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Warning! Spoilers for Marvel’s Rise of Skywalker comic adaptation ahead!
The role of the Star Wars Expanded Universe has always been to fill the gaps and smooth over the bumps left in franchise lore by the tentpole films in the series, and Marvel’s Rise of Skywalker adaptation artfully continues that tradition, this time by offering a satisfying explanation for one of the more hyperbolic elements of Episode IX: the sudden appearance of Palpatine’s massive fleet of Star Destroyers.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #3, written by Jody Hauser, with art by Will Sliney, has underrated Sequel Trilogy character Rose deliver some expository dialogue, which gives a logistical account of how the Emperor was able to prepare his endgame fleet and have it waiting for him in the event of his resurrection after Endor.
This represents the kind of moment that the Star Wars films simply don’t have the time for, but which has always been a staple of the Expanded Universe, and a key to making the Universe as fleshed out and immersive as possible.
Marvel’s “Rise Of Skywalker” Adaptation Untangles The Logistic Questions Behind Palpatine’s Sith Fleet
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #3, Written By Jody Hauser; Art By Will Sliney; Color By GURU-eFX; Lettering By Travis Lanham
The revelation of Palpatine’s fleet in the film version of Rise of Skywalker was meant to be one of the film’s major shocks, as the filmmakers sought to push the stakes of the “finale” of the Skywalker Saga to the absolute limits in terms of the epic scope of the cinematic visuals. Yet it left many fans dissatisfied, once more complaining that the Sequel Trilogy prioritized style over substance; or, in other words, that it created a significant “plot hole.” That is, where exactly did this fleet, one of the largest ever assembled in franchise history, come from?
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As has often been the case in Star Wars history, this problem was left to the writers of the Expanded Universe to come up with an elegant solution, and Marvel’s Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #3 takes its best shot at answering this question. “I’ve been going through old Imperial navy records,” Rose tells Leia in the issue, and that in its own right is significant, because it is the kind of technical activity that the fast-paced films of the franchise, especially Episodes VII-IX, rarely accounted for. What this does is set a foundation for the explanation that is forthcoming.
Palpatine’s “Rise Of Skywalker” Fleet Was The Product Of Decades Of Resource Appropriation Across The Galaxy
The Empire’s Greatest Secret Project
“There are dozens of Imperial shipyards with gaps in the material records,” Rose tells Leia in The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #3, noting that there were “entire construction stores missing,” before putting two and two together and stating, “If I was building a secret fleet, I’d spread out my material acquisitions just like this.” In other words, even at the height of his power, Palpatine was carefully and steadily appropriating resources from throughout his Empire to put together a super-secret fleet of extreme loyalists for the final confrontation with the forces of good he envisioned.
Star Wars has never been fully beholden to explaining, or exploring, the economic dimensions of its galaxy-wide governments and conflicts, but there is always something to be gained from when Star Wars stories do acknowledge these things.
As a sci-fi franchise, Star Wars has never been fully beholden to explaining, or exploring, the economic dimensions of its galaxy-wide governments and conflicts, but there is always something to be gained from when Star Wars stories do acknowledge these things. That is why this moment in the Rise of Skywalker comic stands out; it takes something that was, at best, hand-waved away (Jedi mind-trick style) by the films, and at worst, incoherently plotted, and at least attempts to filter it through a perspective that makes it make sense to hardcore fans.
The “Rise Of Skywalker” Comic Is Essential Reading For Fans Who Didn’t Love The Film
A Deeper Dive Into The Skywalker Saga’s Climax
As much as it was meant to be a definitive capstone on the Star Wars film saga, at least for the time being, Rise of Skywalker left many fans with more questions than answers. The long-delayed comic book adaptation of the film has been an exciting elaboration on the plot of the film, but it has been made essential reading by the lore-details, like with Palpatine’s fleet, that it has delivered to readers. In this way, it has become an essential Star Wars Expanded Universe artifact, one that might even supercede the movie for some among the fandom.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
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