Star Wars Weekly #115
Cover dated: May 7th, 1980
Issue title: The Monster's Secret! (World of Fire!, Part 9)
Script: Chris Claremont
Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Gene Day (inks)
Tones: Howard Bender
Letters: Irving Watanabe
Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Gene Day (inks)
Overall rating: 5½ out of 10




Plot summary: Having found the source of the alien creature's power in the subterranean city's control centre, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are being held at gunpoint by the treacherous Ensign Lopaki. The mysterious alien creature suddenly materialises behind the double-crossing Imperial and kills him, leaving Luke and Leia to face off against the beast. As the creature closes in for the kill, Imperial Major Grau and Sergeant Anarine burst through the control room door with guns blazing, while Leia opens fire on the computer consoles that the monster dervies its strength from. Together, the Imperials and Rebels manage to destroy the control room structure and much of the underground city, and as a result, the creature is also destroyed.

After digging themselves out of the rubble, the team boards the Staraker and leaves the planet Alashan. Leia offers Grau a place in the Rebellion, but he declines, leaving the ship in an escape pod. Meanwhile, deep in the remnants of the destroyed underground city, a mysterious laughing is heard resounding through the complex...


Comments: This issue wraps up the "World of Fire!" story arc in a fairly satisfying way and with a fairly thought provoking ending. I'm glad Chris Claremont didn't have Major Grau and Sergeant Anarine join the Rebellion at the story's conclusion – that would've been a little too sappy. Still, the fact that they at least considered it was a nice touch. In sticking to his guns, politically speaking, and also in keeping his word and allowing the Rebels to leave unharmed at the end, we see that Grau is very much a man of honour and principal. In addition, the fact that the city's central computer and the creature are seemingly still alive is an intriguing way to end the story, but alas, the planet of Alashan was never to be visited again in the original Marvel run.

My criticisms of this installment of the story would be that we don't actually get to see how the Rebels and Imperials escaped the city and, as a result, the story's conclusion feels a bit rushed. Also, it seemed like a bit of a stretch to me that Luke deduced that the creature had shrunk in size to allow it to manoeuvre in the control centre without damaging the computer consoles that gave it life. That was quite some guess on Skywalker's part! Still, the idea that this ferocious creature is actually being created by the city's central computer as part of the subterranean city's defences is an interesting one.

It's a shame that we never get to see Mici Shabandar again in the original Marvel run because she seemed like a pretty gutsy and likeable character. There was also the suggestion of some kind of romantic feelings between her and Luke, which might have been interesting to explore in the ongoing series, but alas, it was not to be. It's a pity because I think that another strong female lead in the Star Wars comic, to compliment Leia, might have been a good thing, especially if that other female was romantically interested in Luke. Ultimately, readers would have to wait until the arrival of Shira Brie, during the David Michelinie/Walt Simonson era of the comic to get a strong female lead who filled this role.

Overall, the "World of Fire!" story arc is a well told tale, with plenty of suspense and action and it's every bit as good as a lot of the stories in the regular U.S. Star Wars comic during the Infantino period. The ending felt a little rushed and there was plenty left unexplained, such as the creature's true purpose and why the deserted underground city was even there, but on the other hand, I kinda liked the fact that the loose ends weren't all neatly tied up. Real life's like that; we don't always get all the answers and, ultimately, Luke and company were just brief intruders into a story than began millennia ago.

As well as appearing in Star Wars Weekly #107—115, "World of Fire!" was published in the U.S. in the paperback-sized Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars #2 – World of Fire in 1982 and has most recently (as of this writing) appeared in the Dark Horse collection Wild Space, Volume 1. As for which version to track down, if you're interested in reading this story, the U.S. paperback has cropped panels (and even some redrawn panels), in order for the dialogue balloons to be legible in the smaller size, while the versions in Star Wars Weekly and Wild Space, Volume 1 feature the full, unaltered artwork. For my money though, I actually prefer the paperback-sized version, mostly because the artwork is stripped of Howard Bender's Zip-a-Tone shading and that makes it less murky and gives the art a certain clarity that the original issues of Star Wars Weekly lacked.

