The latest Star Wars endeavour introduced a plethora of lore, with Palpatine seemingly cheating death (and not through clones as he did in Legends) whilst the Jedi were shown to be capable of healing wounds as Baby Yoda did in The Mandalorian. A lot was introduced in this finale to the sequel trilogy and, as such, there is plenty for writers of the comics to dig their teeth into.
As the Clone Wars era was expanded upon with TV shows, books, comics & games, so too should the era of the First Order and the New Republic. With that in mind, here are ten things introduced in Rise of Skywalker that should be expanded upon in the comics.
10 Palpatine's Return
Palpatine's return wasn't exactly explained. Abrams simply plopped him in the introduction of the film and left it at that. He wasn't a spirit who was split amongst various artefacts, he didn't appear to be a clone and he wasn't a Force Ghost (something Sith cannot be). So, how did he survive the plummet and subsequent explosion?
Well, that's something that Marvel could easily dig their teeth into. Darth Vader has had three runs, and Maul has had two. So, could we finally see a 'Darth Sidious' series? It would work fantastically if set after Return of the Jedi, and they could even splice it with flashbacks to his youth under Darth Plagueis the Wise.
9 Finn Being Force-Sensitive
Finn being force-sensitive was finally confirmed - the scene where Kylo notices him has so much more punch in retrospect. The iconography of him wielding a lightsaber was incredible foreshadowing but the pay-off never truly happened, as he didn't reveal his secret on-camera to Rey or ever lift up a blade as a Jedi or a 'Skywalker.'
This is something they could save for future films but the cast appears to be done with Star Wars. Disney also wants to move away from the Skywalkers and so perhaps Finn being a Jedi is something that could be further explored in the comics, although it could quite easily be expanded upon in a video-game, too.
8 Luke Training Leia As A Jedi
Luke ran a school of Jedi that was burnt down and he helped out Rey but that wasn't his only time as a teacher. His tenure truly began following Return of the Jedi as it was revealed in Rise of Skywalker that he trained Leia in the Jedi arts, albeit unsuccessfully as she abandoned that path.
Nonetheless, there's a lot of potential for telling that story and not every single comic run has to be a gigantic Spider-Man length endeavour and so Leia's time training with Luke could easily make for a captivating limited series.
7 The Story of Sheev's Son
Rise of Skywalker well and truly tried to please everyone, which is likely why it's regarded as being too safe and too pandering. Rey's parents are nobodies, but she's also a Palpatine because he's her grandad. So, at some point, that means that Sheev got it on and had a kid, but was the person he had the kid with a nobody in a brothel or someone more important to him?
Were her parents with Palpatine, or did they run away from him? There's a lot to explore with them prior to their time on Jakku, and a comic could easily expand on Rey's parentage and the Palpatine lineage.
6 Luke And Lando Looking For Exegol
Luke didn't know Palpatine was still alive, so just why were he and Lando looking for Exegol? What did they hope to achieve by discovering this Sith planet? Luke also abandoned that journey to live a life of exile, so there's a lot up in the air about what he was up to between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
That period of time is being expanded upon slowly in canon with The Mandalorian being the latest piece of work to look at that gap. However, a comic delving into Luke's various treasure hunts, as we see a glimpse of in Battlefront 2, could be something worth writing.
5 Ahsoka Tano's Time After Rebels
Ahsoka's last appearance was in Rebels and she debuted in The Clone Wars television film. At first, she wasn't exactly well-received, but over time, she developed into a fan-favourite. Whilst she wasn't an instant classic, she definitely became one, with even Abrams falling in love with the character, hence her cameo in Rise of Skywalker.
She was one of the Jedi who spoke to Rey, meaning that she's dead as everyone else who communed was a force ghost. Nonetheless, there's a lot of space between Rebels and Rise and so they could quite easily delve into her journeys between appearances, maybe even exploring how she came to her demise.
4 Rey Making Her Yellow Lightsaber
Rise of Skywalker ends with Rey turning on her new lightsaber which is made from her staff. What's interesting about it is that the blade is yellow and so, at some point, she had to venture out and find a yellow Kyber Crystal. This is a pivotal journey for any Jedi. Up until this point, Rey had simply been handed down lightsabers, never truly making her own.
The journey she undergoes to make her new saber and what the significance of its color truly is are all things that a comic could delve into, to fill in the gaps and perhaps set up a future of Skywalkers (Gray Jedi).
3 Snoke's History
Snoke is still a mystery, even if Rise of Skywalker had a shot of a bunch of tanks filled with the guy. Palpatine said that he 'made' Snoke, but does he mean that Snoke was grown in a tube, cloned from a host or that he was born from the force as Anakin was? If the latter is true, that means Palpatine can create life even if he isn't responsible for Skywalker's birth.
It's evident that he has various clones of Snoke, but is there an original? That's something that isn't known, and there's a lot of mystery and unanswered questions. Most of these would probably make sense to answer in the previously pitched Palpatine comic set after Return of the Jedi, but they could have a Snoke run if there's an original who has a rich backstory.
2 Maz Kanata Getting Luke's Lightsaber
In The Force Awakens, Maz, who is a friend to Han and likely Lando, handed Rey Luke's old Lightsaber. However, what was never explained in The Last Jedi or Rise of Skywalker was just how she got this old blade. There's not a whole lot about Maz or her relationship with Han in canon.
This is something that the comics could expand upon. Clearly she was trusted enough to keep the blade of a legend safe and so there must be a lot more to her character which would be interesting to delve into.
1 General Hux's Turn Against The First Order
Hux is no Tarkin and there are far better generals than him. He was somewhat wasted in the sequel trilogy as the actor behind him is truly phenomenal. In Rise of Skywalker, he turns on Kylo, becoming an informant for the Resistance. However, he is quickly sussed out and killed by the First Order.
Much like Phasma, he did little and died too soon. So, how could they redeem him? Well, a comic delving into the complexities of Hux, how he ended up in the First Order and why he had such a vendetta against Kylo could all make for a truly captivating read that would only enhance his character in subsequent rewatches.