Marvel’s classic Star Wars comics include a poignant moment in which Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker contemplate their new mission following the Battle of Endor, redefining the post-movie story. The overarching political narrative of the original Star Wars trilogy is fairly straightforward, with the Rebels fighting to topple the authoritarian Galactic Empire and restore the democracy of the old Galactic Republic. The scene is a rare moment in the original trilogy era where politics are discussed, proving that in Star Wars Legends canon, Leia’s mission following Return of the Jedi was more complicated than Luke’s.
The original Star Wars trilogy was heavily inspired by pulp science-fiction serials, such as Flash Gordon and Buck Rodgers, with a relatively quick pace and a strong focus on action, relegating much of the exposition to the films’ opening crawls. The prequel trilogy, however, put a strong focus on the Republic’s gradual transition into the Empire, setting up the original trilogy. While the Star Wars prequels were often criticized for their focus on politics at first, viewers have gradually warmed up to the films, including their cautionary tale of how easily democracy can become twisted into an autocracy.
Star Wars #90's 'The Choice,' by Mary Jo Duffy and Bob McLeod, acknowledges the difficulty of a Rebellion movement after it succeeds. Speaking with Luke Skywalker less than a year after the Battle of Endor, Princess Leia privately expresses uncertainty in her new position as a founding member of the Alliance of Free Planets, a transitional government and a key stepping stone towards the eventual New Republic. Leia and Luke realize that toppling the Galactic Empire was far less challenging than establishing a New Republic that the people of the galaxy will have confidence in, making Leia’s new missionv even more difficult than Luke’s.
In the now defunct Star Wars Legends canon, Luke’s missions after the Empire’s fracture often involved battling dark side-users, like the Sith Lady Lumiya, as well as Imperial warlords, who rose to power after Palpatine’s first death. In contrast, Leia was tasked with building a New Republic which wouldn’t be so susceptible to corruption as the prequel era’s Galactic Republic. While making a dystopian autocratic regime like the Empire was easily avoided, it was trickier to build a stronger and more just status quo than the old Republic - one which couldn't be divided by another Separatist movement.
Luke Skywalker eventually found himself in a similar situation to Leia, as he left the New Republic military after the costly Battle of Mindor and finally established the New Jedi Order after Palpatine’s final death. Like Leia, he needed to rebuild the Jedi without the same prequel-era pitfalls that made them so vulnerable to the Sith. While the Legends-era New Republic wasn’t perfect, it ended up becoming a far better faction than its prequel-era predecessor, proving that, while her mission was more difficult than Luke Skywalker’s at first, Leia Organa eventually succeeded in winning over the people of the Star Wars galaxy with the New Republic.