Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #5
A new Star Wars comic has revealed a hidden weakness of Palpatine’s secret fleet on Exegol. As the Marvel titles expand on story elements forgotten by The Rise of Skywalker, the Final Order is starting to make a little more sense with every issue.
The War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event has come to an end, as Han Solo’s carbonite encased body has finally made its way to Jabba’s Palace. Although the event focused on expanding the stories of the original trilogy, elaboration on the sequel trilogy has been an ongoing trend. In recent Star Wars comics, Darth Vader has seen Vader and the Emperor journey to Exegol, observing the hidden fleet originally revealed in The Rise of Skywalker. Many fans didn’t think the revelation made much sense in terms of continuity, and now additional details regarding the fleet have been unveiled in Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #5, written by Charles Soule with art by Luke Ross.
As Lando flies the Millennium Falcon, he takes notice of how the Empire isn’t the most creative organization. To the Revel Alliance’s advantage, their tyranny isn’t very innovative. While Lando, Chewie, and Leia are desperate for a plan, he brings up how all the Star Destroyers have identical designs. Even the larger versions of the ships have the same layout, implying that he could use his knowledge and find a weakness. Theoretically, this could also apply to Palpatine’s hidden fleet located on Exegol for the inevitable Final Order. There might not be a Death Star-style open exhaust port, but it does mean that all Star Destroyers likely can be taken down in the same fashion.
Since it had previously been revealed in Darth Vader that Palpatine had his secret Exegol fleet ready-to-go since the time of The Empire Strikes Back, it seems especially likely they share the same exact design. The creativity of the Rebellion isn’t usually a trait that gets much credit for their victory in Return of the Jedi, but such ideas born from desperation helped restore the galaxy throughout the saga. From the famously vulnerable exhaust port in A New Hope to the scavenger hunt that is Episode IX, Palpatine's enemies tend to come up with a better plan than he is capable of.
Unfortunately, Star Wars comics’ attempts to expand on the afterthought premise of Rise of Skywalker have only caused more confusion than answers. Retconned as Palpatine’s plan for as far back as his time as the Emperor, it becomes strange that the Resistance couldn’t have figured out what Lando did in War of the Bounty Hunters. By comparison, Lando’s realization reflects poorly on the sequel trilogy heroes. Not only should the Resistance have brought a quicker end to Palpatine’s fleet of Star Destroyers, but the Rebel Alliance should have as well.