Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1
In Star Wars' new crossover event from Marvel Comics, Darth Maul's Crimson Dawn has returned to the galaxy, claiming Han Solo in carbonite from the hands of Boba Fett. In War of the Bounty Hunters, Fett will do all that he can to get his bounty back, all while major players will be trying to do the same thing. Fellow bounty hunters, the Rebellion and Empire, the Hutts, and plenty of other interested parties will be trying to get Solo for themselves, and it's all thanks to Crimson Dawn crossing the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy.
Crimson Dawn was created from the shadow collective of criminal syndicates assembled by Maul during The Clone Wars. While it was initially formed as part of Maul's revenge plot against Obi-Wan Kenobi, it soon became an established coalition by the war's end with the rise of the Empire. It was first seen at the height of its power during Solo: A Star Wars Story when a young Han Solo pulled a job for the organization, serving as his origins as an infamous smuggler.
While Crimson Dawn faded away over time due to unknown circumstances, it appears as though the organization has returned during the Galactic Civil War between the Rebellion and Empire, seeking to make a name for itself once more. At the start of the crossover's first issue from Charles Soule and Luke Ross, Boba Fett is trying to figure out who stole Han Solo from him on the Smuggler's Moon of Nar Shadaa. However, he soon learns that Jabba the Hutt put a bounty on Boba himself out of impatience from a lack of delivery. When Boba visits Tatooine to resolve the matter, he discovers an invitation that Jabba and several others from around the galaxy received, welcoming them to witness the return of Crimson Dawn who now possess Solo.
While the message from Crimson Dawn claims that they don't want to antagonize or create conflict with existing alliances and arrangements, they certainly know how to get the galaxy's attention. At this moment in the Star Wars timeline, Han Solo is the most valuable being in the galaxy to all of the aforementioned groups and Crimson Dawn knows it, holding a particularly powerful bargaining chip in their hands as they prepare to make their return. However, stealing Han from Boba Fett could also be considered a rescue as well, seeing as how the new Crimson Dawn is being led by none other than Qi'ra, Han Solo's first love who betrayed him and remained with the collective to take her dead employer's place under Maul at the end of Solo.
The reveal that Maul's Crimson Dawn are the instigators of this new crossover is huge, making this unseen chapter of the Skywalker saga that much bigger than was already anticipated. It's going to be incredible to see not only how Boba Fett will manage to get his bounty back, but also if any new details or insight will come to light about Crimson Dawn's past when it was still led by Maul himself, as well as what happened to Qi'ra. In any case, the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event will be running across all of Marvel's Star Wars titles through October, no doubt featuring plenty of more reveals and surprises as it continues.