Timeline and continuity concerns - The Marvel comics and the Rebellion Era

I've got several questions...

When do the Annuals take place in relation to the regular issues?

What numbers were the U.K.-only issues released as? Then I could see when they occured within the other Marvel U.S. comics. ( These were reprinted for the digests of course, but no issue and detailed original publishing info was given. )

Also...

According to various sources, Vader spends about 1 month after Yavin hunting down the pilot that destroyed the Death Star. One month on his own, before even reporting to Palpatine, right? Then it all ends in Vader's Quest, which is apparently concurrent with Marvel # 35.

So this makes Marvel issues 7-35 all cram into that first month, and then there's a few afterwards, and "Riders in the Void" ( which is presumably right after the others, although no segue or dates are shown. ) This can probably work, but I won't know for sure until I read them on my "schedule", next April.

So...is that all right?

Anyway, I picked up Star Wars 3-D issues 1 and 2...guess what? They fit into continuity!

In issue 1...Luke ( with Han, Chewie, Threepio etc. ) returns to Tatooine. It implies that it's been "weeks" since he's been there. While the comic suggests it's the events of ANH, this can actually just be mentioning the weeks since he last visited, perhaps during The Early Adventures, Rogue Squadron, or the Marvel issues with Baron Tagge's Omega Frost project and when he hooked up with Camie and Fixer again. ( BTW - They got married, and this was within that 1 month after Yavin. Any good explanations as to why it seemed so long since Luke had been there with them? Did Luke change enough emotionally and the way he carried himself - enough for Camie to see him differently? )

Star Wars 3-D # 2 fits in fine as well. Although I'm not sure about the Yavin 4 evacuation. I don't have Classic Star Wars to compare its events to that issue. Basically, after returning from Tatooine, the Falcon runs into Vader with the fleet surrounding the jungle moon. They escape the TIEs and land, but no one is around. Luke takes them all to the rendevous coordinates in another system, where they meet Leia. The Rebels need a new base. Thankfully, Han knows of a suitable location from his smuggling days - Hoth! Notice how the panel doesn't continue to show Luke's reaction. He's already been there, when he crashed and met Governor Torlock and Frija. Plus, he had to keep Hoth's location secret from Leia and the others. It was the prime location for the new base, and he had to make it appear that Han was the one who came up with the idea on his own ( hence Luke's comments on the next page. )

I don't have 3-D # 3. I know that Dantooine is in it, and that there's a spaceport of some kind there...correct? Any continuity issues here? ( I figure that after ANH, Dantooine was used as a haven for criminals for awhile, ala Mos Eisley, but then it all dried up and was abandoned to how we see it in Galaxy of Fear - Clones and the JAT. This also explains why Prince Xizor could be familiar with the Dantooinan garfish or something, in the BHWs books. Plus, the spaceport could be an isolated settlement, on a far side of the planet. )

Mav, Ghengis, Val? ( The Usual Suspects ) Any comments, ideas, answers?

 

Sturm,

Going from memory, I'd put them like this. I will check the annuals for "editor notes" to see if they have the typical "These events occur before Issue #XX" or something.

Annual 1, The Long Hunt of course contains the (in)famous "flashback" of Obi-Wan, Vader and the blue-mohawked Jedi. Vader comes back to enslave the aliens, taking him on as his own personal, private tools. That is, like any Star Wars stories (Dark Forces novels, Chewbaaca, Marvel #24, etc.) which contain flashbacks - it covers a large period of time. However, there's no continuity problems there. I think the "present story" is meant to fit around/between the Dark Encounter story arc (#29) and Proncess alone, Return to Tatooine/Jawa Express stories (#30) give or take a few months.

Annual 2, Shadeshine I would put somewhere around #68 - The Search Begins. Definitely after Vader's plan to destroy Luke (Shira Brie arc) has concluded and probably before the Mandalore story arc.

Annual 3, The Apprentice could most easily go around Hoth Stuff, #78. The mains saw relatively light action and could easily have gone and helped screw up Flint's life, allowing him to become Vader's apprentice.

