Emperor Palpatine secretly made himself immune to a Death Star-level superweapon

Warning! Warning! Spoilers for Star Wars #50 ahead!

Before his defeat at Endor, the heroes of Star Wars‘ Original trilogy almost taken down Emperor Palpatine In a radically different way – except, as they discovered, he’d defend against even what is possibly the most unique superweapon in Star Wars Canon. While Palpatine made it to the Death Star on the second Death Star, it was only because Luke Skywalker and his allies made a difficult moral choice.

Star Wars #50 – written by Charles Soule, with art by Madibek Musabekov – is the finale for Marvel’s long-running comic series, which has carefully crafted stories that take place in the years between the original trilogy films. As Marvel wraps up its comics set between Empire strikes back And Return of the JediAnd looking at the future, the introduction of the “Grim Rose” could have big implications for the franchise.

In the issue, the rebellion’s heroes Attempting to use the Grimm Rose against Palpatine – only to discover that it would cause the deaths of many people galaxy-wide.

Emperor Palpatine’s Immunity to the “Grim Rose,” Star Wars’ Dark New Superweapon, Explained

Star Wars #50 – Written by Charles Soule, art by Madibek Musabekov; Color by Rachel Rosenberg; Lettering by Clayton Cowles

One defining quality of Marvel’s Disney era Star Wars Ongoing comic series was his ambition. Not content to just provide filler stories for the gaps between original trilogy films, Marvel’s Star Wars – especially under the auspices of writer Charles Sole – has found the most exciting ways to play within the boundaries. Star Wars #50 is a thrilling culmination of and conclusion to this ongoing project. By centering it around the “Grim Rose,” Sole and the creative team behind the book take the opportunity to play with readers’ expectations for this era one last time.

Star Wars #50 is a classic “too-good-to-be-true” story; The Grim Rose is both mystical and mythical, an ancient weapon of majestic power, seemingly designed to safely strike the galaxy’s most dangerous people, among whom Emperor Palpatine has no equal.. Unfortunately, as it turns out, using the weapon carries a large price. As the issue reveals, the Grim Rose follows a kind of path of connection through space and time to its target, identifying people that the target has “Touched“- not necessarily just physically, but in terms of influence and other non-material connections.

Of course, Emperor Palpatine is one of the most influential figures in galactic history, and has been at the center of galactic politics for decades, through the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire, all of which he orchestrated. Consequently, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, C-3PO and R2-R2 are faced with the collective horrifying realization that not only is the Grim Rose using the people to zero in on its intended victim, but it is killing them as well. . When they discover the incalculable side effects of the weapon, they decide to stop it – but only after some hesitation.

The heroes of the original trilogy almost took down Palpatine before Endor – but the cost was too great

The moral dilemma at the center of Star Wars #50

The main thing Star Wars #50 comes down to a moral argument. The issue as a whole encapsulates the virtues of Marvel’s series—its action and adventure, its sweeping approach to franchise lore, its narrative scope and depth—but the issue is at its best when it distills an important point about the series’ good vs. . Evil battle. In the end, it’s as much about what the Rebellion isn’t willing to do to win the Galactic Civil War as it is about the lengths they’re willing to go to.

Violent conflict is, of course, central to Star Wars – And so there is no victory for the franchise heroes that does not involve the weight of some moral cost. However, there is such a thing as “too far” for the protagonists of the series, especially Luke Skywalker, to go to kill Palpatine; When Lando asserts the “end-justifies-the-means” perspective in Star Wars #50, Luke is unequivocal in his rejection of it. Especially considering the frame story of the issue – with Luke relating the story to a pre-Fall Ben Solo – this is the stand-out moment of the issue.

The “Grim Rose” is a perfect centerpiece for the conclusion to Marvel’s Star Wars run

An expertly deployed narrative device

Finally, in the long run, the Grim Rose superweapon introduced in Star Wars #50 may reappear in subsequent stories – either set in the future or the past. Much about the weapon remains a mystery, but the issue emphasizes how truly dangerous it is. The Grim Rose is also a unique and exciting variation on the superweapons that most fans are familiar with. Effectively, this newly-introduced device is on par with the Death Star in terms of its potential for destruction, especially when pointed at someone as influential as Palpatine.

In the short term, the Grim Rose operated as a pitch-perfect narrative device for Star Wars #50. It allowed writer Charles Sole to explore the moral limits of the Rebellion’s war against Palpatine, while crafting a grand and spectacular series finale for the comic. Like the rest of Sole Star Wars In their best stories, the issue is not concerned with the fact that its ending is pre-ordained, but rather with offer a startling, often unexpected new insight into how the characters got to their familiar endpoints.

As a concept, the Grim Rose is ambitious and exciting, which makes it more effective as a plot device. In other words, this is another wild move for Marvel’s Star Wars To take, but it does so in service to sliding the final puzzle piece in place as the events of Return of the Jedi Arrive, put the characters on their vectors to destiny, and close one era of Star Wars Comics, just as another is about to begin.

Expect the dirty rose to come back in Star Wars’ post-Return of the Jedi era

A superweapon concept is also good not to revisit

in Star Wars #50, Once Luke and the others realize they can’t let the Grim Rose kill Palpatine, they attempt to destroy it – But of course, ending the threat isn’t that simple, leading Luke on a perilous journey to avoid the weapon’s course. Although the Grim Rose serves its purpose in this issue, helping to bring about a satisfying finale for this one Star Wars Run, it’s unlikely to be a one-off, as the concept for the superweapon has too much potential.

Whether her mysterious past is explored in more detail, or the Grimm Rose eventually falls into the wrong hands and proves to be a threat later in the franchise’s chronology, readers should expect that they have not encountered this powerful addition to Star Wars Mythology for the last time. Meanwhile, it stands as the perfect capstone to Marvel’s Star Wars Ongoing series, which has helped make comics the most daring, must-read corner of the Star Wars Universe in the Disney Era.

Star Wars #50 is available now from Marvel Comics.