Star Wars' Emperor Palpatine has his sights set on Lady Qi'ra of Crimson Dawn. However, the fan-favorite Solo: A Star Wars Story character is more than ready to put up a fight -- especially with the Knights of Ren in her corner.
Marvel Comics has released the official solicitation for the first issue of the five-part limited series Star Wars: Hidden Empire, the third and final entry in writer Charles Soule's trilogy of Star Wars tales set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Written by Soule and illustrated by Steven Cummings, Hidden Empire #1 is set to hit comic shops on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
STAR WARS: HIDDEN EMPIRE #1 (OF 5)
- CHARLES SOULE (W) • STEVEN CUMMINGS (A) • Cover by PAULO SIQUEIRA
- Variant Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS • CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY STEVEN CUMMINGS
- BATTLE VARIANT COVER BY DECLAN SHALVEY • DESTINATION VARIANT COVER BY DAVID LOPEZ
- The mysterious syndicate CRIMSON DAWN and its leader LADY QI'RA have become the galaxy's most wanted criminals, as EMPEROR PALPATINE realizes the scope of Qi'ra's plans against him and moves to destroy her.
- But Qi’ra still has tricks up her sleeve, and with the help of the KNIGHTS OF REN and her many other allies, she will not go down without a fight!
- 40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
- Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd.
Soule's trilogy began last year with Marvel's Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters, which marked the comic book debut of Qi'ra, the one-time paramour of Han Solo, who was played in the aforementioned Solo by Emilia Clarke. Qi'ra subsequently returned as a central figure in War of the Bounty Hunters' follow-up, Star Wars: Crimson Reign.
What Has Qi'ra Been Up to Since Solo?
After Han and Qi'ra parted ways in Solo, the latter went on to become the leader of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, following the death of its original leader, Maul. Qi'ra also allied herself with Ren, founder and original leader of the Knights of Ren, years prior to his demise at the hands of his successor, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. The working relationship between Qi'ra and Ren proved to be vital of the events of Crimson Reign.
"To clarify -- Ren and the Knights of Ren are not part of Crimson Dawn," Soule told CBR in a November 2021 interview pertaining to Crimson Reign. "They are working with Qi'ra and her people, to achieve a shared goal. Ren's not much of a joiner." The writer continued, "It feels spectacular to get to expand what we know about him and the Knights, especially with his appearance on TV recently as part of the Terrifying Tales holiday special on Disney+ -- as a Lego, no less! Will Sliney put a lot into him when we built him, and to see him making his way into larger storytelling is incredibly fun."
Written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Steven Cummings, Star Wars: Hidden Empire #1 goes on sale Nov. 16 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel Comics