When Star Wars was acquired by Disney in 2014, I was among the legion of fans disappointed by the company’s decision to reboot the franchise’s continuity – but over the subsequent decade, Marvel’s line of Star Wars comics has changed my mind. Ultimately, in the comics at least, rebooting the canon has afforded contemporary creators the chance to tell some of the franchise’s best stories.

As a diehard Star Wars fan, I was more than displeased when the franchise’s canon –cultivated from myriad multimedia sources over the decades since the original film’s 1977 release – was set aside. I rejected the new continuity, and for a time, refused to engage with it.

In time, however, my stance softened, and upon returning to Star Wars comics for the first time in years, I found myself developing an admiration for the way Marvel has handled the franchise. In the process, I also came to a greater understanding of Marvel’s role in Star Wars history.

“Dark Droids” Helped Me Realize Star Wars’ 2014 Reboot Was The Right Move

Star Wars: Dark Droids #1-5 – Written By Charles Soule; Art By Luke Ross, Color By Alex Sinclair, Lettering By Travis Lanham

Marvel Comics had already begun to chip away at my apprehensions about Disney’s Star Wars continuity by the time I read Dark Droids, but the series did something remarkable: it actively made me come to view the reboot as a good idea. (Honestly, it is still something I came coming to terms with myself.) The wildly ambitious crossover broke new ground for Star Wars, emphasizing that Marvel has only scratched the surface of what they can bring to the galaxy. It was engaging to me as more than just a Star Wars fan; Dark Droids was effective, expansive sci-fi storytelling.

As a Star Wars fan, though, Dark Droids did more than just deliver a satisfying story – it helped me realize that my reaction to the reboot was visercal, and acknowledge that my attachment to the “Legends” canon was emotional, and sentimental. How I perceived Disney’s decision to reboot the franchise’s continuity, and my dogmatic desire to adhere to the Expanded Universe as I knew it, were deeply subjective responses. Only now can I consider – still subjectively, but from a previously unfathomable angle – the possibility that Disney made the right choice for the long-term health of the franchise.

Marvel’s Star Wars Comics Made Me Embrace The New Canon

Second Marvel Era: 2014-Present

As the past decade has made clear, the difference between Disney’s Star Wars canon and the old “Legends” canon – and by extension, Dark Horse and Marvel Star Wars comics – has been a matter of width vs. depth. What Dark Horse excelled at, and what I gravitated toward as a younger reader, was the ability to make the galaxy feel appropriately vast; to make it feel wild, and lived in, and strange; to truly expand the universe outward, making it larger, more detailed, and more dense.

In the second Marvel era of Star Wars comics, the company has instead opted to focus on adding depth and dimension to the franchise’s most iconic characters, patiently filling in the time period around the foundational pillars of the Original Trilogy. This has turned out to be a rich, rewarding endeavor, one that I now consider to be incredibly gratifying for longtime fans. Importantly, this was only possible as a result of rebooting canon, wiping the slate clean so that Marvel could tell its own story without any inhibitions.

Though in part, my greater appreciation for Marvel’s Star Wars relates to a shift in my tastes, and what I look for in pop culture, the onus remained to the publisher to deliver stories that resonated with me as a reader. In many cases, they have succeeded. Moreover, they continue to get even better at telling Star Wars stories. Not only has Marvel repeatedly validated my newfound trust in them to do right by the franchise, the company has given me the sense that the best is still yet to come.

Developing An Appreciation Marvel Comics’ History With Star Wars

First Marvel Era: 1977-1987

I have to admit – when Disney rebranded Star Wars canon and launched a rebooted continuity, I had already drifted away from the franchise. There was no dramatic break, I had just begun to read less and less Star Wars novels and comics, until the announcement of the reboot gave me a reason to stop. I would always have my “Legends” canon. Now, returning to the series as a more mature reader, I have recognized the value of Marvel’s current Star Wars comics. Beyond that, the publisher’s crucial role in the franchise’s early development has become more meaningful to me.

The first issue Marvel’s adaptation of the original Star Wars actually pre-dated the release of the film. From the very beginning, comics helped to generate some of the excitement for the movie, which helped make it a groundbreaking success. When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate the full context of Marvel’s long history with the franchise, but now it strikes me as important to my understanding of contemporary Star Wars comics. Rather than one of the dominant publishers in the industry acquiring one of the biggest pieces of IP in pop culture, Star Wars returning to Marvel was, in fact, a homecoming.

Revisiting Marvel’s first Star Wars run also offers context for the company’s current work with the franchise, which I have come to view almost as a second draft. A second bite at the apple, so to speak. In the 1980s, no one truly knew yet what the franchise had the potential to be. Now, four decades later, once again, Marvel is at the forefront of exploring that potential, and is making the most of the opportunity this time. Right now, the comic book medium is where the most exciting stories set in the Star Wars galaxy are being told.