Princess Leia”s day in the sun has been a long time coming. Between comforting Luke Skywalker – a guy she just met – over the death of an old man he”d known for three days instead of mourning the devastating loss of her home planet, and rescuing Han Solo – which got her captured into ambiguous sexual slavery for her efforts – the last Princess of Alderaan continuously got the short end of the stick when it came to the original trilogy.
But no more. PRINCESS LEIA #1 begins to explore why Leia might not grieve more openly…and how that makes her look like a cold-blooded witch to some of those around around her. After all, while the breakneck speed of the films doesn”t allow audiences to stop and examine her title, Leia is royalty. Being heir to the Alderaan throne* comes with years of training; a sense of propriety and aloofness that is hard to shake even in the face of losing your family and your homeworld.
*Interestingly, it appears Alderaan”s monarchy is matrilineal. This would explain why Bail would be so willing to take Leia and not Luke at the end of Episode III. House Organa needed an heir.
This sense of duty allows Leia to shove aside her grief and focus on problems she can fix. If only she can keep busy, perhaps she”ll never have to come to grips with her feelings. While that plan is working just fine for now, even an Organa can”t win this battle forever. I sense a great breakdown in her future.
Marvel also continues the process of bringing the male to female ratio in Star Wars back into alignment with reality. The female X-Wing pilots cut from “Return of the Jedi” can rest well knowing that an Alderaan survivor named Evaan carries on for them. Choosing to have Leia ditch her status as the Token Girl™ to team up with another woman from her home planet was a refreshing step forward. A hardscrabble outfit like the Rebel Alliance couldn”t afford to turn down able-bodied fighters because of petty things like their species or gender.
If the cover of PRINCESS LEIA #2 is any indicator, Leia and Evaan will be kicking ass and taking names across the galaxy. It”s about time.