Empire to Jedi – Star Wars #51 (Sept 1981) – “Resurrection of Evil”

6 responses to “Empire to Jedi – Star Wars #51 (Sept 1981) – “Resurrection of Evil””

1. Another fine episode folks. One of the great things about this podcast is, it has encouraged me to go back and re-read these issues, and see them in a new light, picking up on things I didn’t notice or never really thought about. For instance, in this issue, why were Luke, Leia, Chewie and the droids picked for this mission? Yes, yes, I know, they survived the original Death Star.
   So what? I mean think about it. What about their capture and escape from the Death Star gives them an adventure over trained spies or saboteurs? Sure they escorted the Death Star plans being held inside R2-D2, but they didn’t initially steal those plans. They didn’t gather any worthwhile information or intel while aboard the Death Star. Even if this story had been about a second Death Star, There must have been better trained, better equipped, and more experienced rebel agents to send on this mission. The real reason they were chosen was because, they are THE characters the fans wanted to read about. Had this story been written in the 90s or later, we probably would have gotten a new team of original rebel heroes.
   As for naming the new super weapon The Tarkin, if I hadn’t owned The Star Wars Storybook, that had pictures and brief bios of the main cast on the first page, I never would have known it was named for Peter Cushing’s character all those years ago. They would have had to name it, That Old Guy Who Ordered Everone Around On The Death Star.

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2. When comes to Star Wars books I skip around .
   I read splinters of the minds eye and then the after that truce at (can’t remember how spell the last word ). I’m sure shag know the book it’s takes place like the next after return of Jedi .
   Also also shag here’s
   A
   Little game for you if want to play
   Here a example
   Scott hall aka razor Ramon would be smuggler
   In Star Wars universe.
   All give every one four random wrestlers and
   They can decide what there job would be in Star Wars universe bonus points for figuring out where in time line there and there
   Alignment inside, but like whose line is it anyways the points don’t matter.
   Kerry von Erich : aka the Texas tornado
   James sugar bear Harris aka Kamala
   Scott stiener aka big papa pump
   I didn’t add in there finishing holds
   As would bin to easy if did
   Hint look up Kerry’s hold in world class championship wrestling not his finisher as Texas tornado they are different.
   Here’s a easy one for
   Shag
   The macho man Randy savage
   Finishing move elbow drop form the top rope .
   Where and when would put him Star Wars universe shag and what he be .
   Even if you’re not a wrestling fan, you have seen the macho man he was bone saw in Spider-Man

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3. I finally listened to all of the NPR Star Wars shows earlier this! They rules (even Jedi) and I wholeheartedly endorse covering those on the podcast!

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4. Shout out to Shag and Pat for a great podcast. To answer pat’s question, I originally read most of the “Legend” novels by publication date, since i was buying them as they came out. I’m now working on completing those books (only 8 more to go!) and then I plan to read them all in chronological order for a different experience. I found myself empathizing with Shag’s video game struggles. I wanted so badly to be good at them, to lose myself for hours on end in a galaxy far, far, away, but alas – they are not my forte either. The only video game I ever excelled at was Ribbit King on the GameCube – much to the consternation of my family. We all loved playing that one together but I was the one to beat.

   While I didn’t go rushing to any WEG handbooks, I too nerded out a bit when the AT-ST opened fire on the Luke’s X-Wing. My brain start wondering what the recycle rate was on a Walker’s cannons curious at the number of shots it would take to break the starfighter’s defense shields. I can’t imagine it would have taken much longer and Shag’s research seemed to agree. Then I apparently left my logical brain behind because I didn’t even question General Rieekan’s choice of our heroes to assault the Tarkin. But you two were right, it would have made much more sense for only one of them to go (I nominate R2-D2) partnered instead with a couple trained rebel commandos to destroy the superweapon. And speaking of superweapons and Star Wars books…wasn’t Kevin J Anderson’s 1995 Darksaber novel almost exactly this, except it was the Hutts building the Death Star’s superlaser? Makes one wonder if KJA also grew up reading Marvel Star Wars comics.

   Until next time!

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5. Another great episode and really enjoyable comic.

   I think this cover was the first time we saw the AT-ST in action. In the movie it just walks by in one or two shots.

   The first two radio dramas are firmly within the show’s Empire to Jedi theme because they were initially released in early ‘81 and early ‘83.

   You would be committing podcast malpractice to not include them in this era.

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6. I started collecting Marvel’s Star Wars series with #104 and also had a few back issues given to me by some kids in my neighborhood. Mostly stuff from the Jo Duffy era and only a couple from the Micheline era. It was in my back issue hunt that I really got to buy and experience this era of stories, and I remember being delighted by most of them, including this “To Take the Tarkin” 2-parter. It’s fun to read about how the Marvel writers would come up with very logical ideas, such as “Yeah, why wouldn’t the Empire create a new Death Star and eliminate that pesky thermal exhaust port weakness?” And then the Lucasfilm folks having to be like “Uh, nope, you can’t do that, can’t tell you why, but you can’t.” And of course, the later EU novelverse would also go here with a very similar “Death Star cannon with minimal extra stuff” concept in the Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson (I think you guys mentioned this). Speaking of the EU novels, I got into them right when Heir to the Empire came out. My mom worked at a bookstore, knew already that Timothy Zahn was a good sci-fi writer, gave me a heads-up, and she could get me a copy right when they came out. I still the OG hardcover copies she got for me (and much, much later, I got that copy of Heir to the Empire signed by Zahn himself! He was delighted it was a first edition.). I pretty much read all the EU novels up until the end of the New Jedi Order/Yuuzahn Vong novels, and I had to stop there. I was very burnt out, and I realized I kinda like Luke and the gang being done in ROTJ and not having to fight like 500 more wars. Wayyyy too much death and destruction and I was weary of it. I haven’t been able to pick up any of the newer novels in the Disney continuity for the same reason…just burned out on it, especially when it’s very similar ground covered already by the Marvel Comics or the EU novels: Luke establishing a new Jedi order, Han and Leia having kids and their kid(s) being powerful Force users, dealing with the remains of the Empire, the return of Boba Fett, the founding of the Alliance of Free Planets/New Republic…it’s all been DONE. Done SO many times already. I don’t want to read the 95th version of these same ideas. Btw, I don’t know if you know about the blog Gentlemen of Leisure by Austin Gordon but he has a very nice series of issue-by-issue reviews of this series. He had a really good point about this era of the comics: they keep going on missions in the Millennium Falcon, a very recognizable and known spacecraft to the Empire, and walking around with a Wookiee, not a common alien species to encounter since most of them are enslaved by the Empire. It kinda doesn’t make sense, but for the fun of the story, we just have to go with it. Also, about Luke’s lightsaber: the newer Marvel Comics Star Wars series actually has Luke going on a post-ESB quest to obtain a lightsaber, so at least those writers thought about it and used it for story fodder, unlike the Marvel writers who apparently just hoped no one would notice, LOL.

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