How Princess Leia Defeated Grand Moff Tarkin's Protégé In ‘Star Wars’
SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS #24
Written by prominent Star Wars author Charles Soule, the current mainline Star Wars (2020) comic series has served as a bridge between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In each arc of Soule’s comic, we’ve seen Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca, and the other Rebels deal with the fallout of the previous film as well as various other conflicts directly challenging their individual characters and storylines. While Luke seeks new mentorship in his quest to become a Jedi, Lando struggles with being loyal to the Rebel Alliance amidst his past dealings catching up to him. As Chewbacca plans his rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron attempt to balance their duties as Rebels with their lives as the parents of their newborn child Poe. But among these unique narratives, Leia’s has been especially compelling.
Still shaken by their losses at Hoth and Bespin, Leia has found herself struggling with her position of leadership within the Rebellion. Not helped by the loss of Han, her lack of trust in Lando, and Luke’s disappearance to wherever the Force is currently taking him, Leia is being stretched in a number of directions; any one of which may lead the Rebels to defeat. Leia’s conflicted position has only been exacerbated by the constant threat of Commander Ellian Zahra. Having lost her teacher and mentor Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star attack instigated by Leia, Zahra has dedicated herself to not only destroying the Rebellion but killing Leia and using her death to destroy the Rebels’ hope once and for all. Zahra’s chapter would come to an end in the recent Star Wars #24.
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In the previous issue, Zahra’s obsession led her to make an attempt on the heads of the Rebel Alliance in a desperate battle over Panisia. Fortunately, three Rebel pathfinders were able to infiltrate her flagship, the Tarkin’s Will, and sacrificed themselves to destroy the Star Destroyer’s engines and cause it to crash. With nothing left to lose, Zahra openly challenged Leia to a final hunt on the planet’s surface.
Star Wars #24 opened with Leia following Zahra into a cave alongside Chewbacca, Kes Dameron, and a few other Rebels. Zahra caught the Rebels off guard and killed most of them when she fired at the explosive tibanna gas coating the cave floor. The Imperial went on to duel Leia and throw her from the edge of a cliff before being thrown from it herself by Chewbacca. Upon reaching the bottom of the cave, a few winged cave creatures swarmed Leia before Zahra killed them with her blade. Zahra then told Leia to run while she hunted the princess through the cave. All the while, Zahra taunted Leia by reminding her of their previous encounter. Once Zahra had Leia cornered, she explained that she would gut Leia like a deer and leave her corpse for her fellow Rebels to find, finally destroying their last remaining hope.
However, this was interrupted when the larger cave creature attacked, pinning Zahra to the cave wall with its webbing. It had come to avenge the death of its offsprings. Zahra pleaded for her weapon to defend herself from the creature so that she and Leia can continue their fight and settle their score. Chewbacca and Kes arrived and drove the creature away with blaster fire. Stuck to the wall, Zahra predicted that Leia would not kill her and would instead take her to the Rebellion to be tried for her crimes. To this, Leia explained that she had blood on her hands as she was the one who ordered the assault on the Death Star. However, the destruction of the Death Star was not out of revenge for Alderaan. Rather, she killed only when she absolutely had to in the name of justice in the war against fear and tyranny. Leia told Zahra there was more than one kind of justice as she, Kes, and Chewbacca walked away, leaving Zahra to be devoured by the vengeful creature.
While her action here seemed out of character, as Leia said, she only kills when she absolutely needs to. Zahra had proven more than once that she was more than capable of not only crushing the Rebellion but of acquiring sensitive information and eluding capture. With the Rebel fleet in disarray and Zahra being in charge of the campaign against them, it makes sense that Leia would leave her to her death rather than attempt to imprison her or put her on trial.
Ellian Zahra’s end in Star Wars #24 is fitting for a myriad of reasons. As the apprentice of Tarkin, she dedicated herself to the thrill of the hunt and the satisfaction of breaking her prey. She was also motivated by her desire to get revenge on Leia for causing the death of her mentor. It is quite poetic that her story ended with her at the mercy of a greater hunter seeking revenge against her for killing its offsprings. As Star Wars has shown us many times before, the path of revenge never ends well. Ultimately, Zahra’s stubbornness and overconfidence led to her final defeat, much like her mentor before her.
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