We all know the story of Star Wars, the blockbuster 1977 film from George Lucas that changed the face of pop culture forever. What fewer know is that the original rough draft screenplay for that film was completed in 1974, and Lucas’ creation was in a much different form – and that version of the story is what’s taking shape in comic book form with the release of The Star Wars #1. If you’re burned out by the oversaturation of the property (and if you are, Disney’s factory of sequels and prequels will ensure you’ll never recover from that feeling), maybe this self-contained alternate reality is where you can go to enjoy the feel of a mighty space opera without dreading the Nein Nunb solo movie and a new Star Wars Babies cartoon.
The Star Wars opens with a child being killed.
Well, no, technically, it opens with the standard crawl, explaining that apparently, the Jedi-Bendu are all but extinct. After they helped build the Imperial Space Force, served as bodyguards of the Emperor for a hundred thousand years, and expanded the Empire across the galaxy, there’s now a New Empire rising which is using the Knights of Sith to hunt down and destroy the remaining Jedi. But after that, we see Kane Starkiller trying to homeschool his young son Deak, while his teenage son Annikin warns them that they’ve been discovered. They try to beat their pursuer to the punch, but a dark cloaked figure that looks like a cross between Garindan and Baron Underbheit straight-up lightsabers Deak to death before getting bisected by Kane. It’s perhaps no accident that scripter J.W. Rinzler gave Deak an actual “Yippee!” line before setting him up to die. Poor Jake Lloyd.
Cut to Alderaan, the seat of power for the New Galactic Empire, where small, two-man Star Destroyers are showing off for the crowds like the Blue Angels, before the Emperor – looking like a cross between Sinestro and Ming The Merciless – addresses the people, claiming that the Aquilae system is the last refuge of the Jedi, and therefore it must be conquered, and Grand Moff – er, Governor Hoedaack will be installed as “first lord.” This is delightful news for Hoedaack, although his “dear Darth Vader” appears impassive. There is no helmet and no mask for this Vader – instead, he’s a burly man with a black outfit that implies the Vader we know, but with silver gloves, a scar on his face, and a mean look in his eye.
That corpulent thing in the chair – the cross between Yoda and Jabba The Hutt – is Vantos Coll, an elder who recalls the Jedi rebellion against the Empire, and who can apparently sense the existence of General Luke Skywalker as the true leader of that rebellion. Back on Aquilae, our first glimpse of Skywalker makes us think that maybe we’ve jumped forward in time, and Kane Starkiller has become the gray-haired Skywalker. However, it just so happens that they are both bearded Jedi with odd head-wraps that are slightly less offensive here than they were on every superhero that existed in the 1990s. We realize this because Kane shows up with Annikin in tow (not long after Princess Leia, looking about 14 years old or so, leaves Aquilae to return to school), and they greet each other like old friends. But when they meet in private, it’s revealed that Starkiller is more machine now than man – complete with the classic Vader chest-panel – and wants Luke to take Annikin on as his padawan learner, since he’s not long for this world.
In some respects, you can tell it’s a rough draft – such as occasionally clunky dialogue, although the original is hardly known for its stellar work in that regard. At the same time, though, alternate-reality Star Wars is kind of refreshing. It doesn’t have to be beholden to what we knew before, although artist Mike Mayhew is deftly balancing the redesigning of the universe with the visuals we’ve come to expect from Star Wars, with a style reminiscent of Alex Ross. Star Destroyers the size of Snowspeeders, Bail Antilles looking like the original human design for Jabba The Hutt, Tarkin looking like a Trade Federation guy, but in service to Leia’s royal parents King Kayos and Queen Breha… it’s neat to watch the shell game of where the bits we know are going to be rearranged to become things we don’t. Also, as timeless as the classic Darth Vader look is, this new faceful version is given enough menace to really grab our attention.
The Star Wars #1 is a neat little treat. Non-essential, but if you like the property but not so much the franchise, you may have a good time with this.
