Rebellion Comics picks up right where Empire Comics left off. Janek Sunber is reeling from discovering that Luke Skywalker is a rebel. Jol, the rebel who was rescued, is recovering from torture. This is also a rare moment when we get a look at where the rebels get supplies and how their spy and intelligence system works.
The Sunber storyline in Rebellion starts off with him wrestling, hard, with Luke being his friend and his stubborn belief the Empire is a force for good vs Luke being a rebel. This seems to distract him from his own inner doubts but really explodes when he finds out Luke isn’t just a rebel, but the hero that destroyed the Death Star. Ultimately, only one side, friendship or loyalty, can win here, but it isn’t a one-off struggle.
Luke also has a bit of challenge here, as his trust in friendship may put the Alliance at risk – and they know it. Rebellion Comics goes in a unique direction here, as we’ve never seen Luke in a situation where what he sees as the right thing is contradictory with what the Rebellion might think.
Jorin Sul is also not as out of the woods danger as he seems. The Empire’s torture was not only at the hands of Vader and his minions but also at the hands of the Imperial Security Bureau and its mind games.
New characters are introduced, and old ones also return. Wyl Tarson who works for Raze, an information broker, is in for a challenging time. Deena Shan returns as one of the little-known members of the Alliance. Both represent characters who struggle with the concept of heroism, of feeling inadequate to the task. In Deena’s case, it’s particularly because she joined for more mundane reasons, and is surrounded by heroes like Luke and Leia.
Like the Empire series, there is once more far less of Han Solo than one would expect. We even get an appearance from Rasha Bex, an Imperial who fell for a rebel leaning smuggler annd got him arrested.Darca Nyl makes his first appearance since the Tales comics and its a good one.
Rebellion Series Review
I love the way Luke looks like a real rebel and not just a moisture farmer off on a lark. Leia has different outfits and hairstyles. The stories were real page turners, the kind where back in the day it was hard waiting for the next issue. I still to this day want to know the fate of some of these characters, who were left in a terrible situation! I care about what happened to these characters, as you should in a good story.
Unfortunately, it got hit with the curse of the hiatus. The original plan (according to the editors) was that it would take a brief hiatus for a few comics based on The Clone Wars TV show. But it never returned; instead, the Brian Wood Star Wars comics came out. In my opinion, not a good trade, since we already had thousands of those characters.
The stories we do get are really good. It was interesting seeing the regular people in the Alliance struggle to do their small part around heroes who seem capable of more. But that makes it all the more noticeable what we didn’t. Endings for Rasha, Wyl, and Darca get no resolution.
I also wish we’d seen more of Luke specifically with Red Squadron, Commander Narra and the others. He did get some in Empire, but still, given piloting is his primary job, it’s still not much. It’s the one thing he didn’t get any of in any series, including Classic Marvel and the newspaper comic strips. So it would’ve been nice to have more of it in the Rebellion series.
Small Victories
with Biggs Darklighter
, friend of Luke & Tank
Rebellion Comics Lore and Continuity
This was the final series that tied in starting from Star Wars (that became Republic) to Dark Times, to Empire and finally ended here at Rebellion comics. Ended too soon! Given how far it had come, it should’ve gone at least up to Return of the Jedi. There were even some gaps afterward, up until Courtship of Princess Leia, that could’ve been filled.
As mentioned, Janek Sunber’s story began in Empire Comics. Deena Shan also premiered there, as did Jorin Sul.
Wyl Tarsus sadly has no more stories and didn’t get an ending.
Darca Nul first appeared in Star Wars Tales issues 21-24 “Nomad” and it was set up to keep the mystery going for a while on who and what he really was.
Rasha Bex shows up, a character from the Empire series who is now seeking a smuggler. She got Boshek in trouble and wants to get him out of it! But again, we get no ending for this quest. Did Boshek ever get free?
Vector Comics has an arc here, with the return of the rakghouls! Vector begins in the KOTOR comics, continues in the Empire series, and ends off in Legacy.
Bannistar Station with Security Chief Rishyk as seen in the later issues of Rebellion, also appears in the novel Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff.
Luke’s behavior in this definitely reminded me of something his father, Anakin, would do! Will you follow orders, or will you try and save your friend?
