Star Wars 1 : Skywalker Strikes Star Wars 1 : Skywalker Strikes is the first issue of the Marvel comic book series " Star Wars " and the first of six issues in the series ' . The comic takes place in and during the events of and and features all of the major characters from the original film . It is written by Jason Aaron , with artwork by John Cassaday and was released on January 14 , 2015 . " Skywalker Strikes " shows the beginnings of a Rebel Alliance assault on the moon Cymoon 1 . The Rebels — Han Solo , Leia Organa , Luke Skywalker , Chewbacca , R2 - D2 , and C - 3PO — infiltrate and intend to destroy a weapons factory , but their plans change upon the arrival of Darth Vader — whom Skywalker intends to fight , still believing that the Dark Lord of the Sith killed his father . It marked the start of Marvel ' s new slew of Star Wars titles , which also include , , , and many more . It was released with many variant covers , most exclusive to a specific comic book store . Publisher ' s summary . " Luke Skywalker and the ragtag band of rebels fighting against the Galactic Empire are fresh off their biggest victory yet — the destruction of the massive battle station known as the Death Star . But the Empire ' s not toppled yet ! Join Luke along with Princess Leia , smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca , droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 and the rest of the Rebel Alliance as they strike out for freedom against the evil forces of Darth Vader and his master , the Emperor . Written by Jason Aaron ( Original Sin , Thor : God of Thunder ) and with art by John Cassaday ( Astonishing X - Men , Uncanny Avengers ) , this is the Star Wars saga as only Marvel Comics could make it ! " Plot summary . In the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance , in which Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star , the Rebels use their decisive victory as a catalyst to try to destroy the Empire once and for all . The Empire , meanwhile , wants to use Jabba the Hutt as a weapons supplier and has arranged for an Imperial negotiator to meet with Jabba ' s emissary at Weapons Factory Alpha on the moon Cymoon 1 , part of the Corellian Industrial Cluster . The emissary ' s ship was hijacked by the Rebels , however , and they intend to infiltrate the weapons factory — the largest in the galaxy — and destroy it to deliver another blow to the Imperial war machine . The hijacked ship arrives on Cymoon 1 , where it is authorized to land at the weapons factory . Imperial Overseer Aggadeen , a squadron of stormtrooper s , and a LOM - series protocol droid stand ready to greet the " emissary . " The Imperials are an unwilling ally of Jabba ' s criminal empire and Aggadeen , mistrustful of the ship orders his stormtroopers to eliminate the emissary at the first sign of suspicion . When the ship lands , the emissary reveals himself to be Han Solo , still claiming to work for Jabba the Hutt . The Imperials confirm his identity and affiliation and bring him and his bodyguards — a disguised Skywalker and Prince ss Leia Organa — into the facility , along with R2 - D2 . In addition to the three Rebels in the facility , Chewbacca stands ready as a sniper , having arrived in the " Millennium Falcon " , which is being watched by C - 3PO . Once inside the facility , the Rebels are shown the automated TIE / ln space superiority starfighter assembly line . As they walk through it , the Overseer explains that there will be no negotiation , and that Jabba will be forced to accept the terms that the Empire gives him . The Overseer tells them to wait in a conference room for the " negotiator " to arrive , but Solo tells him that he was right : there will be no negotiations . Artoo sprays a liquid onto the floor and electrocutes it , shocking the stormtroopers standing in the liquid . Skywalker and Organa fight the remaining troopers , while Solo reveals to the Overseer that they are Rebels and demands to know where the facility ' s main power core is located . The Overseer refuses at first , but Artoo threatens to electrocute him , so the officer points them in the right direction before Organa punches him . The Rebels make their way towards the power core , where they plan to destroy both it and the entire facility . Solo contacts Threepio for a status report , and the protocol droid tells him that the " Millennium Falcon " is safely hidden in a large refuse field outside of the facility . Solo orders him to be on alert , so the droid can engage the ship ' s auto - pilot once the Rebels are ready to leave . When the Rebels arrive in the power core , Organa tells Artoo to hack into the Imperial computer and shut down the core ' s safety restraints . As Artoo works on the computer , Skywalker watches for additional Imperial troops , using what little he knows of the Force to reach out and sense any nearby presence . The Force leads him to a cage filled