 

do whatever you have to tell yourself to give yourself peace of mind. the continuity is up to you. dont pretend that this was all written in order with a grand arc in mind.

 

Ghengis - Thanks. I have Annual 3, but still need those other two.

JediLord - Um, I know. Since LFL will not officially tack down any exact dating for certain things ( only the years they occur in ) we like to see how they slide into the continuity of other stories.

 

Considering, that Several of the EG guides make refrences to 3-d comics. There is no arguement that LFL has put them into continuity.

 

Yes...That's not my prob tho. I need to provide "fixational situations" for the events in said comics. I provided fixes on the fly for the issues I described, but I need other peep's help and their sources to see how the gist jives.[/ebonics off]

 

I'm afraid Star Wars Missions #17 "Vaders Return" "might" also have to be thrown into the mix. This scholastic children's book details Vader's happenings immediately after the Battle of Yavin.

But as to the call of the question, in all honesty, even though I now have all of the relevant Marvel, Blackthorn and Dark Horse Issues being discussed above, I have yet to read them. So I'm without a clue.

Did Abel "Halagad" Pena discuss any of this in his SWFA articles? His got some pretty impressive and outstanding "endnotes" in one of his pieces there that details the Rebellion Era.

 

Sturm you might check the eg to aliens, it had some timeline inclusions of the 3-d comics in conjunction to other stories. I'm not sure which articles though.

 

Going with what Ana said, you also have to throw Denning's Scoundral's Luck in there. After all, it accounts the story of how Vader returned to the Empire after his TIE went sailing out into space in ANH. Of course it's the (older-)sister story of Scholastic's Vader's Return.

 

I've got several questions...

"When do the Annuals take place in relation to the regular issues? "


In my timeline, I have the 1st annual taking place between issues 17 and 18.

The 2nd annual I have between 54 and 55. And the third annual is between 59 and 60.


"What numbers were the U.K.-only issues released as? Then I could see when they occured within the other Marvel U.S. comics. ( These were reprinted for the digests of course, but no issue and detailed original publishing info was given. ) "


Good question. On my timeline, I have world of Fire about a month after issue 37, and a few weeks after 38. I have all of Leia and Luke's missions grouped together as one campaign taking up about a month.





"Also...

According to various sources, Vader spends about 1 month after Yavin hunting down the pilot that destroyed the Death Star. One month on his own, before even reporting to Palpatine, right? Then it all ends in Vader's Quest, which is apparently concurrent with Marvel # 35.

So this makes Marvel issues 7-35 all cram into that first month, and then there's a few afterwards, and "Riders in the Void" ( which is presumably right after the others, although no segue or dates are shown. ) This can probably work, but I won't know for sure until I read them on my "schedule", next April. "

Nope, Luke and the gang supposedly search for Vader for one month, and in Scoundrel's Luck, Han inadvertantly puts Vader back into the hands of the Empire. One can assume that soon afterward, Vader did not return to Coruscant, but headed out immediately to Yavin 4 (The Imperial Spy comic) and the rest we see in the Marvel series.





So...is that all right?

Anyway, I picked up Star Wars 3-D issues 1 and 2...guess what? They fit into continuity!

"In issue 1...Luke ( with Han, Chewie, Threepio etc. ) returns to Tatooine. It implies that it's been "weeks" since he's been there. While the comic suggests it's the events of ANH, this can actually just be mentioning the weeks since he last visited, perhaps during The Early Adventures, Rogue Squadron, or the Marvel issues with Baron Tagge's Omega Frost project and when he hooked up with Camie and Fixer again. ( BTW - They got married, and this was within that 1 month after Yavin. Any good explanations as to why it seemed so long since Luke had been there with them? Did Luke change enough emotionally and the way he carried himself - enough for Camie to see him differently? ) "


Yeah I have 3D # 1 set right before Classic Star Wars # 10.