Continuity issues: None

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "Grau, come with us. Join the Rebellion. You're a man of honour, of principles -- you have no place among the likes of Ensign Lopaki and the Emperor." – Princess Leia attempts to persuade Imperial Major Grau to join the Rebel Alliance.

Glad you enjoyed reading it, Richard. I'd definitely be interested in your thoughts on issue #35 (or any other issue that I've covered) when you do get around to reading it. The Red Queen story arc is definitely a good one, but not my absolute favourite of the Carmine Infantino era. I think that the Omega Frost saga (from issues #31-34) or the Siege at Yavin two-parter (issues #25 and #26) are better overall. Nonetheless, Goodwin and Infantino are much more on top of their game here than they were in the earlier part of their run on the comic.

I stumbled across these great reviews Confessor and registered to comment on them.

I'm too young to have read the original Marvel Star Wars comics but being a big fan of the Expanded Universe books and comics I started reading in the 1990s I knew of them, and when the Dark Horse Omnibus series came out a few years ago I snapped them up. I've read them before of course but now I'm re-reading to keep up with these reviews.

So far my highlight would be 'The Long Hunt' which just crackles as a story and has wonderful art, but I have a soft spot for the Aduba-3 stories. Yes the art is a bit off and generally I prefer the Archie Goodwin characterisation but I like the romance and poetry in lines talking about things like 'Space Gods'. The Star Hoppers are a fun group too.

I was also surprised and impressed that the comics were able to introduce shades of grey from time to time. Obviously Valance is the main example of this but we've also seen a cowardly Rebel (Tyler Lucian), a noble Imperial (Major Grau) and even men as corrupt as Senator Greyshades and Baron Tagge display human feelings of concern for another. It's remarkable how big the Marvel Star Wars universe feels - and we haven't even reached Empire yet!

Thanks for the welcome Confessor. I'll definitely have a look elsewhere around the forum.

As I said before I'm a fan of the 1990s version of the Star Wars Expanded Universe initiated by Timothy Zahn with Heir to the Empire, but I do love the Brian Daley Han Solo books which were my gateway into the very early Star Wars EU (before that term ever existed).) I'm also an RPG fan with a lot of fondness for the West End Games Star Wars books - reading this thread makes me want to run or play in a game involving the House of Tagge, Star-Hoppers, etc.

Anyway the point is I love the world building aspects, which as you noted Marvel did very well. So far (as of #36) we've seen giant, cosmopolitan worlds (Centares, Tihrann), Outer Rim backwaters (Aduba-3), industrial worlds (Metalorn) and 'lost colony' type planets (Drexel). If I had a criticism at this point it would only be that we haven't yet seen an alien species stick around for long; I know the comics will do this later with the Zeltrons and the Hoojibs but it seems like a missed opportunity not to have a recurring non-human villain or hero around other than Chewie when the comics don't have to worry about costume or makeup budgets. Maybe the reception of Jaxxon scared off the writers?

Of your earlier reviews I think I liked 'Whatever Happened to Jabba the Hut?' more than you did, even with the continuity issues (I like a lot of the art design on Jabba's ship and his cronies and on the perpetual rain). I liked #30 ('A Princess Alone') more when I first read it but I have to agree with your criticisms. The Galactic Empire is a brutal, fascist regime but people still lead quasi-free lives making credits across the galaxy. The Orwellian nature of Metalorn goes against the type of rule we saw in the films - and with the Wheel or Monastery, where the Imperial government doesn't control every facet of its subjects lives.

The other aspect I think the Marvel comics did well, and something George Lucas never quite managed in his films is to give us good female villains. Kharys wasn't around for long, unfortunately, but she had a very memorable design and of course now we have Domina Tagge, who brings some of the emotional complexity we saw with Valance into her own, very different character.

Star Wars #37
Cover dated: July 1980
Issue title: In Mortal Combat!
Script: Archie Goodwin
Artwork: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Gene Day (inks)
Colours: Nel Yomtov
Letters: John Costanza
Cover art: Carmine Infantino (pencils)/Bob Wiacek (inks)
Overall rating: 7½ out of 10




Plot summary: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader prepare to enter the lethal Crystal Valley on the planet Monastery for a lightsaber duel, as arranged by the scheming Domina Tagge. Her plan is to have both of her family's arch enemies killed, either by the explosive crystals in the valley or by a blow from their own lightsabers. As the two duellists navigate the deadly environment, Han Solo, Princess Leia and C-3PO are forced to land on Monastery in the Millennium Falcon at gunpoint by Orman Tagge, who has stowed away aboard the freighter.

