‘Star Wars’ Month: The Top 10 Vintage Comics Characters

While the “Star Warriors” of Luke, Han and Leia — along with Chewbacca, Artoo & Threepio, and Lando Calrissian — are the unquestionable stars of Marvel’s vintage Star Wars title, they are joined in their adventures by original-to-the-comics characters. Running from 1977 to 1986, the series ran for 107 issues, populating the space around the characters from the movies with original creations, heroes and villains alike. Given the restrictions placed on the cinematic characters by LucasFilm (and just the general limitations of, for example, not knowing in 1978 what’s going to happen in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back) these original characters afforded their creators narrative opportunities denied to the Star Warriors. As a result, they stand as some of the most memorable, interesting, or downright whacky characters in the 107 issue run. These are ten of my favorites.

10. Drebble

When writer Jo Duffy took over Star Wars, it was in the years between the release of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. As such, Lando was a key player in her stories, and in issue #71, she introduced Drebble, an old, antagonistic acquaintance of Lando’s (kind of like a watered-down Jabba the Hutt). A business man, gambler, and bar owner, Drebble clashed with Lando before the scoundrel’s involvement with the Rebellion, and their feud would bring trouble to new Lando’s allies. Lando often gave Drebble’s name as his own when he came under fire, hoping it would blowback on his old nemesis. Instead, it hilariously lead to the Rebellion honoring Drebble and making him a captain. It’s a great twist, and a fun example of how Duffy used original characters throughout her run.

9. Crimson Jack

Han was the focus of many of the early original comic stories, with Crimson Jack serving as one of the book’s earliest original recurring antagonists. A space pirate with a luxurious red beard and the courage to proudly bare his thighs, Crimson Jack also captained a captured Star Destroyer and was responsible for stealing the reward money Han received from the Rebellion for rescuing Leia from the Death Star (an event that I don’t think has an official canon explanation). Crimson Jack (no relation to the alias of the same name used by Jude Law‘s character in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) was canonized in the 2022 Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy miniseries — but that version of the character lacks the panache of the original.

8. Fenn Shysa

What if Boba Fett, but in comic book green? One of the tricks deployed by the Star Wars comic creative teams was featuring characters who were similar to movie characters they couldn’t use (or do as much with), and Fenn Shysa was the poster child for the technique. A Mandalorian who knew Fett, Shysa crossed paths (and flirts) with Leia in his earliest appearances, Shysa went on to become a minor ally of the Star Warriors, getting involved in the later Tof-Nagai War that wrapped up the series. Later, he would get further entangled in Boba Fett’s pre-Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones origins and the broader Expanded Universe, but for a time, he served as an effective stand-in for Fett.

7. Plif

For anyone still angry about the Ewoks, I present to you Hoojibs, the adorable telepathic space bunnies who became key allies of the Rebellion. I first encountered the Hoojibs in the aptly-named book-and-tape Planet of the Hoojibs as a small boy. Little did I know at the time that the creatures — natives of the planet Arbra, which served as the chief Rebel base in the comics in the post-Empire Strikes Back/pre-Return of the Jedi period — were a staple of the comics. Plif was the most notable of all the Hoojibs, serving as a recurring supporting character throughout the back half of the series. He (they?) often teamed up with Luke and stuck with the Rebels even after they relocated to Endor. Unlike some other characters on this list, Plif hits just the right balance of “serious” and “ridiculous” for me.

6. Den Siva

In a sign of things to come in broader superhero comics, Den was more-or-less a character who got by on the strength of a strong visual — basically looking like one of The Sandman‘s Endless — memorably designed and drawn by Cynthia Martin in her all-too-short run on the title. Serving as a member of the extragalactic Nagai race introduced in the series, Den received an arc of sorts across the end of the series’ run, gradually transitioning from an out-and-out villain (working with the Imperial Remnant to take down the new government formed by the Rebellion) to an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” type through his infatuation with the Zeltron woman Dani and the arrival of the even-more barbaric Tof.

5. Jaxxon

Jaxxon is, perhaps, the poster child for original Star Wars comic book character; the one casual fans are most aware of. A seven-foot-tall wisecracking bunny (he’s basically Space Bugs Bunny), Jaxxon was introduced early in the series’ run as part of its first original story (a Han Solo-led, Roy Thomas-penned riff on The Magnificent Seven). George Lucas famously disliked the character, believing him to be too ridiculous. While Jaxxon has his fans, and is notable enough to merit a placement in these rankings, I fall closer to Lucas’ take on the character: Jaxxon pushed the level of whimsy and humor just a touch further than I prefer in my Star Wars stories. Hence, he ended up in the middle of the pack.

4. The Rik Duel Gang

I love these guys. Composed of leader Rik Duel, femme fatale Dani, and the unlucky Chihdo, the Rik Duel gang played a morally gray (sometimes an antagonist, sometimes an ally) role in Duffy’s run during the back third of the series. Honestly, both Rik (a sort of Han Solo stand-in at a time when he was out of play due to being frozen in carbonite) and Dani (who functions as a sort of “dark mirror” Leia before getting some significant development in the course of the Nagai-Tof storyline) could warrant their own spots on the list (Chihdo’s whole bit was that he’s constantly getting taken out of commission, so he existed mostly as a gag). Dani’s species, the purple-hued Zeltrons (who all basically act like hedonistic, horny teenagers), would later be canonized, but I would love to see more stories of this group specifically — a fun little sub-unit of characters who compare and contrast with the “Big Three” in interesting ways.

3. Domina Tagge

Taking a named-but-minor character from the films — in this case General Tagge, one of the Imperial officers aboard the Death Star — and expanding on their story via family members is another way licensed fiction can expand the world of the original without trampling over the source material. The Tagge family stood as one of the great recurring sources of foes throughout the original comic series, starting with the Cyclops-eyed, lightsaber-wielding Baron Orman Tagge during Archie Goodwin‘s post-New Hope run on the book. But it is Orman’s sister Domina who proved the most memorable of the Tagge family. Raised on a monastery planet (called Monastery) in an effort to keep her out of galactic affairs, Domina managed to be both more evil than her siblings but less ostentatious, a fascinating contrast that makes her a memorable character.

2. Valance the Hunter

One of the things original characters in licensed fiction let creators do is craft more complete character arcs (since they can only take the licensed characters so far), and Valance gets one of the best arcs in the original comic book series. A self-loathing cyborg bounty hunter who hates droids despite the cybernetic implants he needs to live, Valance became fixated on Luke because of the way he treats Artoo & Threepio as equals. Eventually, this drew him into conflict with Darth Vader, a character who stands as the dark ending of Valance’s character arc.

Along the way, Valance’s opinions about droids in general and Luke specifically changed, leading to him sacrificing himself against Vader to save Luke, a moving and well-executed character arc that unfolded over just a few appearances. If not for the fact that Valance was watered down a bit since being brought into the new canon (where he was turned into an Imperial classmate of Han’s and became a sort of rich man’s Dash Rendar), he may well have topped this list.

1. Shira Brie

Rebel pilot turned Imperial agent Shira Brie is another great original character with an arc; one who gets some added juice from also being a possible love interest for Luke — the only one of the Big Three capable of having such in the post-Empire, pre-Jedi timeline. Shira also benefited from the long-form nature of serial comic book storytelling, being introduced and having her profile gently raised over a number of issues without ever really being the focus of a given story. It made her eventual betrayal and apparent death all the more impactful. That death helped setup the book’s successful execution of a “I’m your father”-style reveal later in its run, making Shira one of the Star Wars comic’s most significant villains.