Star Wars 41 is the forty-first issue of the 2020 canon comic book series Star Wars and serves as part of the Star Wars: Dark Droids event. The issue was written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Madibek Musabekov and Rachelle Rosenberg, and published by Marvel Comics on December 6, 2023.
The issue ties into the events of Dark Droids 5 but was released several weeks ahead of Dark Droids 5. As Star Wars 41 contains spoilers to the end of the overall Dark Droids series, Soule urged fans to wait for the release of Dark Droids 5, read that first, and only then read Star Wars 41.[3]
Publisher's summary
LANDO LOST! – A DARK DROIDS TIE-IN! With the final mission to rescue LOBOT from the terrors of THE SCOURGE underway, galactic ne'er-do-well LANDO CALRISSIAN must finally reckon with the sins of his past. Will he be the SCOUNDREL he's always been or the HERO he could be?
Opening crawl
| LANDO LOST |
|---|
Plot summary
On the planet Epikonia, Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca are surrounded by scourge droids. Leia wonders how they can save Lobot if he has also been taken over by the scourge. The heroes fight their way through the droids, but they are soon overwhelmed by thousands of small spider droids that appear to take control of them. Suddenly, they are all freed and come upon a group of people who are clearly in need of help. Lando finds Lobot unconscious and in bad shape. He wants to leave, but Luke insists that they must stay and help the civilians. Luke and Leia stay behind while Lando and Chewbacca return to the Millennium Falcon.
Back aboard the ship, Chewbacca puts Lobot on a bed. Lando tells him he's about to see something he won't like and reactivates the Talky droid. Lando orders the droid to heal Lobot, but the droid asks what would stop him from destroying it afterward. Lando warns that droids have sensors similar to pain receptors, and if the Talky droid doesn't help, he will wire its core into a simulator that will make every moment of its existence pure agony. He tells the droid that helping is the better option.
The Talky droid argues that it has no leverage and no assurance that Lando will keep his word since he constantly lies. Just then, Luke and Leia arrive, noting that they could not help the civilians much. Leia sees the Talky droid and demands to know why it's not safely locked away on the Home One, pointing her blaster at Lando.
The Talky droid explains that the logical situation is challenging: Lando will kill it if Lobot dies, and he will likely kill it after it heals Lobot to protect his treachery from being revealed. It notes that its only hope for survival is that Lando will need it again if Lobot were to fall ill. Since its programming only includes self-preservation, the droid will not save Lobot if it means accelerating its own demise. It tells Lando to save his friend by handing his weapon to Leia and confessing.
Lando explains that he was in trouble with Jabba the Hutt and was about to lose the Millennium Falcon and possibly Chewbacca. He confesses that he made a deal to spy for Jabba, passing along small bits of information. He admits that he stole the Talky droid and sent it to Jabba under threat of death, not knowing that it could heal Lobot and that he would need to steal it back. He lied, he explains, to get the Millennium Falcon and rescue the droid. Lando then demands that the Talky droid fix Lobot, and the droid agrees.
After Lobot is healed, Lando tells him he likes the "new version" of himself. Soon after, Leia arrives with soldiers and tells Lando he's under arrest for crimes against the Rebel Alliance. She says he will be tried for treason under the Correllian Code of Military Justice, for which the penalty is death. Lando holds out his hands, ready to be cuffed.
The story is to be continued in The Trial of Lando Calrissian.
Development
John Tyler Christopher is the artist of several variant covers for Star Wars 41, one which features Darth Maul. Another was first kept a secret but later revealed to be depicting Asajj Ventress.[4]
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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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
Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Sources
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
Star Wars (2020) #41 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ The flashbacks of Star Wars (2020) 50 take place approximately twenty-two years after Sheev Palpatine's ascension to Emperor, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 19 BBY, meaning they must occur around 3 ABY. The flashbacks also take place after the events of Star Wars (2020) 43, which occur after the Star Wars: Dark Droids crossover event, an event Charles Soule Unleashes Dark Droids on StarWars.com (backup link) places after Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters, which is dated to 3 ABY by Timelines. As Star Wars (2020) 41 takes place between War of the Bounty Hunters and Star Wars (2020) 43, its events must take place around 3 ABY.
- ↑ Star Wars Splash Page (@SWSplashPagePod) on Twitter (post): "Charles Soule, in his November newsletter (subscribe here if you haven't yet https://mailchi.mp/f0a5b413051c/charlessoule) says to read #DarkDroids #5 (Dec. 27) before #StarWars 41 (Dec. 6) so as to not spoil how the latter ends. #StarWarsComics" (backup link)
- ↑ John Tyler Christopher (@johntylerchris) on Twitter (post): "Now that Asajj has been revealed as the Phantom Cover, we are getting ready to ship the PREORDERS of her and Darth Maul, this week! With as cold as it is here in the Midwest, hopefully they don't arrive in a block of ice!" (backup link)
External links
