Every installment of Abandoned Love we will be examining comic book stories, plots and ideas that were abandoned by a later writer while still acknowledging that the abandoned story DID still happen. Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of Abandoned Love. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.

This time around, based on a suggestion from reader Ian P., we take a look at Marvel's Star Wars comics and how they had to deal with the later revelation that Luke and Leia, who the comics had begun to develop as a romantic pairing, were actually brother and sister. This one is TRULY an "abandoned love"!

Obviously, in the first Star Wars film, Luke and Leia were not only not siblings, but there was a love triangle established between Luke, Leia and Han Solo.

The Marvel Star Wars comic book series followed up on that approach, as seen most famously in Star Wars #23 (by Archie Goodwin, Carmine Infantino and Bob Wiacek)...





and then in Star Wars #25 (by Goodwin, Infantino and Gene Day)...







"Thanks, flyboy"!

The series than mostly kept the various characters apart a lot, but even after Empire Strikes Back came out and the hint of a link between Luke and Leia was first established (as well as Leia declaring her love for Han Solo publicly), their relationship was a bit different. In Star Wars #60 (by David Michelinie, Walter Simonson and Tom Palmer), Leia appears to be jealous of Luke's new lady friend, Shira...



She admits as much the next issue...





A few issues later, while Luke is lamenting Shire's apparent death, he and Leia have an interesting moment...





Then came Return of the Jedi.

Read on to see how they dropped the love triangles...

Then, with Return of the Jedi fast approaching, there is a marked change in the series beginning with issue #68, as now it is Han/Leia as the "One True Pairing"...



Luke says as much in #71...



Even the furry telepathic alien knows the deal...



Finally, Return of the Jedi spells it out...





Oddly enough, the Star Wars comic did not get around to addressing this new relationship for quite a while, choosing to split the heroes up again. It was not until Star Wars #90 (by Jo Duffy, Bob McLeod and Tom Palmer) that we have Luke and Leia talk about their familial bond...





Thanks to Ian for this amusing suggestion! If YOU have a suggestion for a future edition of Abandoned Love, drop me a line at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!