Thrawn: Alliances 1 is the first issue of the 2024 comic miniseries Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances comic adaptation adaptation of the book of the same name. The issue was written by Timothy Zahn and Jody Houser, illustrated by Andrea Di Vito, Pat Olliffe, and Rachelle Rosenberg, and published by Marvel Comics on January 24, 2024.
Publisher's summary
RETURN TO THE SAGA OF THRAWN WITH THE COMIC-BOOK ADAPTATION OF THRAWN: ALLIANCES! TIMOTHY ZAHN teams with STAR WARS veteran JODY HOUSER to bring THRAWN: ALLIANCES to the pages of comic books! Watch as ANDREA DI VITO & PAT OLLIFFE bring the action to life showcasing the tactical prowess of the galaxy's most dangerous mind!
Plot summary
The Imperial Era: tactical friction
- "I have sensed a disturbance in the Force. Something that will require both you and Lord Vader to resolve. I believe, Admiral, you've heard of a world at the edge of the unknown Regions called Batuu?"
- ―The Emperor
High above the Batuu system, Grand Admiral Thrawn observed the battlefield with a cold, analytical detachment. He noted the honour in the enemy's formation - the smaller vessels positioning themselves as literal shields for the larger craft. To Thrawn, this wasn't just combat; it was a psychological profile.
When an Imperial officer interrupted with a priority signal from the Emperor, the transition from tactician to servant was seamless. Thrawn stood before Palpatine and Darth Vader. The Emperor’s command was cryptic: a "disturbance in the Force" at the edge of the Unknown Regions, on the world of Batuu.
Aboard the Chimaera, the atmosphere was thick with technical anxiety. Despite Commodore Faro's assurances that the hyperdrive systems were "full green," the ship stalled. Vader’s presence was a physical weight on the bridge, his patience thin. He blamed the crew; Faro blamed the erratic hyperlanes and hidden mass shadows. Thrawn, caught between the Sith’s fury and his officer's logic, remained impassive, admitting he had walked these paths once before, during the Clone Wars.
Upon reaching Mokivj, the sight was one of absolute desolation - a world scarred by what looked like planetary-scale trauma. Thrawn’s warning to Vader was subtle but sharp: if the Emperor could sense a presence here, that presence was likely watching them back.
The Clone Wars: A senator's intuition
Years in the past, Senator Padmé Amidala moved through the shadows of Black Spire Outpost. The mission was personal. Her contact, Duja, was dead - laid out in a coffin under the guise of a speeder accident. Padmé, recognizing the lie, used a traditional mourning song as a cover to retrieve a hidden beacon from Duja’s brooch.
The resulting hologram revealed a Separatist threat on Mokivj. Unwilling to wait and risk the trail going cold, Padmé boarded Duja’s ship. She sent a lone message to Anakin and plunged into the Unknown, driven by a refusal to let Duja's sacrifice be in vain.
Anakin Skywalker’s arrival on Batuu was defined by a frantic, protective energy. His search was interrupted by a Chiss commander named Thrawn, a "warrior-scholar" from the Ascendancy who claimed to seek an understanding of the Republic's conflict. Their alliance was born of necessity: Anakin needed a guide, and Thrawn needed to observe the Jedi's "order and chaos" in action.
At the site of the abandoned Nubian ship, the tension broke into violence. Anakin engaged the local "merchants" (smugglers) with a reckless ferocity, his lightsaber a blur of blue light against the dusty terrain of Batuu.
The present: The shadow of the past
In the current timeline, Vader and Thrawn walked the same streets Anakin once trod. The "disturbance" was an oily film over the Force - distant but omnipresent.
They encountered the Darshi, a species whose biology seemed optimized for slaughter. Thrawn, ever the student of culture, noted their ceremonial scabbards, while Vader saw only targets. The news from the cantina owner, Nodlia, was grim: the Darshi were moving in, occupying territory, and had arrived with ten coffins.
"They prepare for an attack," Vader observed. "Then let us prepare to meet them," Thrawn replied.
As the Chimaera reported incoming hostile ships, the friction between the two leaders peaked. Vader issued orders to the Star Destroyer; Thrawn countermanded them, asserting his command over his ship and his crew.
"Walk carefully, Admiral," Vader warned, a threat vibrating in his mechanical voice.
The conversation ended as the Darshi circled, their long knives gleaming. The issue closed on a symmetry of violence: Anakin Skywalker in the past, fueled by rage, and Darth Vader in the present, a silent engine of destruction—both fighting the same shadows on the same desolate world.
Media
Cover gallery
Collected in
Appearances
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
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Organisms
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Droid models
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Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
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Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
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Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Sources
NYCC 2023: 13 Highlights from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link)- This Week! in Star Wars Dispatch: Ready, Set, New Star Wars Books! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
- Catch Up on All of Marvel's 'Star Wars' News from New York Comic Con 2023 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 223
- Revelations (2023) 1 (In an advertisement)
- The Grand Admiral and Darth Vader Join Forces in Marvel's Thrawn: Alliances #1 - Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Star Wars: Thrawn Alliances (2024) #1 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Timelines
- ↑ Thrawn: Alliances 1