Star Wars (2020) 16

Publisher's summary

MISSING IN ACTION LEIA ORGANA, CHEWBACCA and LANDO CALRISSIAN battle BOBA FETT for the ultimate prize — HAN SOLO! But they are not the only people who have come to the remote world of JEKARA seeking the smuggler. DARTH VADER, JABBA THE HUTT and more are in the mix as well…Jedi LUKE SKYWALKER may be the Rebels' only hope…but WHERE is he?

Opening crawl

Luke Skywalker joins Starlight Squadron
to rescue Alliance leader Mon Mothma
from an assault led by the Imperial Star
Destroyer ''Ultima II''.

During the mission, Luke has a vision of
Darth Vader, which leads him to believe
Vader is coming for Han Solo.

Now Luke must make his way to a planet
called Jekara….

Plot summary

Facing the past and a new threat

In his X-wing, Luke Skywalker flies through hyperspace toward Jekara. He tells R2-D2 that he’s gone over his fight with Darth Vader on Cloud City a hundred times. He describes the battle as a "storm"—more than just a lightsaber duel, Vader used the Force to hurl objects and throw him off-balance. Luke says he could barely keep up, and couldn't fight back, but that he's now stronger and understands Vader's tactics. He suspects Vader is waiting for him on Jekara, and that Leia and Chewbacca won’t be able to handle him. Luke tries to reach out to the Force but finds his connection weak, like static, and believes it's because he's afraid. He wishes he could communicate with Ben Kenobi.

A desperate battle and a fateful ecounter

On the planet Jekara, aboard the Vermillion, Darth Vader battles Qi'ra in front of Han Solo’s carbonite prison. Lando calls Qi'ra an impressive woman, and comments that Han knew her too. Leia calls Lando a coward for focusing on this instead of the action around them. Leia urges the group to act, and calls Luke for help. Luke responds that he's dropping out of hyperspace above Jekara, but immediately finds himself face-to-face with a Star Destroyer.

Aboard the Imperial Super Star Destroyer, Executor, Admiral Piett notices Luke's X-Wing and orders a squadron to intercept and capture the pilot for interrogation. Dozens of TIE fighters descend on Luke, but he notices the ships of other criminal syndicates invited to Han's auction, and notes that they also hate the Empire. The Dark Syndicate, a Son-Tuul Pride War Cruiser, is hit by a few Imperial shots, which is all they need to enter the battle. This distracts the TIE fighters pursuing Luke, allowing him to fly toward the planet's surface.

Leia warns Luke that Vader has beaten Qi'ra and they are almost out of time. As Vader prepares to strike Qi'ra down, he senses Luke's presence. Admiral Piett orders the Executor to destroy the Son-Tuul Pride, warning other syndicates that the Empire tolerates their existence but will not hesitate to destroy them if provoked. Piett then receives a direct order from Vader: establish a comms channel with the X-Wing pilot and keep him alive.

Vader's voice comes through Luke's comms, telling him, "We have unfinished business, you and I. I have Captain Solo. For now, he remains alive, frozen in carbonite." He threatens to cut Han in half if Luke doesn't come to him. Luke apologizes to Leia, telling her he's not ready to face Vader.

Media

Cover gallery

Solicitation cover

Final cover

Textless final cover

Lucasfilm Ltd. 50th Anniversary variant

Wanted Poster variant

Textless Wanted Poster variant

Duursema Rosenberg variant

Textless Duursema Rosenberg variant

Collected in

• Star Wars Vol. 3: War of the Bounty Hunters
• Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Omnibus

Appearances

This Appearances list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Sources

• War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha 1
• The War of the Bounty Hunters Continues in Marvel's August 2021 Star Wars Comics - Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 204
• It's Chewie Vs. Boba Fett and Qi'ra Vs. Darth Vader in Marvel's Next War of the Bounty Hunters Comics - Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
• This Week! in Star Wars Last Call with Tales from the Galaxy's Edge, The Bad Batch Returns to Kamino, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)

Notes and references

External links

• Star Wars (2020) #16 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)

Alpha · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 One-shots Jabba the Hutt 1 4-LOM & Zuckuss 1 · Boushh 1 · IG-88 1 Crossover Star Wars: 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 Bounty Hunters: 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 Darth Vader: 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 Doctor Aphra: 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 Collections War of the Bounty Hunters · Companion Omnibus Crossover: Star Wars Vol. 3 · Bounty Hunters Vol. 3 Darth Vader Vol. 3 · Doctor Aphra Vol. 3 Related media Crimson Reign · Hidden Empire
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