Star Wars 48 is the forty-eighth issue of the 2020 canon comic book series Star Wars. The issue was written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Jethro Morales and Rachelle Rosenberg, and published by Marvel Comics on July 17, 2024. The issue begins a story that carries into the following issue focused on Leia Organa.
Publisher's summary
LAST CHANCE FOR SOLO! LEIA ORGANA has put the galaxy's freedom before all else, including her lost love, HAN SOLO. With the growing threat of the second DEATH STAR looming over THE REBEL ALLIANCE, should she try to save him…while she still can?
Opening crawl
| THE PATH OF DARKNESS |
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Plot summary
In the Royal Palace in the Alderaan capital city Aldera, Princess Leia Organa, just a child, draws the scenic landscape. Suddenly, looming high in the sky is the Death Star. Servants rush her inside to her parents. Inside the space station, an older Leia tries to dissuade Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin from testing the superweapon on Alderaan. The child Leia runs to her parents' arms, happy they are all together in such a time of uncertainty. The older Leia is forced by Tarkin to activate the massive weapon, destroying the planet in a massive explosion.
Leia startles awake from her nightmare. She is in her cabin on the Rebel Alliance flagship Home One. The protocol droid C-3PO comes to check on Leia, and she instructs him to get Luke Skywalker so she can talk with him. Leia confides in Luke about her worries being torn between wanting to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt and fighting theEmpire. She carries guilt about the fate of her homeworld, and with the Empire constructing another Death Star, she feels guilty about her attention wavering. Becoming overwhelmed with the burden of responsibility, she bursts into tears. Luke is there to support her, and she appreciates being able to be herself with him, rather than a symbol of the Rebellion. The two are interrupted by a comm from Lieutenant Evaan Verlaine.
Verlaine carries information about the Alderaan Survivor Fleet, for whom Verlaine was the only point of contact within the Rebellion. Unfortunately, the fleet missed their last three scheduled check-ins. Typically, their communiques would share information such as their location, current supply issues, plans, births, and deaths. Verlaine seeks approval to go on a mission to check their last known location. Leia immediately agrees. Luke suggests that Leia goes too, since it would be considered a military mission and may help keep her focused. Luke also decides to join.
In the deep space hiding spot of the fleet, the three Rebels pick up a faint signal and discover the Thranta with one or two life signs within. Luke and Leia board the ship while Verlaine patrols the area in her X-wing starfighter.
Inside the Thranta, Luke and Leia find the ship seemingly abandoned, with only emergency lighting active. They follow the life signs to a bacta tank holding Jora Astane, an ardent preserver of Alderaanian culture. Luke reaches out in the Force but finds that she is devoid of life, in spite of her mechanically-assisted heart function. Leia then suddenly realizes that Astane was left there as bait.
Just then, Verlaine calls in to Leia and Luke that there are signs of raiders dropping out of hyperspace. Verlaine attempts to hold off their starfighters as Luke and Leia race to their shuttle. Before the two can reach it, however, the raiders explode the shuttle, and Leia is injured in the blast. The raiders then board the ship, and Luke holds them off with his lightsaber and by creating a barricade with the Force. This gives Luke time to assist Leia to an escape pod. He sends her off, leaving himself behind. Leia watches the Thranta explode, which sends her pod spinning frantically until she is caught by a tether. The ship reels her in, only to find that it is the raiders, whose leader is former Imperial Ellian Zahra.
Development
Writer Charles Soule first discussed the issue via a Threads post.[3]
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
Droid models
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
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10
Star Wars (2020) #48 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ The events of Star Wars 48 take place after the Escape from Cloud City and before the Rescue of Han Solo, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY, respectively, by Star Wars: Timelines.
- ↑ Charles Soule (@charlesdsoule) on Threads (post on January 24, 2024): "Star Wars 48-49 are Leia-focused and (I think) will be really good. Leia was just a kid through the OT. 19 in ANH, 22 in Empire. It was a lot." (backup link)
External links