Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Hidden Empire #4Now that the initial shock over the fact that Snoke wasn’t a new character in Star Wars canon, but was just a clone-puppet of the original ‘big-bad’ Emperor Palpatine, it is time to delve into the specifics behind Snoke’s creation. And a new piece of information exposes a key moment in Palpatine’s sinister life-making efforts.
In the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Snoke is introduced as the Supreme Leader of the First Order as well as Kylo Ren’s master. While he claimed to not be a Sith, Snoke still practiced in the Dark Side of the Force, and his power proved to be immense. In the sequel trilogy’s prequel comic series, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren, readers learn exactly how Snoke corrupted Ben Solo and twisted his mind and spirit into the villainous Kylo Ren fans are introduced to in the films. From across the galaxy, Snoke is able to enter Ben’s mind and whisper treacherous thoughts against Luke Skywalker directly into his head, and before long, Ben starts to agree with them. Once Ben breaks free of Luke Skywalker completely, Snoke tells him to go to a specific location, so they can meet face-to-face for the first time. A location with a long history with the Dark Side: the Amaxine Station.
Star Wars’ Amaxine Station has Immense Dark Side Significance
In Star Wars: Hidden Empire #4 by Charles Soule and Steven Cummings, Lady Qi’ra, the leader of the Crimson Dawn, is implementing the final stages of her plan to eliminate Vader and Palpatine in one move, and effectively take down the Empire. That plan is to lure the Sith Lords to the Fermata Cage and trap them inside, and this issue shows the arrogant Dark Side-wielders actually take the bait. However, before that could happen, Qi’ra and her loyal partner, the Archivist, had to find the perfect place to open the Fermata Cage, as the Cage itself was alive and required constant Dark Side sustenance in order for it to remain stable when opened. And they found the perfect spot in the Amaxine Station.
Years before this conflict, during the time of the High Republic, a cosmic entity of Lovecraftian proportions known as the Drengir threatened to consume the entire galaxy–literally. The Drengir is a sentient, plant-like organism that only existed to feast upon life itself and spread its darkness across the cosmos–but that’s not all. This creature’s powers of corruption went far further than its insatiable appetite, as it could enter the minds of Jedi Knights and force them to attack their own. In the end, the only way to stop this creature was to imprison it, as neither blasters nor lightsabers could harm it–and its prison was the Amaxine Station.
Obviously, this location is immensely significant in Star Wars lore especially when it comes to its history with the Dark Side. And this issue of Hidden Empire shows Palpatine discovering it for the first time himself. When he and Darth Vader leave their ship to board the station as the Fermata Cage is opening, Palpatine senses the Dark Side energy of the Amaxine Station, but in a way that seemed new to him. Skip ahead to the moment in time between the original and sequel trilogies, and Emperor Palpatine kept this place in mind upon his creation of Snoke and his corruption of Kylo Ren years later.
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #4 by Marvel Comics is available now.