Orman escapes into the Crystal Valley to confront Vader, but the Dark Lord reveals to Orman that his sister Domina is no longer as innocent as he would like to believe and convinces him to duel with Luke in his place. Orman does so, but the Dark Lord creates an illusion through the Force that causes Luke to believe that he is actually fighting Vader. After some fierce duelling, Luke kills Orman and briefly comes face-to-face with the real Vader, before managing to escape. Before leaving Monastery, Luke, Han and Leia attempt to explain to Domina that Vader has played her for a fool, but the embittered woman cannot bring herself to forgive Luke for her brother's death.

Some time later, the space pirate Crimson Jack's derelict star-cruiser is found in the Drexel system. One of Jack's financial backers, Jabba the Hutt, learns of Han's part in the ending of Jack's pirating operation and, in a fit of anger, reinstates the price on the Corellian's head.


Comments: The Red Queen story arc builds to a (mostly) satisfying conclusion in this issue. The tone of Archie Goodwin's writing has got progressively darker as this story has continued and I find myself wondering how much that change of mood was informed by the soon-to-be-released Star Wars sequel. Certainly, the shadow of The Empire Strikes Back looms large over an awful lot of this comic. For example, there's a scene in which Han Solo notes that he and Princess Leia have just accomplished something by working together and, as such, it's probably a turning point in their relationship. This definitely feels like deliberate foreshadowing of their soon to blossom romance by Goodwin.

Another very obvious attempt to set the stage for The Empire Strikes Back occurs during the epilogue, when we catch up with the Marvel Comics' version of Jabba the Hutt (see my reviews of issues #2 and #28 for an explanation of why the Marvel version of Jabba looks so different from the one seen in the Star Wars films). Jabba had cancelled the price on Han's head at the end of issue #28, but clearly events in the Star Wars sequel show that the bounty is still in place. Goodwin therefore had to cram in an epilogue showing Jabba cancelling the truce he made with Han and reinstating the price on the smuggler's head. The following panels show Han shooting a bounty hunter who has come after him as a result of Jabba's actions. Goodwin actually intended this alien to be the bounty hunter of Ord Mantell that we hear Han speak of in The Empire Strikes Back (although the canonical version of this event was later featured in Goodwin's Star Wars newspaper strip). I must say that although this epilogue was necessary in order to realign the Marvel Comics' continuity with that of the films, it really does feel very shoehorned into this issue and definitely like something of an afterthought on Goodwin's part.

Something else that has a bearing on the sequel is that Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader don't actually fight each other in this issue, despite Carmine Infantino's front cover and Goodwin's script doing a bang up job of fooling the reader into thinking that they do. This is clearly so that their duel on Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back will still be the first time that they cross lightsabers with each other. Of course, Luke and Vader having a lightsaber duel is something that every fan of Star Wars wanted to see at this point, so having Orman fight Luke, with a Force-induced illusion making the young Rebel think that he's actually battling Vader is a nicely executed fake out on Goodwin's part. On a related note, I have a hard time believing that Vader would just simply let Luke go because all he wanted to do was get the measure of the boy's abilities. That seems extremely unlikely and somewhat contrived, again to make sure that this comic doesn't interfere with events that will occur in the soon-to-be-released Star Wars sequel.

In addition to all that stage-setting for Empire, on the bottom of the final page of this issue it says, "Next: The most eagerly awaited saga of them all begins! Marvel's adaptation of... The Empire Strikes Back!" Of course, we'd actually end up having to wait a month longer for the movie adaptation and in its place we got a very odd fill-in issue drawn by Michael Golden. But clearly issue #37 was penned as a lead-in to the new film. Goodwin said as much himself, during an interview with the Echo Station fan website in the late 1990s:

"I tried to bring one of my big story lines to a close – the Tagge family – and then set up a nod of the hat to the beginning of Empire. But Marvel then rescheduled the publishing date and we had to run a filler Star Wars story just before the adaptation instead of the issue that I thought was going to precede it, so it wasn't done all that smoothly. The issue that I thought would precede the adaptation has a bounty hunter attempt to kill Han Solo – take a shot at him or something like that – kind of a nod to Empire where Han makes the decision to leave Hoth and then says something about the bounty hunter from Ord Mantell."

