The Star Wars universe continued to grow in other media like comics and novels following the release of the original trilogy. These stories fleshed out the movie saga and extended years beyond in a beloved continuity that was originally known as the Expanded Universe before it was rebranded as Legends.
While the timeline and characters of the Expanded Universe are no longer considered canon, in-continuity comic stories are still being created that further explore the Rebellion era. We'll take a look at comics from both Legends and the ongoing canon series that expand on the events and characters from the original trilogy.
10 Marvel's Original Star Wars Series Explored Unknown Stories From The Original Trilogy
Marvel launched the first Star Wars ongoing comic series in 1977 with an adaptation of A New Hope from comic greats like Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Archie Goodwin, Carmine Infantino and many more.
The long-running series featured a number of original stories that occurred during the events of the original trilogy and introduced fan-favorite characters like Lady Lumiya that would even appear in stories from Dark Horse, further highlighting some of the great additions to the Skywalker Saga that were introduced by Marvel's original run.
9 River Of Chaos Follows Princess Leia Shortly After The First Death Star's Destruction
Star Wars: River of Chaos was a Dark Horse mini-series by Louise Simonson and June Brigman that released in 1995 and took place six months after the Battle of Yavin where the first Death Star was destroyed, which served as a major chronological milestone in the Expanded Universe.
River of Chaos followed Princess Leia as she undertook a mission alongside a Rebellion group that introduced a few new fighters to help bolster the Alliance and further explored the status of the Empire after the loss of the Death Star in a classic yet modern Star Wars adventure.
8 Vader's Quest Saw Him Hunt Down The Rebel Pilot Who Destroyed The First Death Star
Darko Macan and Dave Gibbons teamed up for Dark Horse's Star Wars: Vader's Quest in 1999, a mini-series that followed Darth Vader on his mission to find the unknown Force-sensitive Rebel pilot that was responsible for destroying the Death Star that left Darth Vader stranded in his TIE Fighter.
Vader eventually discovers that a Skywalker was the one who fired the fatal shot at the Death Star and begins hunting him across the galaxy to a planet under siege by Imperial forces in order to take out the newest hero of the Rebellion.
7 Rebel Heist Followed The Heroes Of The Rebellion After A New Hope
2015's Star Wars: Rebel Heist by Matt Kindt and Marco Castiello explored a small period of time after A New Hope that introduced new recruits to the Rebellion as they encountered the heroes of the original trilogy.
Each issue of the mini-series weaved together a connected story while exploring heroes like Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker individually as the new recruits were thrown into the deep end against the Empire in one of the last additions to the Expanded Universe from Dark Horse.
6 Shadows Of The Empire Explored Events Between Episodes V And VI
The heroes of the original trilogy were left divided after the events of The Empire Strikes Back and 1996's Shadows of the Empire followed characters like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia as they worked to track down the carbonite-frozen Han Solo.
Shadows of the Empire also introduced a dashing new rogue named Dash Rendar and the villainous Prince Xisor in the comic series that also tied in with the video game and novel that was released at the same time in the multimedia addition to the original trilogy.
5 Dark Horse's Empire And Rebellion Explored Characters From Each Side Of The War
Star Wars: Empire further explored the antagonists of the original trilogy by introducing Imperial conspiracies and rebellious factions within the Empire that forced Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader to fight a war on multiple fronts prior to the Battle of Yavin.
Empire was followed up by Star Wars: Rebellion, which continued to follow the developing Rebel Alliance and its new heroes after the destruction of the Death Star strengthened their cause across the galaxy.
4 Boba Fett Fought For Han Solo's Carbonite-Frozen Body In War Of The Bounty Hunters
Charles Soule and Steve McNiven teamed for 2021's Star Wars crossover event and series War of the Bounty Hunters starring the popular bounty hunter Boba Fett after he collected his prize for Jabba, the carbonite-frozen body of Han Solo.
War of the Bounty Hunters further develops the battle between competing mercenaries for the high-priced bounty on Han Solo's head that further explores the period of time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that gave fans even more of the fan-favorite character.
3 Star Wars: Darth Vader Expands The Sith Lord's Time Between Episodes V And VI
Marvel's modern relaunch of canon comics explored the heroes and the villains of the Rebellion era with series like Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, which took place in between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader became obsessed with taking out the Rebels while also working to uncover the secret plan of his Sith master, Emperor Palpatine. The series not only expanded on the character of Darth Vader but also explored Star Wars dark underworld that was only teased in the original trilogy.
2 Doctor Aphra Explored The Galactic Frontier Before The Fall Of The Empire
Star Wars: Darth Vader introduced a popular new character named Doctor Aphra, a rogue galactic archeologist who quickly became a thorn in Darth Vader's side that starred in her own popular series from Kieron Gillen, Sy Spurrier, Kev Walker, Salvador Larroca, and others.
Doctor Aphra quickly assembled her own crew that served as a dark mirror to the main heroes of the original trilogy who operated in largely unexplored areas of the Star Wars universe in a series that spanned multiple volumes since it launched in 2016.
1 Tag & Bink Stumbled Through The Background Of The Original Trilogy
While the Legends universe is now considered non-canon, there was a small corner of it that was always considered loosely in continuity thanks to bumbling Rebel Alliance members Tag and Bink, whose comedic misadventures during A New Hope led to further appearances in other movies as well.
Tag and Bink were stationed on Princess Leia's captured ship when they decided to escape the massacre by donning fallen Stormtroopers armor, which kicked off their journey through the background of the movie that quickly turned Tag and Bink into a couple of the most popular nobodies in the Star Wars universe.