Published Jun 19, 2026, 3:36 PM EDT
CBR senior staff writer Brian Cronin has been writing professionally about comic books for twenty years now at CBR (primarily with his “Comics Should Be Good” series of columns, including Comic Book Legends Revealed). He has written two books about comics for Penguin-Random House – Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed and Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? And Other Amazing Comic Book Trivia! and one book, 100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, from Triumph Books. His writing has been featured at ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, About.com, the Huffington Post, Vulture and Gizmodo. He features legends about entertainment and sports at his website, Legends Revealed and other pop culture features at Pop Culture References. Follow him on Twitter at @Brian_Cronin and feel free to e-mail him suggestions for stories about comic books that you'd like to see featured at brianc@cbr.com!
The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Echoes of the Empire #3, on sale next week from Marvel Comics
As we have been noting for the run of this new Galaxy's Edge series, the main driving force of this new comic book is the fact that Disney has made a slight adaptation to its famous Galaxy's Edge land at Disney World (and Hollywood Studios in California) where fans get to enjoy an immersive experience set on a planet called Batuu that was specifically set in the continuity of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, and had no connection to the original Trilogy of Star Wars fans.
Disney decided to change it so that the original Star Wars characters would still be involved, and as a result, here we have a new story that revealed that there was an untold mission on Batuu during the time period of the original Star Wars films that saw all of the main Star Wars characters head to the planet.
In this CBR exclusive preview of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Echoes of the Empire #3, we see what happens when Darth Vader tears into the planet.
STAR WARS: GALAXY’S EDGE – ECHOES OF THE EMPIRE #3
ETHAN SACKS (W)
JETHRO MORALES & ROI MERCADO (A)
Cover by PHIL NOTO
Character Variant Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Variant Cover by WALT SIMONSON
Pride Connecting Variant Cover by RICKIE YAGAWA
INVASION OF BATUU!
• DARTH VADER takes on a DROID fighting force!
• But will the epic battle give LUKE, LEIA, CHEWIE, C-3PO and R2-D2 a chance to escape the IMPERIALS?
• Meanwhile, OGA makes her move against the syndicate running BLACK SPIRE OUTPOST.
32 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
In the preview pages, we get a reminder that the whole story is being told as a flashback in the future with Rey talking to someone who lived on Batuu at the time (after all, the Sequel Trilogy is only thirty or so years after the original Star Wars trilogy).
And then we see an EPIC double-page spread where the residents have all decided to protect Princess Leia (and the mysterious relic that Vader is looking for) by all attacking Darth Vader at once. As we know, such an approach is basically an exercise in joint suicide, but as we have seen from various Star Wars stories over the years, sometimes one of the best things in life is to know that you died for the greater good.
Vader, of course, is tearing through all of these non-soldiers like they're butter and he's a warm knife, but it looks like the attack might give Leia and the others the chance to escape, but they better hurry! To see if they make it out before Vader catches up to them, check out Star Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Echoes of the Empire #3 when it comes out next week!
English (US) · 