6) Shattered Empire
If Aftermath fails to answer some of your questions about the post-Return of the Jedi world, you’ll want to check out Marvel’s comic Shattered Empire. Written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Marco Checchetto, the four-part series reveals that after the Battle of Endor, Palpatine issued posthumous orders to attack dozens of planets, including his own home world of Naboo.
Both Aftermath and Shattered Empire arguably diminish the impact of Return of the Jedi’s triumphant ending, considering more fighting occurs literally moments later, but then again, did we really think the entire Empire would just give up following the death of Darth Vader?
Shattered Empire will also satisfy those who were frustrated by Aftermath’s relative lack of original trilogy characters. Though our leads are Poe Dameron’s parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C3PO and Lando Calrissian all have prominent roles in the story. We even witness Leia journeying to Naboo and having a vision of Darth Maul, a trippy blend of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy.
Seeing Poe’s parents in action is interesting, but Shattered Empire is mainly relevant to Force Awakens fans in that it provides some much-needed backstory about the Empire’s final years. Trust us, blowing up the second Death Star was not the end.