10 Best Star Wars Comics from the Second Marvel Era (So Far)

After several decades under Dark Horse Comics, Star Wars comics returned to Marvel in 2015 with the debut of Star Wars and Star Wars: Darth Vader, Marvel’s primary Star Wars comic titles. Both took place immediately after the destruction of the first Death Star in A New Hope. Marvel’s second era of Star Wars comics has featured some of the best stories ever written in any medium.

Marvel’s newest era of comics has drastically expanded the Star Wars universe, just as the Star Wars Legends novels had years earlier. Fans met new characters like Doctor Aphra and experienced new adventures between the iconic films. Spanning the Original Trilogy, the Prequels and even new eras like the High Republic, Star Wars fans should absolutely not skip Marvel’s line of comics.

10 Doctor Aphra Joins The Star Wars Universe

As Marvel and DC have experienced for years, introducing a new character into an existing, beloved fictional universe can be difficult. The existing, iconic characters usually overshadow the new characters. Doctor Aphra first appeared in the Star Wars: Darth Vader (2015) comic series but quickly became a fan-favorite.

Not an Imperial pilot or bounty hunter like Boba Fett, Aphra is instead an archaeologist, the Indiana Jones of the Star Wars universe. She became popular enough to earn her own comic title, which ran for an impressive 40 issues. Her interlocking adventures with Darth Vader, Black Krrsantan, Luke Skywalker and more iconic Star Wars characters solidified Doctor Aphra as a fixture of the galaxy, far, far away.

9 Marvel Comics Explores The Unseen Star Wars Era

While Marvel Comics amazingly expanded the Skywalker Saga with comics set between the Original Trilogy and the Prequels, it’s still an era that Star Wars fans know well. Additionally, readers know that Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker will not die, lowering the stakes. However, Marvel launched a new era of Star Wars that explored a never-before-seen time period set a couple hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace: The High Republic.

The High Republic was a comic miniseries, a line of children’s books and a series of novels. With new characters, new villains like the Nihil and a new status quo for the Jedi Order, the High Republic is brand-new content, unfamiliar to both new and old Star Wars fans.

8 What Happened After Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi?

Star Wars Legends books explored the time period after the destruction of the second Death Star. The Star Wars: Battlefront II video game explored this era, but the Star Wars: Shattered Empire mini comic book series approached these events from a new angle. Shattered Empire features appearances from Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa, but the main story stars Poe Dameron’s mother and father.

A-wing pilot Shara Bey and her husband, Kes Dameron, are caught in the aftermath of the Rebel war with the Empire. With art by Marco Checchetto, Shattered Empire is one of the most beautiful Star Wars comics that bridges many gaps between the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens.

7 Star Wars Comics Post-Empire Strikes Back

Marvel’s first Star Wars comic series began immediately after the events of A New Hope. The second volume, which began in 2020, began immediately after the events of Empire Strikes Back. Darth Vader had revealed his identity to Luke Skywalker, Han Solo was frozen in carbonite, and Luke was without a lightsaber (and a hand).

Star Wars ran for 50 issues, bridging the gap between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Readers finally saw Luke’s transition from Jedi Padawan to Jedi Knight. The bulk of Star Wars issues crossed over with other comics in events like “Crimson Reign,” “Dark Droids,” and “War of the Bounty Hunters.”

6 Anakin Skywalker’s Early Darth Vader Days

Darth Vader’s second comic series, subtitled Dark Lord of Sith, took readers back to the earliest days of Darth Vader. Anakin Skywalker had just lost his dual of the fates with Obi-Wan Kenobi, burned and injured. Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith immediately picks up where Revenge of the Sith left off.

Darth Vader spends the majority of this comic book series hunting the remaining Jedi and learning to adapt to his new body and new position within the Sith structure. Dark Lord of the Sith is the perfect comic for Darth Vader fans who want a nuanced story that delves into Vader’s psyche and mindset while learning to harness and improve his powers with the dark side of the Force.

5 Darth Vader Anthology Series

Fans of Darth Vader will not want to miss Star Wars: Vader – Dark Visions. The anthology miniseries gave readers a series of new adventures starring Darth Vader, with some of the coolest Vader moments in any piece of Star Wars media.

In Dark Visions, Darth Vader takes down a legion of X-wings, rides a black alien/horse hybrid like a terrifying medieval jouster, and even attracts the romantic attention of an Imperial nurse. Dark Visions has some truly chilling moments, like the sudden murder of said nurse or a monstrous hallucination of Darth Vader straight out of a horror comic, that paint Darth Vader in a new, menacing light, all while confirming that he is indeed one of the most fearsome figures in the Star Wars universe.

4 Anakin Skywalker: Padawan Pre-Attack Of The Clones

Marvel’s ongoing Star Wars comics usually focus on the original trilogy, which is set between the events of each film. The miniseries, however, usually occur during the Prequels and Sequels, exploring periods that fans have rarely seen before. Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin stars the Jedi Knight and Padawan shortly after the events of The Phantom Menace.

Anakin is slowly growing into his own Jedi and developing his own opinion, which usually clashes with Obi-Wan’s. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan struggles with the unexpected task of training a Padawan when he has barely obtained the Jedi Knight status. Fans of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s relationship should pick up one of the best Star Wars miniseries published by Marvel Comics.

3 Darth Maul Hunts Jedi Knights Before Phantom Menace

Darth Maul was a pop culture icon before and after the release of The Phantom Menace. His face was plastered all over Star Wars toys and merchandise for years. However, the character of Darth Maul was incredibly shallow in The Phantom Menace. He was simply a nearly dialogue-less sword swung by the Emperor.

The Star Wars: Darth Maul five-issue miniseries attempted to rectify that shallowness, building off of Darth Maul’s characterization in both the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series. The Darth Maul miniseries is one of the most entertaining Star Wars comics, starring a young Darth Maul overcome with bloodshed and the sole purpose of hunting Jedi. Maul gets a taste, which only increases his hunger going into the events of Episode I.

2 Darth Vader Hunts Luke Skywalker

Even though Star Wars: Darth Vader (vol. 1) was one of Marvel’s shortest ongoing Star Wars comics of its second era, it left a lasting impact. Darth Vader introduced new characters like Doctor Aphra and detailed Vader’s war against the Rebellion between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.

Readers saw Vader interact with bounty hunters like Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan. They saw Vader learn the name of the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star: Luke Skywalker. Additionally, Star Wars: Darth Vader featured one of the best Star Wars comic crossover events of all time, “Vader Down,” which saw Darth Vader marooned on a foreign world, alone against Luke Skywalker and an army of Rebel forces.

1 Star Wars Comics Post-A New Hope

Star Wars fans were ecstatic when Marvel announced that they would reclaim the Star Wars comic line with brand-new stories set after the events of A New Hope. Dark Horse had triumphantly held the torch of Star Wars comics for decades, publishing some of the best Star Wars comics of all time, now set in the Legends universe, but in 2015, it was time to pass that torch to Marvel.

With plots that expanded Star Wars lore, like a journal written by Ben Kenobi detailing his time on Tatooine, or Yoda’s never-before-seen adventures after the rise of the Empire, or crossovers like “Screaming Citadel,” Star Wars (2015) was Marvel’s longest, and greatest, ongoing Star Wars comic of their second era (so far).