History ComicBook / MarvelStarWars

A long time ago, in a comic book market far, far away, MarvelComics released an official comic-book adaptation of the movie ''Franchise/StarWars Episode IV: Film/ANewHope'' (then simply called ''Star Wars'') in 1977. Like the movie, this adaptation was a success, and so Marvel continued publishing the comic beyond the end of the original story.

* EightiesHair: Near the end of the series, Luke ended up with a mullet.

* ArtShift: Starting with the adaptation of ''The Empire Strikes Back'', the art changes from Carmine Infantino's loose, angular style to a more detailed look with much closer likenesses to the film characters (usually veteran inker Tom Palmer over Al Williamson or Walt Simonson.) The last issue also has a strikingly different style than its predecessors.

* BadassBoast: Done in order to activate a droid's capture programming, but still.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: They often forget Luke's [[UncannyValley right hand]].

* EnemyMine: Leia and Luke are forced to combine forces with a squad of Imperial commandos to survive a hostile planet in a 1980 storyline. While one of the commandos is a complete scumbag their overall leader is portrayed as a sympathetic WorthyOpponent who just happens to be on the wrong side and Leia even tries to persuade him to defect. [[spoiler: He refuses, using a MyCountryRightOrWrong arguement.]]

* TooDumbToLive: After being blinded by Darth Vader, [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Orman_Tagge Orman Tagge]] became obsessed with defeating him, procuring a lightsaber and training endlessly with it. He also had a dirty trick in mind that he planned to use if it came to that, which he was [[http://images.plurk.com/f86a25c446b7468d6de5a8495d8aa553.jpg forced]] to use [[http://images.plurk.com/95a2c33a71edb1d1bc682b6fe26bc713.jpg on Luke]] - namely, he planned to ''have the lights go out'' during the fight. With his cybernetic replacement eyes, he'd be able to see in the dark. The poor man never understood the power of TheForce...

* UnwantedHarem: Luke around Zeltrons, at least until he apparently gets used to them. "Chanteuse of the Stars" has him actively fleeing from hot red women who think he's the most beautiful man they've ever seen. Eventually one of them (Dani) becomes a close, platonic friend partly because she fell for someone else and so stopped chasing him and partly because she went through a lot of CharacterDevelopment.

With Creator/{{Disney}} now owning the rights to both Marvel Comics and ''Star Wars'', [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/3/21703/lucasfilm_and_marvel_join_forces_to_publish_star_wars_comics the company has since re-obtained the rights from Dark Horse to make new comics set in the universe]]. For tropes relating to the 2015 reboot bearing the same name, go [[ComicBook/MarvelStarWars2015 here]].

* HeroicBuild: This was very much a Marvel Comic, and the art often followed this aspect of Marvel's house style. Particularly obvious in the "corner art" depiction of Luke on the cover of every issue. With a bit of art touch-up, the "swordsman" would be indistinguishable from Marvel's ConanTheBarbarian.

* {{Badass}}: Luke once duels Orman Tagge, who'd been training with a lightsaber for almost as long as Luke's been alive, ever since Vader forced him to get cybernetic eyes. Luke had only ever dueled with remotes, but he called on the Force and over matched the other. Tagge pulled a [[TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty trick]]... it didn't work. Later, Tagge was in shock.
--> "…h-he didn't ''kill'' me…! ''Didn't''…need…to…! Controlled stroke so ''perfectly''…destroyed my cyber-vision…without harming ''me''…! He…was ''that'' good…! Th-that…''good''…!"

Marvel ''Star Wars'' eventually ran [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_%28Marvel%29 for a total of 107 issues and three annual specials]]. It ended in 1986. The series covered the events of the movies as well as stuff happening between them and eventually after them, making it an ExpandedUniverse before the StarWarsExpandedUniverse as we know it today.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: Han Solo had a tendency to go on adventure-filled treasure hunts in lost ruins in this series -- [[Franchise/IndianaJones even before a certain Harrison Ford film was released in 1981]].

