Summary
When Obi-Wan Kenobi cruelly left Anakin to die on Mustafar, a monster was born; now,Leia Organa’sown cruel act has created a new monstrous shadow. Left to be eaten alive by an arachnid alien beast, through sheer force and will, one Imperial Officer clawed her way to freedom, but not without enduring horrific disfigurement.
Marvel’sStar Wars#49– written by Charles Soule, with art by Jethro Morales – follows the final fleetingmoments of the Galactic Civil Warright beforeReturn of the Jedibegins.
Long after Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin’s death upon the Death Star I, his protégée, an Imperial Officer named Ellian Zahra, wages a personal war against the one person she blamed most of all for her mentor’s death: Leia However, Zahra and Organa’s long-standing conflict met a seemingly brutal end whenLeia left Zahra to die alone in a cave,in a moment that darkly echoed her father’s brutal defeat at Mustafar.
During the production of the Prequel Trilogy,Star Warscreator George Lucas once famously noted that the franchise is“like poetry… it rhymes.”
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Leia’s Dynamic With Her Imperial Nemesis Reflects Anakin Skywalker’s Fall At Mustafar
Star Wars#49 – Written By Charles Soule; Art By Jethro Morales, Rachelle Rosenberg, & Clayton Cowles
Zahra freed herself from her confines as the alien beast’s acidic saliva melted through her flesh, purely so that she could exact her revenge against Leia.
Prior toStar Wars #49, Leia Organa continues to struggle to overcome the trauma ofwatching Alderaan’s destruction. She consistently has horrific nightmares that implicateone man she solely blames even more than Darth Vader: Grand Moff Tarkin. However, after achieving her own revenge with the first Death Star’s destruction, Tarkin’s pupil struggles to process the death of her mentor, whom she looked up to as a father figure. When their back-and-forth conflict turned in Leia’s favor, the rebel general gave a heartless speech to her helpless enemy before walking away, leaving Zahra behind screaming for help.
Exactly like howMaul and Vader defied deaththrough sheer will and pure hatred, Zahra freed herself from her confines as the alien beast’s acidic saliva melted through her flesh, purely so that she could exact her revenge against Leia. Left without an arm and a leg, and with half of her body heavily scarred from acid burns, Zahra slayed the creature and hobbled her way to freedom.In the preview ofStar Wars#49, readers are finally told the horrific details of Zahra’s escape, as Leia quietly sinks to the ground with nothing to say to her rivalrous enemy.
Princess Leia Created Her Own Personal Darth Vader By Leaving Her Enemy To Die
Zahra Will Do Anything To Avenge Tarkin – And Now Herself
Zahra, despite her obvious alliance with evil, wanted to kill Leia but in an honorable one-on-one battle. What Princess Leia chose to do with that opportunity went against everything the fledgling Republic considers her to be.
Now, after being presumed dead for the previous 24 issues, Zahra returns with a terrifying new look reminiscent ofa prototype of Darth Vader’s armor. The ex-Imperial, abandoned by the Empire for her previous failings, now requires two cybernetic limbs and a neural prosthetic to replace a missing ear. Likewise, what can be seen of her body is noticeably disfigured with heavy scarring. Equipped with a burning red blade and an opportunity to destroy Leia’s reputation,Zahra has the rebel leader in her grasp and is ready to trade in her prize for redemption.
While readers already know who eventually wins, these moments succeed at breaking down the galaxy’s greatest heroes into more realistic depictions of soldiers, caught in the physical and moral battlegrounds of war. Leia, like her brother, isn’t infallible and is capable of cruelty. Zahra, despite her obvious alliance with evil, wanted to kill Leia but in an honorable one-on-one battle. WhatPrincess Leiachose to do with that opportunity went against everything the fledgling Republic considers her to be and every lesson of nobilitythat Luke tries to teach, and that’s exactly what Ellian Zahra wishes to expose to the galaxy.
Star Wars#49will be available on June 29, 2025 from Marvel Comics.
Leia Organa
The daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Leia inherited her mother’s political skills and her father’s Force power. She was raised on Alderaan as a member of the royal family, and followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming a senator who secretly worked alongside the Rebel Alliance. Alderaan’s destruction changed everything, and Leia became a leader in both the Rebel Alliance and its successor government, the New Republic. She served there for decades, eventually leaving to found the First Order when she sensed its darkness growing. Leia gave much for her ideals, but eventually gave her life to redeem her son Ben.
