Starting in May, and continuing from there, Marvel will be launching their first line-wide Star Wars comics crossover; War of the Bounty Hunters. Picking up some time after The Empire Strikes Back, the crossover follows the hunt for Han Solo’s carbonite-frozen self by various parties from all over the Galaxy Far Far Away.
The crossover, shepherded by writer Charles Soule, will be following various threads throughout each separate series. The War of the Bounty Hunters mini-series will follow the main plot, Boba Fett’s attempts to protect Han and ensure delivery so he can collect his reward. The main Star Wars series will center on the Rebellion’s efforts to locate and rescue Han. And Darth Vader, Doctor Aphra, and Bounty Hunters will each follow their respective players as they get engulfed in this war.
Now, if that sounds like something you’ll be interested in, allow me to give you a rundown on the major players, presented from a unique in-universe perspective.
<<From the Archive of DATA CORRUPTED>>
<<Recording of conversation between Falleen Bounty Hunter Zuuban Gruztar and unknown individual, Mos Eisley Cantina, Tatooine, 2 years post-Endor>>
<< Subject sits in a booth at the Cantina, one leg propped on a table. A long scar across his face. The data files are transcribed from a conversation regarding individuals involved in the War of the Bounty Hunters >>
So, you want to know about the War of the Bounty Hunters, eh? Well, first you need to know what was going on before it kicked off, and to do that I’ve gotta start with the man at the center of it all; Boba Fett. He’d been on assignment for the Empire, hunting Han Solo, y’know, the smuggler. After catching up with him at Cloud City, Solo got frozen in carbonite for transport to Jabba’s. There was some sort of deal arranged there, I don’t know the specifics. Anyway, Fett was escorting him, and turns out, a lot of folk wanted to catch up with the pair of them. Honestly, he’s an alright Bounty Hunter. Man of few words. But hey, most Mandos are. Well, what’s left of them after the Empire’s Great Purge of Mandalore.
One of them hunting Fett was Princess Leia, one of the Rebellion leaders. Never met her myself, always tried to stay away from royalty, and besides, the Rebels tried to avoid using Bounty Hunters as much as possible. They had Rebel covert ops for that. Now, Leia, she and Solo were a “thing” if you get my meaning? They’ve got a kid and are pretty happy now as far as the holovids say, but back then, it was a dark time. The man she loved had been captured and was gonna be sold off to the Hutts. She was trying her best to get him back but she had a Rebellion to lead and get back into fighting shape.
Then there was the big guy, the man in black, Vader. Other than failing to capture some high-value target at Cloud City for the Emperor I don’t really know what was going on with him before the War. There were rumors of course, some personal mission to Naboo against his master’s wishes. Apparently, this put him in the Emperor’s bad books. So there was a test. Vader had to regain loyalty. Now like I said, I don’t know for definite this happened, but apparently, he ended up on some ancient Sith world with Ochi. Side note, don’t meet Ochi, he’s an ass. But anyway, whatever happened there, by the time they got back, Vader was in the Emperor’s good graces once more, ready to do his master’s bidding. I’ve only ever crossed paths with his kind once, the dark brooding beam-sword-wielding types. That’s what happened to the Ol’ charmer.
<<At this point of the conversation, Zuuban Gruztar pointed to his face. Closer analysis reveals lightsaber burns>>
Now Doctor Aphra, what a gal. Never trust her with anything, absolutely nothing, you hear me? But still, what a gal! She’d been doing some work for the Tagge family, under duress, I might add, after getting one of them killed. The good doctor was on the hunt for some fabled experimental hyperdrive, from back in the High Republic days. She’d gotten one of her old flames, Sana Starros, to help her out but they’d gotten into trouble with the Unbroken Clan syndicate. Because of course Aphra would end up running afoul of yet another group of fraggin’ criminals. Bad, bad business if you ask me. But yeah, like I said, stay away from Aphra, she’ll get you killed.
And then there was Valance. “Ptoo.” Gah, I hate that cyborg. He’d been on the trail of Fett for some time but had had no luck. Cause he’s bad at his job. So you know what he did? He recruited Dengar. DENGAR! Hahahaha. He was so desperate was our Valance that he captured, then recruited the worst Bounty Hunter imaginable. It’s a shame Bossk was busy on Malastare, at least then there’d have been one competent person to try and track Fett.
So there you have it. That’s what was going on before the War, but you want to know exactly what went down don’t ya? Well, get a fresh drink kid. Get comfy. It’s a doozy, I’ve not even mentioned Durge yet…
<<Recording ends>>
To follow the adventures of these characters in War of the Bounty Hunters, check out the following books, available at all good comic stores and digital storefronts starting May 5th:
- Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Alpha #1 by Charles Soule and Steve McNiven (05/05/2021)
- Star Wars #13 by Charles Soule and Ramon Rosanas (05/12/2021)
- Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #12 by Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villanelli (05/19/2021)
- Star Wars: Darth Vader #12 by Greg Pak and Guiu Vilanova (05/26/2021)
- Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #10 by Alyssa Wong and Ray-Anthony Height (05/26/2021)
- Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 by Charles Soule and Luke Ross (06/02/2021)
