8 Things You Need To Know From The STAR WARS Comics And Novels Before Seeing THE LAST JEDI
With Star Wars: The Last Jedi days away from being released, we look at all of the major "Journey to The Last Jedi" revelations you need to know about from the comics and novels before seeing the movie...
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is set to be released tomorrow in a number of international locations and on Friday in North America but what do you need to know about Disney and Lucasfilm's additions to the Star Wars canon from the past couple of years? Since The Force Awakens was released, a series of novels and comic books have debuted filling in the gaps between that movie and The Last Jedi.
They've also shed even more light on what took place after Return of the Jedi and below, you'll find all the biggest reveals and details which will undoubtedly play a role in how The Last Jedi pans out.
From how Captain Phasma escaped that trash compactor to The First Order's beginnings and how they might have been responsible for tracking down Supreme Leader Snoke, these all provide a fascinating glimpse into The Last Jedi and provide some clues in regards to where the franchise might go next.
General Hux's Origin Story
The Aftermath trilogy shed a lot of light on what took place between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens but also dropped some big hints about the motivations of characters we'll see in The Last Jedi. In Life Debt, the second novel in this series, we learn that Brendol Hux - General Hux's father - played a key role in attempting to bring order to the Empire after The Emperor's demise and the destruction of the Death Star II.
Life Debt also featured the moment Leia learned that she was pregnant; Han Solo, however, was busy joining Chewbacca on a mission on Kashyyyk which saw the longtime friends attempting to liberate the planet from the control of the Empire. They succeed and the story wraps up with the stage being set for the Battle of Jakku to take place, somewhere we'd later meet Rey in The Force Awakens.
Kylo Ren's Future Foretold
In the final instalment of that trilogy - Empire's End - Leia is being plagued with nightmares about the Dark Side of the Force manipulating her unborn child and can be shown actually sensing the Force in her unborn baby. Ironically, Ben Solo ends up being born the same day the Galactic Concordance was signed, an act which ended both the Empire and the Galactic Civil War.
The First Order's Humble Beginnings
The biggest revelation in the Aftermath series comes when we learn that The First Order was actually the Emperor's idea and created by him as a contingency plan should the Empire ever fall. Brendol Hux is tasked with training his son Armitage (General Hux from the current Star Wars trilogy) as his predecessor and is joined by a group of child soldiers who seem destined to become the blueprint for future Stormtroopers who are raised from childhood to serve the villainous group.
However, by far the most interesting revelation comes when we learn that The First Order has been tasked by the Emperor with seeking out a "dark presence" in the vastness of space which had always fascinated him. Could that be a reference to whatever Supreme Leader Snoke is? That seems highly likely all things considered and would explain where the group's leader emerged from.
Captain Phasma's Shocking Past
Captain Phasma recently got a novel detailing her origin story on the war-torn planet of Parnassos. Surprisingly, it's revealed that she was raised as part of a primitive tribe which saw her ultimately become its co-leader alongside her brother. However, it was the arrival of Brendol Hux (General Hux's father) which led to her deciding to find a place in a cause which would give her more power.
Betraying her brother and tribe, Phasma manages to erase any mention of her humble upbringing and this story went a long way in humanising the character after her brief appearance in The Force Awakens. Bizarrely, it's revealed that she constructed her chrome armour from material salvaged from the Emperor's yacht on Naboo. She's a true believer so don't expect her to ever find redemption!
How Captain Phasma Escaped That Trash Compactor
The Force Awakens got rid of Captain Phasma in short order after Finn forced her into a Trash Compactor but how exactly did she manage to escape Starkiller Base before it was destroyed? Well, in a Marvel comic book series, we learn that Phasma managed to escape that Trash Compactor with relative ease and her first move was to try and erase any record of her being responsible for the lowering of the base's shields at the behest of Han Solo and Finn.
Unfortunately, a First Order officer has already checked the logs and found out who was to blame so she then embarks on a mission to track him down and silence him, a task she succeeds in carrying out, hence why she's still part of this villainous group when The Last Jedi begins. It's now unlikely we'll get to see her punished in any way so don't expect her to have lost a rank in the sequel!
Supreme Leader Snoke's Guards
Star Wars: Tales of the Force is a children's book so it was very light on reveals. We do, however, learn that Supreme Leader Snoke is guarded by the eight human warriors in the form of the Elite Praetorian Guard. They work in shifts to ensure that the powerful villain always has someone watching over him as he hides out on his super-sized Mega Star Destroyer, the Supremacy.
Rey's Parents?
Star Wars Battlefront II takes place shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi and revolves around many key moments (including the destruction of the Death Star II) from the perspective of the Empire's Inferno Squad. Revealing how the Empire struggled to maintain order after the Emperor's demise, we learn that he sent out messages to his highest ranking followers on how best to proceed.
The game drops some big hints that Iden Versio could be Rey's mother but the mention of her child could have just been a way to set up the events of a sequel as a video game is a rather odd place to share such a huge reveal. Ultimately, we get to see how the Empire fell by witnessing the aforementioned liberation of Kashyyyk and the Battle of Jakku.
The Return Of Inferno Squad?
Companion novel Battlefront II: Inferno Squad, meanwhile, sheds some light on how this group was brought together and ties more into the events of Rogue One than The Last Jedi. However, with the movie set to introduce new Stormtroopers, it's entirely possible we'll get to see a new version of the team appear in some form or at least see how their formation has had an impact on The First Order.
Are you guys excited to see how these stories potentially play into Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Have we missed any other major revelations? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below.