Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Last Stand #1 are ahead!
Many of the key events in Star Wars history can be seen when one is going through the Star Wars movies in order or watching one of the TV shows get in a galaxy far, far away with a Disney+ subscription. But there are a handful that have been depicted in other media, like the Battle of Jakku, which audiences were first tipped off about in The Force Awakens. In the past few months, Marvel Comics has been exploring this event through several limited series, and now the latest one has explained why Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian didn’t participate in this conflict.
Although the second Death Star’s destruction in Return of the Jedi was a crippling move to the Galactic Empire, it wasn’t until the Battle of Jakku a year later that the Rebellion officially defeated the remnants of the dictatorship, paving the way for the formation of the New Republic. Marvel’s been chronicling the main beats of what went down during this battle in a trio of limited series, and following the completion of Battle of Jakku — Insurgency Rising and Battle of Jakku — Republic Under Siege, we’ve hit the third and final act with the recent publication of Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Last Stand #1. As revealed in that debut issue (via ScreenRant), the reason Luke, Leia and Han and Lando weren’t around for the Battle of Jakku is because they were on their own mission to hunt down a high-ranking Imperial officer.
These Marvel limited series have shown the rise of Grand Moff Adelhard, who first tried to claim that the Empire actually won the Battle of Endor and prevent the spread of the truth to the rest of the galaxy. Then he started consolidating power for himself by forging alliances with groups like the Acolytes of the Beyond and the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Now Adelhard is looking to crush both the Rebellion and the Empire so he can start his own New Empire, and even looks like he’s preparing to fight both factions over Jakku.
With Adelhard being such a grave threat, Battle of Jakku - Last Stand #1 shows Leia Organa, who’s now pregnant with her son Ben (the future Kylo Ren), calling on Luke, Han and Lando (Chewbacca is occupied on Kashyyyk) to help her take down the unhinged Moff after learning he’s still alive. Obviously we know that Adelhard will ultimately be defeated, but it makes sense why Leia, Luke, Han and Lando would focus their attention on him rather than help face the Empire head on during the Battle of Jakku. If Adelhard had been left unchecked, his New Empire might’ve grown into something akin to what The First Order was during the Sequel Trilogy era.
Star Wars fans can learn how Grand Moff Adelhard is vanquished as new issues of Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Last Stand hits comic book stores and digital platforms in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, see what lays ahead in this franchise on both the big and small screens by consulting our guide of upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