With Creator/{{Disney}} now owning the rights to both Marvel Comics and ''Star Wars'', [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/3/21703/lucasfilm_and_marvel_join_forces_to_publish_star_wars_comics the company has since re-obtained the rights from Dark Horse to make new comics set in the universe]]. For tropes relating to the 2015 reboot bearing the same name, go [[ComicBook/MarvelStarWars2015here]].

With Creator/{{Disney}} now owning the rights to both Marvel Comics and ''Star Wars'', [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/3/21703/lucasfilm_and_marvel_join_forces_to_publish_star_wars_comics the company has since re-obtained the rights from Dark Horse to make new comics set in the universe]]. For tropes relating to the 2015 reboot bearing the same name, go [[ComicBook/StarWars here]].

** A rare unintended example occurs in one of the annuals. Vader takes in a boy who had found his mother's dead body, openly saying that he was once in the same position. We're meant to think he was lying just to get the boy on his side...but ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' reveals that he really ''was'' once in the same position.

** An issue of the Marvel series deals with Wes Janson's death. Wes is alive and well in the XWingSeries, set a few years later. [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental material]], specifically [[http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/article/sw20040401adumarmain Adumar: Pilots Wanted]], {{Retcon}}s this rather than ignoring it completely. It's a story Wedge would tell new recruits before calling in Wes. Even Luke fell for it.

** As can be seen [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Canon#Canon_in_the_Holocron_continuity_database here]], MarvelStarWars is considered to be on a lower level of canon than most of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse, although its material can be used or discarded as other authors wish, as long as it does not contradict the higher levels of canon.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: A whole race of pink-skinnedhumanoids. The women wear Frazetta-style {{fanservice}}y clothes, and the men wear loincloths and harnesses.

** And more recently, Fenn Shysa makes an appearance in ''LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor''.

** With the [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends ''Legends'' revamp]], all of the above is a moot point.

** But the original example has to be the TIE Bomber. It managed to make an appearance in ''[[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack The Empire Strikes Back]]'', meaning it even survived the ''Legends'' retcon!

** But the original example has to be the TIE Bomber.

With Creator/{{Disney}} now owning the rights to both Marvel Comics and ''Star Wars'', [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/3/21703/lucasfilm_and_marvel_join_forces_to_publish_star_wars_comics the company has since re-obtained the rights from Dark Horse to make new comics set in the universe]].

Some stories were [[NoExportForYou only published in the UK version of the comic]] (which was a weekly rather than a monthly publication) but have since been reprinted, again by Dark Horse in a seperate omnibus volume (titled ''Wild Space'') along with other rare ''Star Wars'' comics.

Creator/DarkHorseComics, the current publisher of ''Star Wars'' comics, has published reprints of these stories as the ''Classic Star Wars'' series, and in trade paperback form as ''Star Wars: A Long Time Ago'', a seven-volume series, later reprinted in 5 omnibus volumes.

* OutOfFocus: The Empire itself in the first year or so of the series run. Between issue #6 (the last installment of the adaptation of ''ANewHope'') and issue #18 the Empire did not appear 'onscreen' ''at all'' except in the form of flashbacks which the villains in the interim being space pirates, mercenaries and raiders. After this though the Empire was almost never OutOfFocus again until the post RotJ stories.

With Creator/Disney now owning the rights to both Marvel Comics and ''Star Wars'', [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/1/3/21703/lucasfilm_and_marvel_join_forces_to_publish_star_wars_comics the company has since re-obtained the rights from Dark Horse to make new comics set in the universe]].

** Also, the [[OurElvesAreBetter Nagai]] are named after GoNagai and the [[InsectoidAliens Hiromi]] after musician Go Hiromi. [[PromotedFanboy Mary Jo Duffy]] was responsible for all three shout outs, and loved her some anime.

* AdventurerArchaeologist - Han Solo had a tendency to go on adventure-filled treasure hunts in lost ruins in this series -- [[Franchise/IndianaJones even before a certain Harrison Ford film was released in 1981]].

