Hello and good day everywookiee! Earlier today I was creeping on TFAW to see if anything new was listed on the site when I noticed an odd variant name for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #32.
They have the Bounty Hunters #32 variant by Rachel Stott labeled as the “Inferno Squad First Appearance” Variant. I’ve personally never came across something like this. Where they have a variant that deliberately calls out a first appearance.
You can see it (and pre-order it) here on TFAW.
And if you look at the publisher description of the issue it makes it fairly obvious that they will appear in the story itself:
“Zuckuss is teetering between life and death… A mysterious event has put the Gand bounty hunter in a deep coma reliving his past. Can T’onga and 4-LOM save Zuckuss before his mind is lost? And before the Empire’s most lethal unit hunting Valance catches up to them…”
Marvel and Lucasfilm have not been shy when hyping up Iden Versio and Inferno Squad (from the Battlefront video games) and their upcoming role in Star Wars comics. They’ve teased Inferno squad in multiple comics leading up to what
Here’s a short timeline/breakdown of what I’m talking about.
1. First Cover Appearance of Iden Versio
On November 02, 2022 comic artist Tuarin Clarke included Iden Versio on his “revelations” variant of Star Wars Bounty Hunters #28.
He later revealed that he was instructed by the editors to include Iden and the Inferno Squad on this cover to tease their upcoming appearance in Star Wars: Revelations #1.
I personally bought multiples of this one because Iden only shows up on this variant cover and the art was released right before FOC. To me this makes it’s likely that the print run on her first cover will likely be lower than your average first cover appearance.
This variant is sold out in a lot of shops but can be found reasonably priced on eBay still.
2. First Cameo Appearance of Inferno Squad
Then on November 16, 2022 Iden Versio and Inferno Squad appeared in a single panel in the first issue of Star Wars: Hidden Empire.
They are referenced as the Empire’s elite killing squad that Palpatine has ordered to hunt down traitors to the Empire who are working with Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn.
If the random cover appearance didn’t convince you that Inferno Squad would be playing a big role in the upcoming comic stories then this appearance should have done it.
There is no reason to drop a mention like this in such a highly anticipated comic book if there were no future plans to use them.
You can currently get Hidden Empire #1 at below cover price here on TFAW.
3. 2nd Cameo Appearance of Inferno Squad?
While I’m personally not a fan of calling things a 2nd cameo appearance, on November 23rd, 2022, the Inferno Squad got another appearance in Star Wars; Revelations #1. But again it was just one panel while being referenced by another character.
This issue was hyped up by Marvel as a “must see” comic that will tease future storylines of Star Wars comics. So while I don’t view it as a key for Inferno Squadron it does show more evidence that Iden Versio and the Inferno Squadromn will be important moving forward.
Plus Star Wars; Revelations #1 includes the first appearance of Ajax Sigma. Who also has been getting mentions all over the Star Wars comic landscape.
You can currently get Star Wars: Revelations #1 at below cover price here on TFAW.
Note: You can see all variants of the comcis listed above on the Drunk Wooky Hidden Empire Reading or Order and Checklist post here.
So why do I think this could be significant? First off, Iden Versio is one of the more popular characters to join Star Wars lore over the last decade. Star Wars: Battlefront II was a massive success and the Inferno Squad is a huge reason why.
To me Iden Versio is a logical ally to Din Djarin, Bo Katan, Ahsoka, etc. in their fight to snuff out the Imperial Remnant factions that are currently still wreaking havoc in the Mandoverse timeline. Would not surprise me one bit to see her show up in an upcoming show. Especially since she was present during Operation Cinder and we’ve heard that mentioned in the show.
We know from Star Wars books that Iden assists the Resistance in taking down the First Order. It would make sense that she would also be fighting the Empire’s warlords that preceded the First Order as well.
It appears that her first full appearance will be in Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #32.
That’s all for today. I hope you found this interesting.
Grand Admiral Frik
