to the Original Trilogy, with characters dealing with the trauma of their losses in Empire. They are not merely moving on to the next adventure until it’s time to go rescue Han. Lando doesn’t just join up with the Rebels and become close friends with all of them. He struggles with getting his new allies to trust him (with good reason) and with putting the needs of the Rebellion before his own. Luke is shaken by the news of who his father really is, the loss of his lightsaber, and his failure. He learns more about the Jedi and Darth Vader’s part in bringing them down, which connects with his journey in both the Original Trilogy and his later story in the Sequel Trilogy.
All the movies and series that have come out in the 25 years since Shadows of the Empire was first released have given storytellers so many tools to work with moving forward. The current run has expanded on more familiar tales and offered fans new looks at the stories they thought they knew. Darth Vader’s exploits deal with fallout from the prequels and also set up the Sith redoubt Exegol in Rise of Skywalker. Doctor Aphra meets criminals that Han Solo knew in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Poe Dameron’s parents are among the Rebel fighters on Hoth. And The Mandalorian has given fans a better understanding of how bounty hunters operate and created more connection with Boba Fett.
As Yoda told Luke in The Last Jedi, “We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters.” While Shadows of the Empire was an entertaining story for its time, the nearly three decades of stories that have come since have only enriched the Star Wars universe. Fans reading the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters and other Star Wars comics will have a deeper understanding of the characters, the worlds, and the endless possibilities that they can find in that galaxy far, far away.