* ArtShift - Starting with the Empire Strikes Back adaptation the art changes from Carmine Infantino's loose, angular style to a more detailed look with much closer likenesses to the film characters (usually veteran inker Tom Palmer over Al Williamson or Walt Simonson.) The last issue also has a strikingly different style than its predecessors.

* AudioAdaptation - "Droid World" and "Planet of the Hoojibs" were both adapted as book-and-tape sets.

* BizarreAlienReproduction - Zeltrons are attracted to Force-sensitives. Which explains why they [[http://images.plurk.com/959ed025cc50e8c9971fd072fb0c540b.jpg all want Luke]].
* BreakoutCharacter - Lumiya is the most famous character in the series and the only one to feature in an important role in later ExpandedUniverse stories but she had a mere six appearances (plus seven more as Shira Brie). Her lightwhip appeared in [[NeverLiveItDown just three issues]] but is similarly iconic.

* BreakTheCutie - Dani
* BroadStrokes - How most of the elements from this series brought into the main ExpandedUniverse are handled.
* CanonDisContinuity - A lot of the stories are considered non-canon at best, simply due to being supplanted by later material. One example is a flashback story where Luke's father, Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (three separate people) save a planet together - Although ''that'' story was written before ''The Empire Strikes Back'', and therefore a ''professional'' example of being {{Jossed}}. Mind you, one of Lucasfilm's resident kings of Continuity found a way to make it work...

* CanonImmigrant - Shira/Lumiya, into the mainstream ExpandedUniverse.

* TheChessmaster - Darth Vader. The Marvel series really ran with the idea of Vader being an evil genius to a much larger extent than anywhere else in the Expanded Universe. Largely by necessity, as Lucasfilm generally forbade direct confrontations between Vader and the main characters, as they might have upstaged what they were planning for the movies.

* ChickMagnet - Luke, bordering on TheCasanova. ''Especially'' around Zeltrons.

* [[ElvesInSpace Dark Elves In Space]] - The Nagai have many typical Elf traits - they are tall, slender yet strong, agile, androgynusly good looking, are arrogant towards most other species, have angular features and even pointed ears.

* EqualOpportunityEvil - The Marvel series probably has more female antagonists than the rest of the StarWarsExpandedUniverse ''combined''. Lumiya is by far the most famous but there are many others ranging from serious villainesses like Kharys to one issue annoyances like Captain Traal. There are even a couple of nameless female {{Mooks}}!
* EvenTheGuysWantHim - Luke again. One of his Zeltron entourage is male.
* ExecutiveMeddling - Arguably one of the rare good examples. As pointed out in the above entry, Lucasfilm prevented almost all direct interactions between Vader and the main rebel cast, and to compensate the writers turned him into TheChessmaster, with echoes of a MagnificentBastard and an occasional talent for ThePlan.

* FaithHeelTurn - after he shoots down Shira, Luke has a crisis of faith in the Force
* FantasticRacism - Of all people, ''Leia''! Leia doesn't like Zeltrons. Mon Mothma asks what's wrong with her. Given [[EthicalSlut what we know about Zeltrons]], this says more about Mon Mothma.

* FishPeople - Kiro's race.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar - Zeltrons. Given that Marvel (and Lucasfilm) had a very strict "No gays" policy, the Zeltrons could be this trope personified.

* GoSeduceMyArchNemesis - Vader orders Shira to do this to [[{{squick}} his son]].

* HoneyTrap - Shira/Lumiya
* HurtComfortFic - Wedge is stuck on Hoth. Luke rescues him, only to learn that in the meantime, Wedge has witnessed Janson die and barely escaped himself. {{Retcon}}'d as [[AllJustADream a story that Wedge tells the recruits so they know how horrible war is]]. And because he thinks their expressions are hilarious when Wes walks in afterwards.
* IdiotBall - Luke and Dani think Kiro's dead because he fell in the water fighting an enemy, the water got bloody, and he never came up, ''and he's a fish man''!