with Imperial slaves , where he is confronted by a guard . The Jedi trainee attempts to use a mind trick to ward off the guard , repeating the action he once saw Obi - Wan Kenobi use on Tatooine , but he fails at doing so . Instead , Skywalker ignites his lightsaber and cuts off the guard ' s hand , allowing Skywalker to break the slaves out of their cage and lead them to the other Rebels . Artoo successfully lowers the safety restraints and Solo sets the power core to overload in ten minutes . Organa thanks him for helping the Rebellion again , particularly because the Empire now knows that he is working with the Alliance . As they talk , Skywalker returns with the slaves . Solo orders Threepio to turn on the auto - pilot so the " Falcon " can pick them up before the core overloads , but Chewbecca interrupts him and says that an Imperial shuttle has arrived . The shuttle carries the Imperial " negotiator : " Darth Vader , the Dark Lord of the Sith . Solo tells Chewbacca to stand down and avoid taking a shot at Vader , as he knows that the facility will be on alert if Vader is made a target , but Organa orders otherwise and commands the Wookiee to kill the Dark Lord . Chewbacca takes the shot , but Vader deflects it with his lightsaber . Chewbacca continues firing and Vader throws stormtroopers into the line of fire to avoid being hit himself . Vader uses the Force to tear apart the building that Chewbacca is standing on top of , forcing the Wookiee to flee . Vader orders the entire moon to be on alert and senses Skywalker , recognizing his presence as the man who destroyed the Death Star . Unable to contact Chewbacca , and with the entire facility on alert , Solo orders Threepio to engage the auto - pilot and pick the Rebels up . Threepio has already tried doing so , however , but native scavengers have begun tearing apart the " Falcon " in the refuse field , preventing the auto - pilot from working . Stormtroopers arrive at the Rebels ' location , forcing them to blast their way towards safety . The Rebels enter a hangar housing AT - AT walkers , one of which Solo plans to commandeer in order to get out of the facility before it explodes . As they begin loading onto the walker , Organa realizes that Skywalker is no longer with them . He is searching for Vader elsewhere in the facility , as he still believes that Vader is the man who killed his father . As Skywalker approaches the Dark Lord , he hears Kenobi ' s voice speak to him from beyond . Skywalker comes face to face with his father ' s so - called killer , and Kenobi tells him to run . Development . In celebration of " Star Wars " Day on May 4 , 2016 , Marvel re - released " Star Wars " 1 as part of its " True Believers " budget reprint program , which reprints popular comic titles for the suggested retail price of $ 1 . Reception . " Star Wars 1 : Skywalker Strikes " has been positively received . Based on 21 critic reviews , " Skywalker Strikes " received a 9 . 0 critics ' rating out of 10 on the review aggregator Comicbook Round Up . Tony Guerrero of Comic Vine , who rated the comic a 10 , stated that Marvel faced " the challenge of delivering a STAR WARS comic with a lot of high expectations surrounding it and they have succeeded , " creating a comic that " feels like a true " Star Wars " story . " David Pepose of Newsarama , who rated the comic a 10 said that " Skywalker Strikes " is a " master class " in how to make a good first impression and that it " feels like a reunion with some long - absent friends . " Likewise , Chase Magnett of ComicBook . com , who rated the comic a 10 , said " Skywalker Strikes " " captures the tone and feel of the films , while beginning a story that fits seamlessly into the beloved universe . " Joshua Yehl of IGN , who gave the comic an 8 . 5 , said that " At times the characters behave illogically to provide an excuse for a neat action scene or plot twist , but overall they are faithful representations that are as entertaining to watch in the comic as they were in the movies . " He further stated that the comic , at times , " feels like watching an unreleased " Star Wars " movie . " In a negative review , Chris Wilson of Major Spoilers , who rated the comic 4 . 7 , said he felt the art was " extremely poor and not what I expect from a high profile book and creator , " and that while " it ' s a decent story " he found fault with " the lack of tension or stakes due to taking place in the middle of a story we know the ending to . " By the time of its release , " Star Wars 1 " was the top selling comic of 2015 , with over one million copies sold . This also made it the top selling comic from any publisher in the previous twenty years . According to David Gonzales of " Forbes " , a leading business and financial publication , the fact that " a single issue of a comic book could sell 1 million printed copies in the current comic book selling market is frankly staggering . "