Marvel’s Star Wars Has To Explore New Eras
Marvel has been pushing the boundaries of Star Wars continuity through a range of fantastic comics, but the publisher keeps sticking to the same eras.
The Star Wars galaxy is embracing a new era on the silver screen, as the New Republic dominates the Disney+ streaming shows. While the big screen Lucasfilm adventures have portrayed the fall of the Republic, the formation of the Empire, and the rise of the Resistance, the comics have cemented these eras in Star Wars lore. Marvel has received the keys to the kingdom, and while other comic companies like IDW and the returning Dark Horse have published their own Star Wars contributions, Marvel continues to limit itself.
The Star Wars movies and TV shows have repeatedly become the franchise experiments, but the comics have the potential to continue creating and exploring new eras. It’s important that mainstream readers and hardcore fans alike get to discover other time periods within the galaxy far, far away. By taking readers to uncharted time periods in the far reaches of the Star Wars lore, Marvel will continue to rejuvenate the franchise and open the door for other storytelling opportunities.
When Disney acquired the Star Wars brand, it was crystal clear that significant changes were to be made to the lore of the universe. Disney wiped the slate clean, leaving only the animated shows like The Clone Wars and the live-action movies behind. The Expanded Universe had once housed an impressive array of comics, each of which explored new Star Wars territory. From the Old Republic to beyond the collapse of the Empire, some of the best storytelling could be found on the page. When Lucasfilm needed a new timeline built, with years of history, Disney turned to Marvel to control the continuity in the comic book medium. Marvel’s contributions have been defined by major events like Dark Droids, and the debut of exciting new characters such as Doctor Aphra. But the company hasn’t taken enough risks when looking at where they tell these stories. Eras are so important in Star Wars because they define the characters, conflicts, and events that are vital to the continuity. This makes it strange that Marvel has yet to branch out more.
It makes sense that Marvel started off small-scale with their publishing slate. Most Star Wars fans will be primarily familiar with the era surrounding the original trilogy, especially throughout the reign of the Empire. There’s a lot of room to tell unique narratives within that space, even with characters readers are familiar with. The prequel trilogy also inspired a few spinoffs, although The Clone Wars animated series had covered plenty of ground there. Although a range of Star Wars eras have been portrayed via Marvel Comics in limited runs, the Age of the Rebellion has been the top focus. That appears to be a directive from the very top, since other areas of the franchise, such as the video game slate, are equally obsessed with the Galactic Civil War. The more this period gets tapped for content, the less engaging it may be, regardless of originality.
This obsession with the Rebellion might be a valid criticism of Marvel’s comics thus far, but it’s also fair to point out Lucasfilm has crafted a new era to dominate that space. The High Republic publishing initiative was initially designed to draw more viewers to the comics and the books. It has been a massive success and is now influencing TV shows and video games. Fans have fully embraced this brand-new backdrop and roster of characters and have engaged with this era of the timeline on every level. Debates about the reading order for The High Republic aside, Marvel’s role in this scheme proved how creative they can be when they’re allowed to play around with a new time period. There are fewer limitations and more potential to add something compelling to Star Wars lore. However, rather than recognize audiences want to see different aspects of the canon timeline, Marvel and Lucasfilm have dialed down and expanded the array of High Republic titles.
The beautiful thing about Star Wars is that everyone has a different interpretation of the franchise. The comics should be a space where various creative minds get to display their own iteration of Star Wars, experimenting with unique characters, worlds, arcs, and eras to tell their stories. It worked with The High Republic, but unless readers want to keep diving into the Empire’s reign, they may run out of steam. There’s no sign Marvel will change direction now, but they really should. The Disney+ shows have given a lot of attention to the New Republic age, but there are very few comics set within that time. There are enormous gaps in the continuity throughout the First Order’s period of control, but aside from what the sequel trilogy covered, stories from that era remain limited. Disney and Lucasfilm aim to tell other tales at the dawn of the Jedi and concerning Rey’s new Order in upcoming projects. The comics have the chance to contribute to these arcs and inform the audience of additional aspects of Jedi lore. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be on the cards either.
Star Wars is a big franchise, and Marvel Comics is a valuable asset that should be used to its full potential. The comic book company should use their comics as a testing ground, experimenting with new concepts that could influence other mediums. There are obvious reasons Lucasfilm might seem hesitant to take this approach, considering major changes to the lore might have less coverage when portrayed in the comics. There’s perhaps a worry that most fans would miss out on major plot points if they happened on the page rather than the screen. The attention given to both the High Republic and the major events from the Empire’s reign proves audiences are open to other methods of storytelling. They want something new and the unlimited potential of an era they’ve never even seen before is an exciting prospect to consider. Star Wars has always continued to evolve and expand. Marvel Comics should follow suit and branch out more.