* IncrediblyLamePun - Nagais and Dolls, My Hiromi.
* JediMindTrick - Played for BlackComedy in one issue with Darth Vader using a Mind Trick to persuade an incompetent officer to go for "some fresh air", by stepping out an airlock. Another issue gives us a rare glimpse of the ''aftermath'' of a Mind Trick when Luke uses a long distance one to make an Imperial station commander to drop her shields. The commander mindlessly orders the shields dropped then comes out of her trance and is surprised and angry to notice the lack of shields, blaming it on her underlings' incompetence.

* TheMagnificentSevenSamurai - "Eight for Aduba-3", the first original storyline. The one that brought us the aforementioned Jaxxon as well as "[[Literature/DonQuixote Don-Wan Kihotay]]", a blustery Jedi wannabe.

* OvertookTheManga - Ironic since it's a comic book adaptation of a screen franchise.
* OvertookTheSeries - In addition to OvertookTheManga.
* [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Pink Skinned Space Babe]] - Dani

* PluckyComicRelief - Dani, prior to going through BreakTheCutie and becoming a BrokenBird; Leia's Zeltron fanboys Bahb, Jahn, Marruc and Rahuhl and Hirog and the rest of the Hiromi after their HeelFaceTurn (prior to that they had been LaughablyEvil {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s.)

* RapeAsDrama - Dani. Also hinted at with Tai.

* TheReveal - The new Sith is...Luke's crazy ex-girlfriend!

* RobotWar - The civil war on Droid World.
* RuleOfCool - lightwhips
* RuleOfFunny - Disco planet? Funny. Green carnivorous bunny? Funny. Goth elves? Hilarious. Hoojibs? Possibly their own MemeticMutation.
* RunningGag - The number of times either Luke or Leia attempt a RelationshipUpgrade but are interrupted by ''something'' - usually the main plot kicking off - approaches this.

* ShoutOut - Lando basically [[http://images.plurk.com/e5e87607672fd825692cf20d98b85158.jpg cosplays]] as a palette-swapped CaptainHarlock as a disguise in one issue.

* SingleBiomePlanet: One very early story ('The Kingdom of Ice' from the UK version of the comic) featured an iceworld home to an important Rebel base over a year before the appearance of [[TheEmpireStrikesBack Hoth]].
* SixthRangerTraitor - Shira.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism - Usually, the Rebels are the champions of democracy, right? Not so when [[IdiotBall they order Luke's execution over friendly fire in a situation when if he hadn't fired blindly, the entire squadron would've died, compromising their mission]]. This leads to Luke [[FaithHeelTurn doubting the Force]] until he learns Shira was an Imperial spy after all and clears his name. Then the Alliance are so democratic that they don't let the Heroes of Yavin take part in the government because they missed a meeting they didn't even know about. On the other hand, and at one point, our heroes are so popular, they could basically [[ShootTheShaggyDog start their own Empire]], but they're too clueless to realize it.
* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness - All over the place DependingOnTheWriter. Stories and characters ranged from the very silly to serious fare that wouldn't be out of place alongside Timothy Zahn or Michael Stackpole. Largely the silly issues were made earlier on, with later ones being more plotty, but this isn't universal.

* SpacePirates
* StuffedIntoTheFridge - Mary

* {{Tykebomb}} - Shira.

* {{Badass}}: Luke once duels Orman Tagge, who'd been training with a lightsaber for almost as long as Luke's been alive, ever since Vader forced him to get cybernetic eyes. Luke had only ever dueled with remotes, but he called on the Force and over matched the other. Tagge pulled a [[TryToCatchMeFightingDirty trick]]... it didn't work. Later, Tagge was in shock.

Some stories were [[NoExportForYou only published in the UK version of the comic]] (which was a weekly rather than a monthly publication) but have since been reprinted, again by Dark Horse in a seperate omnibus volume along with other rare ''Star Wars'' comics.