"Star Wars 3-D # 2 fits in fine as well. Although I'm not sure about the Yavin 4 evacuation. I don't have Classic Star Wars to compare its events to that issue. Basically, after returning from Tatooine, the Falcon runs into Vader with the fleet surrounding the jungle moon. They escape the TIEs and land, but no one is around. Luke takes them all to the rendevous coordinates in another system, where they meet Leia. The Rebels need a new base. Thankfully, Han knows of a suitable location from his smuggling days - Hoth! Notice how the panel doesn't continue to show Luke's reaction. He's already been there, when he crashed and met Governor Torlock and Frija. Plus, he had to keep Hoth's location secret from Leia and the others. It was the prime location for the new base, and he had to make it appear that Han was the one who came up with the idea on his own ( hence Luke's comments on the next page. ) "


It doesnt really fit, or at least the beginning doesnt. I just set all of the Hoth activity in that comic just after the evacuation of Yavin in Classic Star Wars. This would also explain why Luke says "next stop hoth" in that comic, when of course, the rest of the rebels arent going to start using Hoth for a long while. They're headed for Thila.

 

I'm afraid Star Wars Missions #17 "Vaders Return" "might" also have to be thrown into the mix. This scholastic children's book details Vader's happenings immediately after the Battle of Yavin.

Yes. I haven't read these yet, but there sure is a lot crammed into that first month, and the 6 months that the Rebels stay on Yavin 4. Thankfully it all can fit...I think.

Sturm you might check the eg to aliens, it had some timeline inclusions of the 3-d comics in conjunction to other stories. I'm not sure which articles though.

Hmm. If you see anything, let me know. I don't personally own TEGtAS. I can only see it when I'm at a bookstore.

Going with what Ana said, you also have to throw Denning's Scoundral's Luck in there. After all, it accounts the story of how Vader returned to the Empire after his TIE went sailing out into space in ANH. Of course it's the (older-)sister story of Scholastic's Vader's Return.

Yes. Does Vader being dormant in his TIE affect anything else, continuity-wise? Wasn't there another story where he wasn't dormant but flew it somewhere right after Yavin?

Nope, Luke and the gang supposedly search for Vader for one month, and in Scoundrel's Luck, Han inadvertantly puts Vader back into the hands of the Empire. One can assume that soon afterward, Vader did not return to Coruscant, but headed out immediately to Yavin 4 (The Imperial Spy comic) and the rest we see in the Marvel series.

Well, perhaps after Vader awoke from his sleep, he went right about on his mission for 5-6 weeks or so, to locate Luke? And how does The Imperial Spy affect things? I only own bits and pieces of the Star Wars Kids comics, so I don't have the full stories. I do know that these tie into the Missions books though. Does that cram them into that first month too? Lovely. Well, when it shows Vader actually land on Yavin 4...perhaps it is jumping ahead in time to 0.5 ASW4?

There's a definate placing for certain events, from the EC...

In his own advanced TIE Fighter, Darth Vader escaped the destruction of the first Death Star. During the battle, he had sensed that the pilot who destroyed the battlestation showed unusual strength in the Force. Already suspecting the pilot's possible heritage, Vader chose not to report back to Palpatine in person. Instead, the Dark Lord spent the next month on a private mission, running down hints about the newest Rebel hero. The torture of a captured Rebel on Centares revealed the truth: the destroyer of the Death Star was Luke Skywalker, Vader's own son.

Concerning SW 3-D # 2...

It doesnt really fit, or at least the beginning doesnt.

Why is that?

I just set all of the Hoth activity in that comic just after the evacuation of Yavin in Classic Star Wars. This would also explain why Luke says "next stop hoth" in that comic, when of course, the rest of the rebels arent going to start using Hoth for a long while. They're headed for Thila.

Right. I just figure that between Luke and Han, they got the location for the next possible Rebel base, which is when Mon Mothma agreed to start construction there, but to still keep options open on other worlds, as the EC says. It also says that after the Yavin 4 evac, they couldn't begin on Hoth right away. They needed more supplies, foodstuffs and equipment etc. What's interesting is that now when I read that section in the EC, it obviously has the 3-D comics in mind with certain lines...

