Since Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’s space opera extraordinaire, Saga, has a lot in common with Star Wars, it shouldn’t be surprising that the two series contain more than a few similarities. Both stories take place within a war-ravaged galaxy. However, while Star Wars focuses on the characters on the front lines of said war, Saga has its main characters trying to escape it all costs.
Tonally speaking, Saga and Star Wars technically couldn’t be more different, with Star Wars providing lighter, family-friendly entertainment ideal for all ages. Saga, on the other hand, has a notably far more graphic language, violence, and sexuality than George Lucas’s fan-favorite franchise. Despite the difference in tones, however, Star Wars‘ influence on Saga is very clear, especially in regards to its many characters roaming the war-torn galaxy of the series.
Alana and Finn
From an objective standpoint, it would be easy to cast the series’ two main characters, Alana and Marko, as being the Saga equivalent of Finn. All three characters deserted their former military positions, disgusted by the toll the war was taking on innocent people. However, it’s Finn and Alana’s personalities that more closely match.
In Saga, Alana is the stubborn yet endlessly loyal mother to Hazel and the loving wife of Marko. However, while Marko seems comfortable with his place in the universe after leaving his military behind, Alana seems more at odds about her role in the family and in civilian life. Much like Finn, she’s a character struggling to establish herself as a new person (a responsible parent) yet unable to completely leave her old life behind (in this case, the wild nature of a single young woman, rather than a soldier). It’s this nuance that most clearly aligns with Finn in the context of the story.
Marko and Luke Skywalker
Unlike Alana, who remains somewhat unsure of herself at times, her husband Marko seems completely at peace with his new role as a parent and protector of his family. Knowing that, what Star Wars character possesses that same level of inner harmony than Luke Skywalker?
Marko’s journey into parenthood is, in many ways, similar to Luke’s path into becoming a Jedi Knight. Both characters began their respective stories as young men wanting to be something more. Eventually, they would find it by becoming new versions of their past selves, with Luke becoming an experienced and powerful Jedi, and Marko becoming a father (a position in life he seems to have always wanted).
Hazel and Grogu
Perhaps the most on-the-nose connection on this list, Marko and Alana’s daughter, Hazel–who begins the series as a baby and is in the most recent Saga issue, #55, 9-years-old–has numerous similarities to The Mandalorian‘s Grogu.
Both characters, after all, began their stories as little more than children who were constantly being hunted by various mercenaries, bounty hunters, and Freelancers. In later years, with Hazel getting noticeably older in Saga, it’s perhaps more difficult to see the clear-cut similarities between Grogu and Hazel. However, as both characters are also fiercely protected by their loyal friends/family members, it’s easy to see the two hold a similar place in each of their series’ universes.
Izabel and Yoda
This one may seem unlikely, but when thinking about it very closely, Marko and Alana’s teenage ghost babysitter, Izabel, has quite a few similarities to Star Wars‘ Yoda.
For starters, both characters were first introduced in wild, jungle-like surroundings, with Luke initially encountering Yoda on the swamps of Dagobah and Izabel first appearing in the Rocketship Forest. Additionally, both characters would prove themselves to be invaluable sources of wisdom and advice for their series’ main protagonists. In many ways, Izabel’s constant input to the family proves the main ideal behind Yoda: wisdom can come from seemingly very odd, unlikely sources (such as the ghost of a murdered teenage alien).
Klara and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Marko’s mother, Klara, serves a somewhat small but recurring role in Saga as an advisor and guardian to the main characters. A mother herself, she also gives numerous lessons to Marko and Alana on parenthood, as well as acting as the occasional babysitter to her granddaughter, Hazel.
It can be difficult to see many similarities between Klara and Star Wars‘ famed Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, given the role they play as the mentor to the younger characters of their group, the connection between the two is fairly clear. Like Obi-Wan, Klara is an older warrior whose years of life prove an invaluable source of wisdom to her son and daughter-in-law, as do her years of combat experience when it comes to protecting her loved ones from harm.
Petrichor and Han Solo
Petrichor has had a somewhat short but memorable run in Saga so far. Originally introduced as a prisoner of war who Hazel and Klara encounter in a POW camp, she initially appears as a self-serving, somewhat selfish character whose only concern is her own survival, much like that roguish smuggler, Han Solo.
As the series goes on, and Petrichor spends more time with the family, she begins to see there is more to life than just survival, growing significantly as a result. It’s this realization that directly mirrors her character arch to Han Solo’s, with both characters first appearing as selfish and uncaring, but who eventually learn to connect with others during their journeys.
Prince Robot IV and Darth Vader
Like many characters on this list, it can be somewhat difficult seeing how exactly Prince Robot IV resembles one of Star Wars‘ main antagonists, Darth Vader. In terms of personality, Vader and IV arguably couldn’t be any more different, with IV’s character resembling that of a stuffy, English mansion butler.
However, looking more closely, the similarities are abundantly clear. For example, both characters hold high-ranking titles in their powerful governments. Additionally, both are haunted by their past life of war and combat, with IV experiencing severe PTSD, and Vader using his inner pain from his destruction of the Jedi Order, the loss of Padme, and Vader’s mother’s death as his most valuable weapon. They also appear in villainous roles, pursuing their series’ main characters across every reach of the galaxy, before eventually having a change of heart for the better.
The Will and Boba Fett
Out of everyone in the Saga cast list, The Will’s connection to Star Wars is incredibly clear, serving as a more complex version of one of Star Wars’ best bounty hunters, Boba Fett.
The Will’s “Freelancer” status in the world of Saga is–in many ways–basically equivalent to the bounty hunter role so many characters in Star Wars operated under–including Fett. Rather than just being a mostly silent figure in Saga who appears for only a few moments like Fett, The Will is a main focus in the series, serving an important role as Alana and Marko’s main pursuer after Prince Robot IV joins the family.
Lying Cat and Chewbacca
Like The Will, Lying Cat’s inspiration is that lovable Wookiee companion, Chewbacca, one of the most “boss” characters in all of Star Wars. Instead of accompanying the equivalent to Han Solo in Saga, however, Lying Cat appears alongside Saga‘s version of Boba Fett, The Will.
In essence, Lying Cat’s character design and presence in Saga is an almost comical inversion of Star Wars‘ Chewbacca. Whereas Chewie was based on that of a pet dog, Lying Cat was obviously based upon a household feline. Furthermore, both characters also have a limited vernacular, with Chewie speaking in his famous Wookiee growls and moans, and LC uttering her now-famous “Lying” whenever a character is guilty of not speaking the truth.
Sophie and Leia
On the surface, it may be somewhat to tough to see, but Sophie–the six-year-old girl The Will saves from the adult sex slave industry–draws some serious parallels with Star Wars‘ iconic princess, Leia Organa.
In fact, Brian K. Vaughan specifically included Sophie in Saga as a social critique of Leia’s sexualized portrayal as Jabba the Hutt’s palace slave, stating in an interview with Gizmodo, “That’s that character at her least sexy. There are slave girls in the world and they don’t look like Princess Leia in a bikini.” Additionally, despite their past traumas, both Leia and Sophie remain head-strong, capable individuals who never let their tragic backstories get in the way of their future.
