Welcome back to another new comic book day, EveryWookiee!! I’ve scoured today’s new releases and below are the first appearances, cameos and key events from this week’s Marvel Star Wars comic releases: Crimson Reign #1 and Star Wars #19!
Crimson Reign starts in earnest this week! Check out our Crimson Reign reader order and checklist pinned to the top of the main site!
First appearances and keys from these weekly articles get added to or sister site and Star Wars comics first appearance and key issue database, Wookywiki.com!
Crimson Reign #1
Variants:
First up, we have the first full appearance of the Archivist. She made a first cameo in War of the Bounty Hunters #5 in an unnamed single-panel appearance without dialogue. Here, she appears first in a holocron which is neither Jedi nor Sith, but can be opened with either side of the Force. Her narrative frames the rest of the issue.
Qi’ra begins approaching the various criminal syndicates around the galaxy to explainw hat Crimson Dawn can offer them. Here, in a meeting with the Falleen member of Black Sun, Gyuti, we get the first canon comics mention of Prince Xizor!
Prince Xizor first appeared in comics in the 1996 Shadows of the Empire #1. The last time Xizor appeared in a comic was the online only webcomic, Evasive Action: Endgame in 2006, and the last time he appeared in a print comic book was as a statue in Mara Jade by the Emperor’s Hand 6 in February, 1999. Needless to say, his return has been a long time coming.
Gyuti made his first cameo in Doctor Aphra #11 and his first full appearance in Doctor Aphra #12 (2020).
Chanath Cha’s group, “The Orphans”, makes their first full appearance after each making a cameo in War of the Bounty Hunters #5:
Imara Ves is a playable character in the upcoming Nintento Switch game, Star Wars Hunters. Ladybright is a female identifying droid, and Sear appears to be decked out in custom-painted clone armor. They all get to see some heavy action in this issue!
We get the first full appearance of a new Knight of Ren, Marinda. Marinda made their first cameo in War of the Bounty Hunters #5.
We get to see Deathstick unmasked for the first time. Deathstick made her first cameo in Bounty Hunters #13 with her first full appearance and cover appearance in Bounty Hunters #14 (Cover A).
Finally, the Archivist’s role in Qi’ra’s plan is revealed. She is to track down surviving Jedi to aid in the plan. As the narrative closes, the Archivist foreshadows tragedy for Qi’ra.
Star Wars #19
In Star Wars #19, Luke takes an Imperial Database of Jedi sites and begins visiting them for clues as to the next step in his training. He needs to master the Force to face off against Vader again. He visits Illum, the planet that would eventually become Starkiller Base under the First Order. He also visits The River Moon of Al’doleem where Mount Pasvaal is located. There’s a Jedi Monastery on Mount Pasvaal. We last saw this moon and Mount Pasvaal in Darth Vader #3 (2017). In Darth Vader #3, Vader tracks down a Jedi Master in exhile Kirik Infil’a. Vader eventually takes Kirik’s kyber crystal and corrupts it to power his own lightsaber.
During this fight, Kirik helps a the two children of a Tholothian family escape in his Jedi starfighter. The older of the two, a boy named Colli, re-appears here in Star Wars #19.
Kirik Infil’a makes his first cameo on the last page of Darth Vader #2 (2017), and his first full appearance in Darth Vader #3 (2017). Colli makes his first appearance in Darth Vader #4 (2017).
That’s all this week! Check out our Crimson Reign reader order and checklist pinned to the top of the main site!
