Star Wars: Shattered Empire

[Brandon Rhea]

Just announced: "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Shattered Empire #1," the first of the Marvel Comics series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

http://www.starwars.com/news/journe...ens-shattered-empire-1-from-marvel-sneak-peek
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Journey_to_Star_Wars:_The_Force_Awakens_-_Shattered_Empire_1

I love this cover:

I am so excited.

 

[Phil]

Looks good. I've been buying all the new comics and books since the EU was declared Legends.

 

[Ser Gregor]

The name alone has me interested.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

The name alone has me interested.

Yeah, it's intriguing. Shattered​, not broken or destroyed.

 

[Kiro]

Yeah, it's intriguing. Shattered​, not broken or destroyed.

Yeah. Even with it's official ruler dead, and a major military defeat on the literal arse-end of the galaxy, the Galactic Empire still controls 90% of the (at the time) explored galaxy, and dominates most of it, through both economic, social, and military might. It's still the governing body.

To tear down an empire that size, especially as the Vader comics have shown that after Tarkin's death, Tagge was made Grand Moff which would, I assume, make him the logical choice to be named Palpatine's heir, given that Vader's also dead. So dismantling the Empire would take alot of doing, as it's still strong, reeling but strong, and under the leadership of Tagge.

 

[Nor'baal]

I've been thinking for a while that the plot they're going for is something along the lines of Thrawn and Co.

 

[Ser Gregor]

Yeah, it's intriguing. Shattered​, not broken or destroyed.

Exactly. It evokes memories of the Legends Warlord-era, which was always a favourite of mine.

In real-world terms it invokes, to me, the periods of decline in the Roman Empire and Soviet Union, where strong central authority degraded and effective power began to decentralize.

One of the things I'm most interested in is finding out just how much the Empire was effected by Endor. This comic seems to suggest it will at least touch on that.

Also, I'm really interested in seeing how the Rebel Alliance evolves in the thirty years between VI and VII. One of the possibilities I feel is that the Empire has lost effective control over the periphery of the Galaxy (Outer Rim and, to an extent, the Mid Rim) which has allowed the Rebel Alliance to develop in to a semi-state with "domestic" roles in addition to the extraordinary war-time role it assumed during the OT.

 

[Kiro]

One of the things I'm most interested in is finding out just how much the Empire was effected by Endor. This comic seems to suggest it will at least touch on that.

As I outlined in my post above, I'd say the Empire would be reeling, but still in a solid position over the galaxy. The Rebels however, would have gained alot of support and traction. The galaxy would see that the Empire can be overthrown, that they can be defeated. But it won't happen overnight.

Which, frankly, is more interesting than "Thrawn & Co."

 

[Brandon Rhea]

I think "shattered" will probably imply that with the Emperor dead, warlords start vying for power. The Imperial Ruling Council would be trying to maintain order, considering that they were the true rulers of the Empire, but the Emperor was a symbol of unity. With the Emperor gone, even if there's just rumors of his death (per the Aftermath synopsis) then that might embolden some warlords to try and seize some sort of power. The Ruling Council wouldn't be able to do much to stop it from happening.

 

[Raider]

The variant cover for issue number 1 has been revealed.

 

[Raider]

Issue 1 released today and I enjoyed it. Good art. Good pacing. Good characters. Good setup.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

This was great. I loved, and was very surprised by, the direct TFA connection.

Reading the epilogue of Moving Target after reading this starts to put a lot of pieces together for a certain TFA character.

 

[Srota]

More Greg Rucka?????? Gimme!!!!

 

[Vulpes]

I really enjoyed this one. The pacing is really entertaining, and it feels nice to have a comic that doesn't focus so much on established characters (Vader, Leia, Luke, Lando, etc.) I'm going to wait for issue two to come out before I decide this is my favorite series in the new canon, but it's looking like it may be. The art style feels right, and it takes a familiar scene and is now elaborating on it.

***Vague spoiler*** I've done my best to avoid nearly all information on Episode VII, aside from the trailers and a couple of the characters' names. Is the tie-in that's been mentioned involving a potential relationship between Kes Dameron or is there something I'm missing from TFA lore?

 

[Brandon Rhea]

***Vague spoiler*** I've done my best to avoid nearly all information on Episode VII, aside from the trailers and a couple of the characters' names. Is the tie-in that's been mentioned involving a potential relationship between Kes Dameron or is there something I'm missing from TFA lore?

The character played by Oscar Isaac in TFA is named Poe Dameron. Kes and Shara are presumably his parents.

 

[Raider]

Issue #2 is out. A clever way to set up not just the main threat in this comic, but across other media (I haven't read the books, so maybe it's already appeared?) and a nice direct reference to the Liea mini too.

Spoiler

Do these Imperial messengers show up anywhere else? It certainly sounds like Palps said, "if I die. Wreck shit everywhere," and things seem to be unraveling fast for the Empire. Oh and Poe has already been born and is with his granddaddy.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

This series is so good. I liked how it picked up the plot thread from the Leia comic, like Raider said. I also wonder if this is the start of the three Naboo sieges that were referenced in Lost Stars.

It was also nice to see it confirmed that Shara and Kes are Poe's parents. The epilogue (which was set right before TFA) of the recent Princess Leia novel really helps set the tone for this issue and this series as well.

 

[Raider]

Chewie saves the day everyday.

Some nice call backs to Episode 1. Luke next week for the final issue.

Spoiler

I wonder how far reaching Operation: Cinder is and what worlds are being targeted

.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Yeah the callback was cool. The prequel critic in me saw the callback and went "remember when that sucked?" but my fanboy side went OMG WEEEEEEE!

 

[Raider]

The biggest advantage of the new canon is the ability to intergrate, callback, and reference the prequel era in the post-New Hope timeline. Since much of that space had already been filled in before the prequel trilogy had released.