Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Darth Vader #49!Star Warsisn’t just one of the most beloved franchises in history, it’s also incredibly extensive, with established lore that’s continuing to grow even to this day, and it all started with the original 1977 film,A New Hope. EverythingStar Warsis and ever will be branched from the events ofA New Hope, but the only reason the events ofA New Hopeeven happened at all was because of one single mistake made by the Empire - a mistake it’s since learned from.
InStar Wars: Darth Vader#49 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco,the Schism Imperial has betrayed Darth Vader, leaving him to die at the hands of the M.A.R. Corps while the members of the Schism Imperial track down and attempt to murder Luke Skywalker. Skywalker is on a snowy planet with Sabé and a scoundrel named Warba, who made a deal with Vader to give him the location of Luke and Sabé once they were all together. Warba held up her end, but it wasn’t Vader who got the message, it was the Schism Imperial.
When the Schism Imperial got to the planet Skywalker was on, they immediately found Sabé’s ship, scanned it for life forms, and found that no living organism (including Luke Skywalker) was on board. While they were on the right track, the Schism Imperial’s first attempt at locating Luke failed, which meant they needed to keep investigating this world. But, before they moved on, one of the leaders of the Schism Imperial gave an order: destroy Sabé’s ship, even though there were no life form readings.
Darth Vader’s Horrifying Transformation Recreates His Mustafar Injuries In a Twisted New Way
Darth Vader’s transformation following his injuries on Mustafar cemented his fall to the dark side, and the horror of that moment is being recreated.
The Empire Mistakenly Allowed a Vessel with ‘No Life Forms’ to Escape, Sparking Its Downfall
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
InStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope,R2-D2 and C-3PO famously escape the Empire aboard an escape pod, and when they’re spotted by an Imperial gunner, they aren’t fired upon since there were no readings of organic life. Because the Empire didn’t obliterate this pod when it had the chance, R2-D2 was able to deliver the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance after the droid also called both Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to action.
This mistake on the Empire’s part is even more blatant after considering that droids have been a major aspect of life in the galaxy for quite some time (including and especially during the Clone Wars), meaning organic life shouldn’t have been the only thing for the Empire to look out for. If the Empire had just taken the precautionary measure of destroying R2-D2 and C-3PO’s escape pod, the Death Star would have been saved, Luke Skywalker never would have joined the Rebellion, and the Empire itself would continue to flourish indefinitely.
The Schism Imperial’s Actions are a Meta Star Wars Correction
While it’s possible that the Empire became aware of how badly it messed up by allowing R2-D2 and C-3PO’s escape pod to escape, and made efforts to keep that from ever happening again, it seems more likely that this was more of a meta correction. TheStar Warsfranchise is well aware of the gross incompetence exhibited by the Empire inEpisode IV, and is taking strides to prevent moments like that from happening again - and the Schism Imperial’s actions in this comic are a perfect example.
It seems, either in the literal or meta sense, that the Empire learned a vital lesson fromA New Hope’s most famous mistake, as it’s no longer taking any chances when it comes to enemy ships. Even if there are no life form readings, the Empire will destroy a vessel all the same, which is a necessary correction inStar Warslore that makes the Empire a much smarter and more dangerous threat.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #49by Marvel Comics is available now.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
