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"Evacuate? Never! The very idea is treasonous. We shall prevail -- in the name of the Galactic Empire!"
Grand Moff Tarkin
Star Wars 6
Star Wars Vol 1 6
Vital statistics
Series Star Wars
Title "Is This -- The Final Chapter?"
Volume 1
Number 6
Cover date December, 1977
Cover price .35
Publisher Marvel Comics
Credits
Editor-in-Chief Archie Goodwin
Writers Roy Thomas; George Lucas [1]
Pencilers Howard Chaykin
Inkers Rick Hoberg; Bill Wray
Cover Artists Dave Cockrum; Rick Hoberg
Colorists Paty Cockrum
Letterers Carol Lay; Mike Royer
Editors Roy Thomas; Archie Goodwin
Issue navigation
Previous Star Wars #5
Next Star Wars #7


Plot[]

The Rebel Alliance only has thirty minutes until the Death Star is in range to fire its super-laser at the fourth moon of Yavin, destroying the Alliance once and for all. A squad of X-Wing fighters depart from the moon ready to do battle with the Death Star. Slipping past the space station's magnetic fields, the pilots of Blue Group skim the surface of the Death Star in search of their target - a small thermal exhaust port. Arcing his X-wing into the Death Star trench, Luke fires his ship's laser cannons, setting off a mild explosion that erupts too close to ship. Unable to avoid it, Luke passes through the explosion, but emerges unscathed.

Aboard the Death Star, an Imperial officer address Darth Vader and informs him that the X-Wings are so small that they are evading the station's turbo-lasers. Vader instructs him to fight the Rebels ship-to-ship. Afterward, he decides to join the fight himself and mans his own personal TIE fighter.

General Dodonna sends a message to the group warning them of the oncoming enemy fighters. The first TIE fighter goes after Biggs Darklighter, who angles his ship upward away from the Death Star trench. The TIE almost has him, but Luke swoops in and blasts the ship to pieces, saving Biggs' life.

Another TIE fighter shoots down Blue Four, marking the first enemy kill of the day. It then screams towards Luke's ship and spits out twin streams of laser fire. Wedge Antilles destroys the fighter, saving Luke's life. Another ship however, successfully takes down the ship flown by Tono "Piggy" Porkins. Biggs swears to avenge his friend's life.

Approaching the target site, Blue Leader is the first to take a pass. He fires his proton torpedoes, but the shot misses. Darth Vader's TIE fighter veers up from out of nowhere and blasts Blue Leader's ship to pieces. The only fighters left are Luke, Biggs and Wedge.

On the Death Star, a commander informs Governor Tarkin that there is a viable, yet small danger that the Rebels might be able to exploit a weakness in the Death Star's defenses. He asks if he should have Tarkin's ship prepped for evacuation. Tarkin scoffs, confident that the Rebel Alliance will be nothing but ashes within the next few minutes.

Outside, Luke hears the disembodied voice of the late Obi-Wan Kenobi telling him "Trust your feelings, Luke." Biggs, Wedge and he make another pass at the Death Star trench. Biggs' ship falls behind and Darth Vader catches him in his sights. Luke watches in anger as Biggs' X-Wing explodes before him. Wedge's ship malfunctions and he is forced to drop back. Darth Vader and two more TIE fighters bear down on Luke as they approach the target site. From out of nowhere, the Millennium Falcon appears and blasts one of the TIE fighters. The ship spirals into its partner, which then crashes and explodes into the wall of the trench. Another shot disables Darth Vader's ship and it spins out of control. Vader is forced to leave the scene of battle. The freighter's pilot Han Solo tells Luke to "blow this thing, so we can all go home!" With no more enemy ships to hamper him, Luke is free to attack the Death Star directly. He closes his eyes and uses the Force to guide his shot. The proton torpedo sinks into the exhaust port and creates a chain reaction that runs through the entire battle station. Luke only has a few moments to get his ship clear before the Death Star explodes into a billion pieces.

The heroes return to Yavin's fourth moon and a grand celebration is held honoring Han and Luke and their victory over the Death Star.

Appearances[]

Featured Characters:

  • Blue Group

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • Proton torpedoes
  • Turbo lasers

Vehicles:

Notes & Trivia[]

  • The events from this issue take place in Year 0 BBY.
  • Many of the proper names used in this article are taken from the Star Wars Expanded Universe material and are not actually used in the content of this issue.
  • The scene presented on the cover to this issue does not actually take place in either the inside story or the film from which it is based. Luke doesn't (canonically) face Darth Vader until The Empire Strikes Back.
  • The X-wing figher squadron are designated as Blue Group in this issue, whereas in the film they are identified as Red Group.
  • A reference is made to "hunting womp-rats on Tatooine. Luke compared this to attacking the Death Star in issue #5.
  • This is the only time that Porkins is referred to by the name Tono Porkins. In other Expanded Universe material, he is identified as Jek Porkins. In an effort to reconcile the differences, some sources have established Tono as Jek's middle name.
  • In the film, the Rebel defense consisted of a larger battle squadron than just the six X-Wing pilots shown in this issue. Blue Group was supplemented by a squadron of Y-Wing fighters who are not present in this issue.

Reprints[]

This issue is reprinted in the following comic books and comic book collections:

See also[]

Media

The World of Star Wars

Star Wars miscellaneous

External Links[]

References[]

  1. Lucas is not actually credited in the issue, but is credited here as this issue adapts material from his film
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