One of the most beloved (and wildly contentious) multimedia franchises is kicking off a new era of stories with Star Wars #1, the debut issue of Marvel Comics’ first (but certainly not last) relaunch under the Disney-owned continuity. Picking up immediately after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars #1 is a slick book with strong characterizations of established icons, and some cool new ideas. However, it suffers from the constraints of the overwrought state of Star Wars canon.

To be fair, Star Wars, in all of its incarnations, is notoriously byzantine in terms of plotting and lore (especially in the Expanded Universe era). On the other hand, it’s also conveniently vague when it’s trying to avoid stepping on the toes of established stories or making room for explorations outside the core Skywalker Saga.

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Considering all the cooks in the space kitchen, it’s actually pretty impressive how cohesive the new era of stories really are. And yes, you can nitpick that claim until there’s nothing left but sun-bleached bones, but what other grand continuity that includes movies, TV shows, novels, comics and video games keeps so many plates spinning? It’s impressive, but it’s also the reason why the vast majority of Star Wars comics feel hobbled by their own world.

What unfolds on the screen in a billion dollar Marvel Cinematic Universe film has zero direct narrative impact on what occurs in the print analog of the same property. Sure, one might influence the other, but the comics and movies operate on two different playing fields. The T’Challa in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther exists in a different world than the royal hero in Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze’s concurrent comic book run.

Star Wars, on the other hand, has to adhere to rigid lanes with its storytelling. That leads to a lot of wheel-spinning and talented writers and artists trying their best to make it entertaining.

Star Wars #1 mostly succeeds on that front. Charles Soule’s script is strong, despite a few saggy bits and some on-the-nose dialogue choices. The tenuous banter between Leia, Chewbacca and Lando after the capture of Han Solo is pretty great, and feels true to the characters. Luke’s emotional response to having the biggest revelation in the Star Wars universe dropped on him is also handled beautifully.

However, a lot of the Empire and Rebel stuff (the actual war in Star Wars) is rather pedestrian and littered with first-draft names for technology, which is a hallmark of the franchise at this point. Moments focused on new Star Destroyer commanders or Rebel leaders feel more like filler than world-building. The notable exception here is the character Commander Zahra, who is clearly on track to be our heroes’ foil for the time being. Zahra shows signs of being a classic ,stoic Empire villain in the same vein as Grand Admiral Thrawn or Grand Moff Tarkin. It's a common archetype in Star Wars, but it's always a welcome addition to the mix. Evil authoritarians make the best bad guys in both fiction and history.

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The most impressive aspect of Star Wars #1 might be its artwork. Jesus Saiz (Doctor Strange) does a fantastic job of approximating the cast of The Empire Strikes Back without making it look like he copied the actors’ heads and pasted them on comic book bodies. The ships and tech look stellar and the whole ordeal feels very Star Wars, which is all you can really ask for in terms of aesthetic from this era of story. Sure it’s nothing new, but it’s done really well. The colors by Arif Prianto and Saiz, which sample heavily from the muted pallet of The Empire Strikes Back, play nicely here.

Books like Star Wars #1 ask the reader things like: How invested are we really in the Skywalker Saga? At what point have we had our fill of the Age of Rebellion? If the canon of Star Wars is to be treated as something precious, then why are we idling here? Speaking from pure conjecture, Disney and Marvel's answers to those questions is that they're most likely business decisions that aren't solely motivated by creative goals. As well constructed as this book is (again, it’s a rather good issue of Star Wars overall), there is nothing new to see here. Of course, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Yet, when it’s one we’ve taken a few times, maybe it’s time for a new trip.

Star Wars #1 is available now.

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