Yeah, but then again, they also picked "The Third Law" as a Top 10 best issue from the series!




You're absolutely correct that the entire lightsaber continuity problem could've been avoided with one brilliantly inventive explanation in the dialogue of issue #45. But the truth of the matter, at least as far as I believe it, is that Archie Goodwin simply goofed and had Luke brandishing his lightsaber, without stopping to realise that he had lost it.

On the letters page of issue #48, Danny Fingeroth notes that the comic had been inundated with letters from angry readers demanding to know why Luke still had his lightsaber. He offers the explanation that Luke was able to draw his saber back up the Cloud City reactor shaft towards him as he fell down it, in a manner similar to how he levitated the weapon into his hand in the Wampa's cave on Hoth. While that sounds like a bit of a contrived answer, I suppose such a feat might be possible for Luke, especially with his newly improved Jedi skills, following Yoda's training on Dagobah. However, Fingeroth also admits that the real reason that Luke still has a lightsaber is because Marvel simply didn't want to tell stories in which Luke was without his signature weapon.

Edit: As noted in my review though, I won't be listing the presence of Luke's lightsaber as a continuity error for every issue of the comic between now and the ROTJ adaptation. I've made note of it twice now and that's enough, I feel. Besides, since it has now been established in the post-ESB comic continuity that Luke is still in possession of his saber, what were subsequent writers supposed to do about it? Take it away again? Well, then that would also be a continuity problem now that we've seen him with it.

Another great review Confessor.

One thing I like about the Marvel run is there willingness to use female villains, something which the films never quite managed (though the later Expanded Universe did - Ysanne Isard was a great villainess.) Here we see Captain Traal and a few issues back we saw a woman commanding a whole fleet. Plus of course Kharys the Majestrix of Skye!

I liked #49 a bit more than you did, but yeah Jedidiah's backstory is strange.

Marvel sometimes seemed to have difficulty deciding how powerful and omnipresent the Empire actually is. Back in #30 (A Princess Alone!) the Empire controlled every aspect of life on a planet, yet in other issues it seems so weak that it has to obey local laws, or at least appear to, to get anything done at all. #36 (Red Queen Rising!) is a great example of this were the Empire has to compete openly with its own rebels for diplomatic presence!

Yes, good point. Marvel was very good at introducing strong female villains into their SW continuity. The examples you provide above should be augmented with Domina Tagge and Shira Brie/Lumiya.




Didn't you think that Luke and Leia's characterisation was way off as well? Or maybe that bothered you less than it did me.




That's an interesting observation, rossn, and not one that had ever occurred to me.

However, I think it's more a case of the way in which the Empire rules each planet or system being determined by a number of political, industrial or logistical factors. For example, in the Marvel comics we see that the Empire has to tread somewhat carefully on the planet Monastery because the Order of the Sacred Circle wield such influence over the rest of the galaxy, whereas on the mineral rich planet of Metalorn, the entire world has been subjugated and turned into an factory planet for the Imperial military-industrial complex. Presumably this was because there was no compelling political reason to prevent the Empire from doing so and because the Imperial war machine desperately needed the resources that Metalorn could provide.

Even in the films we see different levels of "occupation". For instance, we see that the Empire's presence on a remote, outer-rim planet like Tatooine is relatively small, yet it is a lot stronger elsewhere (like on Kashyyk, as seen in the infamous Holiday Special, where the Wookiees provide valuable slave labour for the Empire).

I never read that book. After loving the Thrawn trilogy, I was disappointed with The Truce at Bakura and when I picked up The Courtship of Princess Leia in the book shop, I thought the synopsis on the back cover made it sound like Mills & Boon in space! Needless to say, I passed the book by.

Edit: I just thought, I'm not sure an American would get the Mills & Boon reference, so here's a helpful link... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills_%26_Boon

Let me try for a no-prize, Confessor. Luke built a new lightsabre (blue bladed) while recovering after the events from The Empire Strikes Back, used it in the comic for a couple of years, and then lost it again shortly prior to Return of the Jedi... necessitating his building a third one (the green bladed one) in Ben Kenobi's hut.

I dislike the Marvel lettercol explanation of Luke levitating his weapon back from the air shaft on Bespin... first he had plenty of other things to occupy his attention at the time, and second we saw in the movie that he didn't have the sabre on his person while dangling from that antenna. Besides, if he had recovered his original weapon, why change for a new model in time for RotJ?

(Of course, the real explanation is as stated in your comments: Marvel just wanted to have Luke keep using a lightsabre, which is perfectly understandable!)

Hey Confessor! Loving the reviews of the main run. Aren't there some UK EMPIRE STRIKES BACK WEEKLY reviews coming up soon?