- "First, it comes for the metal…"
- ―Series tagline
Star Wars: Dark Droids is a Star Wars canon comic crossover event published by Marvel Comics. The event included a five issue limited series written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Luke Ross, with the first issue published on August 2, 2023. The series also includes issues from the ongoing series Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, Star Wars: Darth Vader, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, and Star Wars. A spinoff miniseries titled Star Wars: Dark Droids: D-Squad, written by Marc Guggenheim and illustrated by Salva Espín, is also part of the event.
At San Diego Comic Con 2023, Soule described the event as if, in the modern day, phones gained sentience and declared a hatred for their owners. It was also confirmed the event focused on one specific droid, the Scourge, who became self-aware and hungry. In that hunger, it spread its control over numerous over droids.[9] To Soule, the series was also a chance to dive into Star Wars horror, which he felt was an underexplored genre within Star Wars works.[10] Ahead of the series' conclusion, Soule shared that he had loved telling the story and hoped fans had enjoyed it as well.[11]
Media
Issues
| Color code key: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Collected (TPB) issue | Released issue | Future issue |
| Issue | Title | Publication date | Trade paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Droids 1 | August 2, 2023[6] |  Star Wars: Dark Droids March 26, 2024[12] |
| 2 | Dark Droids 2 | September 6, 2023[13] | |
| 3 | Dark Droids 3 | October 11, 2023[14] | |
| 4 | Dark Droids 4 | November 15, 2023[4] | |
| 5 | Dark Droids 5 | December 27, 2023[7] |
| Issue | Title | Publication date | Trade paperback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dark Droids: D-Squad 1 | September 20, 2023[13] |  Star Wars: Dark Droids: D-Squad March 5, 2024[15] |
| 2 | Dark Droids: D-Squad 2 | October 25, 2023[16] | |
| 3 | Dark Droids: D-Squad 3 | November 22, 2023[4] | |
| 4 | Dark Droids: D-Squad 4 | December 6, 2023[4] |
| Issue | Title | Publication date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Wars (2020) 37 | August 9, 2023[6] |
| 2 | Darth Vader (2020) 37 | August 16, 2023[6] |
| 3 | Doctor Aphra (2020) 35 | August 23, 2023[6] |
| 4 | Bounty Hunters 37 | August 30, 2023[6] |
| 5 | Star Wars (2020) 38 | September 6, 2023[13] |
| 6 | Darth Vader (2020) 38 | September 13, 2023[13] |
| 7 | Bounty Hunters 38 | September 20, 2023[13] |
| 8 | Doctor Aphra (2020) 36 | September 27, 2023[13] |
| 9 | Bounty Hunters 39 | October 4, 2023[13] |
| 10 | Darth Vader (2020) 39 | October 4, 2023[13] |
| 11 | Star Wars (2020) 39 | October 18, 2023[16] |
| 12 | Doctor Aphra (2020) 37 | October 25, 2023[13] |
| 13 | Star Wars (2020) 40 | November 1, 2023[16] |
| 14 | Darth Vader (2020) 40 | November 8, 2023[17] |
| 15 | Doctor Aphra (2020) 38 | November 15, 2023[17] |
| 16 | Bounty Hunters 40 | November 22, 2023[4] |
| 17 | Star Wars (2020) 41 | December 6, 2023[17] |
| 18 | Bounty Hunters 41 | December 13, 2023[7] |
| 19 | Darth Vader (2020) 41 | December 20, 2023[7] |
| 20 | Doctor Aphra (2020) 39 | December 20, 2023[7] |
Trade paperbacks
| Star Wars 37-41 |
Darth Vader 37-41 |
Bounty Hunters 37-41 |
Doctor Aphra 35-39 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
| Star Wars Vol. 7 | Darth Vader Vol. 8 | Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 | Doctor Aphra Vol. 7 |
| March 5, 2024[18] | April 9, 2024[19] | April 16, 2024[20] | April 23, 2024[21] |
| Doctor Aphra 35-39 |
|---|
|
| Doctor Aphra – Friends & Enemies Omnibus |
| December 2, 2025 |
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
Star Wars: Dark Droids: D-Squad (2020) #1 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
SWCE 2023: Marvel Reveals Star Wars: Dark Droids Horror Event and More on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: Dark Droids (2023) #1 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4
Marvel Comics' November 2023 Full Solicits & Solicitations on BleedingCool (backup link archived on August 24, 2023)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 First, It Comes for the Metal… on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Horror Comes to a Galaxy Far, Far Away in New Marvel Comics Epic 'Star Wars: Dark Droids' on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Full December 2023 Marvel Comics solicitations: 'Gang War' goes gangbusters on Adventures In Poor Taste (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. Therefore Star Wars: Dark Droids, as a whole, must take place around 3 ABY.
- ↑ Lucasfilm Publishing: Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away... | Panel | San Diego Comic-Con 2023 on the official Penguin Random House YouTube channel (July 24, 2023) (original link is obsolete)
- ↑ Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) on Twitter (post): "I really loved making this book - Star Wars horror is an underserved subgenre, and I really got to take some big swings here. If you missed this story in single issues, check it out in trade!" (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Dark Droids – D-Squad on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 Josemaria Casanovas' Connecting 'Dark Droids' Variant Covers Assemble the Scourge's Army of Corrupted Droids on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ The Scourge Strikes in New 'Star Wars: Dark Droids' Variant Covers on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Dark Droids – D-Squad on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Scourge Reveals Its Ultimate Goal by Targeting Darth Vader in 'Star Wars: Dark Droids' on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Dark Droids 1
- ↑ Star Wars Vol. 7: Dark Droids on Penguin Random House's Comics Retail website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Darth Vader By Greg Pak Vol. 8 – Dark Droids on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Bounty Hunters Vol. 7 - Dark Droids on Penguin Random House's Comics Retail website (backup link)
- ↑ STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA VOL. 7 – DARK DROIDS on Penguin Random House's official website (original link is obsolete)
External links
- Marvel Comics (@Marvel) on Twitter (post): "This summer, a malevolent being known as the Scourge threatens to take over everything in the galaxy in 'Star Wars: Dark Droids.' Check out the covers now and witness the start of a dark chapter on August 2:" (backup link)