 

Well, I dont really feel like posting it all here, but, a bunch of the Missions books are set during that 1st month, however, one can assume that Luke and the gang got into a bunch of missions while scouring the nearby systems for while searching for Vader. No problems there.

In regards to issue 2 of Star Wars 3D, simply put, Luke and Han arrive in the Yavin sysetem just as the attack begins, and of course, in Goodwin's comics, they're already on the planet when the Imperial forces arrive.

Now, if you want to see how I have it all worked out, PM me for my timeline, and I'll send it over toot sweet.

 

Well, I spent some time at Borders today, and looked over the Classic Star Wars TPBs. Going by the EC info, these apparently all span after Marvel 7-35, and they mostly take place during the evacuation from Yavin 4 and Vader's completion of the Executor, in that timeframe of 6 months post-Yavin.

There's some interesting problems...

- In Star Wars 3-D, Han supplies the location of Hoth to the Rebel Alliance.

- In Classic Star Wars, Luke supplies the location of Hoth, and Han doesn't even know about it.

Some rearranging is needed...

I think that SW 3-D # 1 and 2 can take place during CSW, from when they smash the Executor with the power gem and the time the Imperial fleet moves closer and attacks Yavin 4, swinging back into the CSW story when the Falcon is landing. Perhaps Vader boarded a regular ISD when the repairs on his flagship were completed over the next 24 hours or so, and Luke and Han were surprised to see a battle-ready fleet supplant the Death Squadron and surrounding Yavin 4 as they returned from their trip to Tatooine. ( Maybe they couldn't slip past the blockade, so Luke figured he needed to kill time somewhere else while Ackbar prepared for his feint move in the Vallusk Cluster. )

In CSW, Leia mentions Hoth to Han, and how Luke told the location. Han says ( paraphrasing ), "Nice of Luke to think of the one planet I don't know about."

Theory - Maybe Han says this in a joking manner, since they just visited the planet and took care of Salmakk and his smugglers. Perhaps Leia was just confirming that due to Luke's suggestion, the Alliance High Command definetly has their sights set on Hoth, and a base is definetly being built, although it's just a speeder hangar, bunk areas and small command center as of then.

 

Hey...:sniff: I thought I was one of the usual suspects?

 

LOL. You are Bubba, you are. And Wedge, wherever he is.

 

Yeah, you're definitely (both) usual suspects in my book too!

 

Wedge? Wheee!

Marvel isn't my arena though. Though if those reprints are accually made...

Although, this thread has got me thinking about this whole area of time. Has anyone mentioned "The Rebel Thief" yet? It was a four or more part comic in Star Wars Kids Magazine. I only have the first three parts. And I think there are 5. And then there are other comics in the rest of the mag issues, but I don't have any clue about them. So, how do they fit in with all this? And "The Death Star Pirates" from Tales (which I am told was first printed in Star Wars Kids...).

Post script- Damn, I edited this message a lot. Its because right after I posted or edited I found new information on the stories. Or stupid markup code errors. Anyway...

 

I'm becoming a marvel expert as we speak, .

 

Ironically, I am somewhat of a Marvel expert, just from skimming over the issues, but I haven't even read all of them yet. Just a few.

 

Wedge-Death Star Pirates probaly takes place sometime after the Classic Star Wars series.My theory is that the rebels go back to pick up a hidden cache of weapons on Yavin IV.

They didn't have time to take everything with them when they were running from Vader and the Imperial Fleet.

 

Actually, Death Star Pirates can take place during the evacuation shown in CSW. Nothing really violates anything in that story.

 

Yes,considering that the Empire takes forever to arrive at Yavin IV...

Also,Han and Leia take their good ol time in defeating the pirate.The Rebel fleet would've been destroyed by the time they escaped from him.

 

So what about all the other Star Wars Kids comics?

 

The Rebel Thief, X-Wing Marks the Spot, and The Imperial Spy all take place right after Scoundrel's Luck. There's a line in The Rebel Thief that can be taken as a reference to Han's involvement with finding Vader and him keeping it a secret. Sort of. Ill look it up. The next source after it is Marvel # 7.

 

Ahh okay. Cool.