Of course, Goodwin's final pre-Empire Strikes Back story arc doesn't lead totally seamlessly into the second film in the original trilogy. For instance, the Rebel Alliance is still firmly located on Yavin 4 and there's been no mention of the planet Hoth in the comic at all. Goodwin would later show the Rebels discovering the planet Hoth and re-locating there in the syndicated Star Wars newspaper strip.

On the whole though, Goodwin's scripting here is pretty good, although we get some supremely corny dialogue from Han as our heroes leave Monastery. However, I like the fact that even though the Rebels explain to Domina that she's been well and truly played by Vader, she still holds on to her hatred for Luke, blaming him for her brother's death. That fits in perfectly with the character that Goodwin has developed for her in the preceding issues. We won't see Domina again until Star Wars #50, where we'll find that her hatred for Skywalker is alive and well. While we're on the subject of the Tagge family, it's worth noting that we never again see Silas or Ulric Tagge in the original Marvel run. Both characters are alive at the close of this issue, although Silas is comatose in a life support capsule.

On the art front, Carmine Infantino gives us what I think is one of the most gorgeous opening splash pages of his whole run on this series. It's enhanced with some atmospheric, brooding inking and some nice use of Zip-a-Tone shading from Gene Day. Nel Yomtov's colouring is the cherry on top, although I notice that the colouring does make R2-D2 and the order elders almost vanish into the gathering gloom, but then it is meant to be dusk, I suppose...




Actually, the pencils, inking and colouring all come together to produce something really nice throughout this issue. Unfortunately, Infantino continues to draw Vader's face mask and breath grill wider than it should be and, in fact, it appears as if he's drawing the Dark Lord's helmet ever more expressionistically as a whole...




Still, Infantino manages to tell Goodwin's story clearly, with some nice staging and panel-to-panel pacing. In addition, his action sequences here are superb, especially during Luke and Vader/Orman's lightsaber duel, which is full of energy, movement and fury.

All in all, I'd have to say that this issue is the best of the three instalments of the Red Queen saga. The arc has built to a pretty exciting crescendo, but there's a self-consciousness to much of the writing, as Goodwin attempts to set up The Empire Strikes Back, that I find bothersome. I applaud Goodwin's intention to ease the transition from this issue to the Star Wars sequel, but there's a little too much twisting and stretching, in terms of plot and dialogue, in order to bridge that gap, for my liking. Still, this issue ultimately does its job and the stage is now set for the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Although, as previously noted, the Rebels haven't actually moved their base to the planet Hoth yet, so it's clear that some unspecified amount of time elapses between the end of this issue and the start of Empire.

Continuity issues: None

Favourite panel:



Favourite quote: "Yeah...after all the fancy manipulating you and Vader put me through to bring this about, a little honest fighting will be a pleasure." – Luke Skywalker resentfully responds to Domina Tagge as he enters the Crystal Valley.

Good point! I hadn't actually thought of that, but you're right that seeing Crimson Jack's Star Destroyer in this last pre-ESB comic serves to bookend this era of Marvel's Star Wars comics nicely.




Hmmm...good question. Straight away I'd have to say that Captain Valance is without doubt the most memorable Marvel-created character from the pre-Empire era. But other personal favourites (other than Jaxxon, natch!) would be Serji-X, Amaiza, Governor Quarg, Mici Shabandar, Baron Orman Tagge and (weirdly perhaps) Jorman Thoad. As for Domina Tagge, she's certainly quite memorable, but I don't find her anywhere near as interesting as her brother Orman.

As for standout locations, the planets Aduba-3 and Junction have long been favourites of mine and I guess that The Wheel gambling station is pretty memorable too.

Edit: Of course, Crimson Jack is a very memorable character too, but not necessarily for a good reason.