Star Wars 53 is the fifty-third issue in Marvel's Star Wars series of comics.
Plot summary
Princess Leia Organa and Captain Chedaki pilot a blockade runner to investigate Imperial activity in the Shiva system, but as the two are entering a shuttle to go down to the planet Shiva IV, the ship is damaged by a space mine. Chedaki is killed in the explosion and Leia is forced to launch the damaged shuttle in order to protect the ship and the rest of the crew from harm. The shuttle crashes on Shiva IV and Leia is immediately attacked by a savage raiding party. A group of natives led by Aron Peacebringer and Kéral Longknife repel the raiders and rescue the princess. Leia returns to the capital Illyriaqüm with Aron, and tries to warn him of the danger that the Galactic Empire poses, but the warlord is not convinced that such an empire exists. But during a gala of Calian nobility, Aron and Leia are both secretly captured by Imperial stormtroopers and brought before General Sk'ar as prisoners.
Development
This issue and the following one were based on unused art for the canceled Marvel Comics series John Carter, Warlord of Mars. Star Wars series regular Carmine Infantino had provided some fill-in art for the series based on Edgar Rice Burroughs's space-fantasy warlord John Carter of Mars which was left over after the cancellation; not wishing that the art be wasted, approximately a year after the cancellation Marvel tasked Chris Claremont with writing a new story based on the existing art and Walter Simonson with adapting Infantino's art as needed to fit the Star Wars series. John Carter was turned into Aron Peacebringer of Shiva IV in the story that filled these two issues.[3] In the Star-Words letters column, the issues were passed off as simply inspired by the John Carter stories.[4]
Continuity
The story introduces Sk'ar, Aron Peacebringer, Ygal Delois, Alisande and Kéral Longknife.
Leia refers to the Cherenkov effect when she sees the destroyed city of K'avor. This phenomenon is named after the real-world Russian scientist Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov.
The 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia confirmed that the TIE Series craft appearing on the comic's cover is a TIE boarding craft, not to be confused with a TIE/sh VIP shuttle.
While not named in this story, Sk'ar's race was retconned to be Kaleesh in later Expanded Universe material.
Media
Collected in
- The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 143
- Return of the Jedi Weekly 87 - 89
- Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... Volume 3: Resurrection of Evil
- Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago.... Volume 3
- Star Wars: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 3
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
Notes and references
- ↑ Amazing Heroes #3, The Comic Reader #193 and The Comics Journal #65
- ↑ With the exception of certain flashback issues, Star Wars (1977) tells a continuous storyline, with issues 39-44 adapting the events of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, and The New Essential Chronology dates both The Empire Strikes Back and the events of issues 52, 61 and 69 to 3 ABY, thus placing all of issues 39-69 in 3 ABY as well. Additionally, The New Essential Guide to Characters places the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire storyline immediately before issue 72, and The New Essential Chronology dates Shadows of the Empire to 3.5 ABY.
- ↑
"Comic Book Legends Revealed #237" on ComicBookResources.com (backup link archived on December 14, 2009)
- ↑ Star-Words in Star Wars (1977) 59