Each week Star Wars Spotlight combs through the digital archives of Marvel Unlimited to showcase one classic story from that distant galaxy filled with Jedi, Sith, princesses, scoundrels and droids.

For Luke Skywalker that old adage about not going home again proved true in the pages of STAR WARS #31–34 from the original series. Written by Archie Goodwin with Carmine Infantino pencils, this four issue arc kicked off with Luke returning to his native planet of Tatooine in an effort to recruit blockade-running pilots to help the Rebellion.

Instead he immediately spotted Imperial Troopers before returning to his old, burned-out house to find that his old friends Fixer and Camie had taken the Moisture Farm over for the House of Tagge. Regular readers will remember that Baron Tagge held fantasies of vengeance against both Luke and Darth Vader. He also planned a new destructive project called Omega Frost that could freeze even the deserts of Tatooine beneath those dual suns.

Luke and the droids decided to finally get on with their assignment and head to that beloved hive of scum and villainy also known as Mos Eisley where, go figure, they ran into Han Solo and Chewbacca, who themselves returned to the planet after in order to drop Jabba off after the last arc. Thanks to Fixer’s dropping the dime on Luke, the space-faring friends took off as Stormtroopers busted up their reunion. During the escape, their speeder took fire and eventually died out leaving them at the mercy of the Jawas who inadvertently discovered one of the Omega Frost devices.

Star Wars (1977) #31

• Published: October 23, 1979
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 15, 2015
• Rating: All Ages
• Writer: Archie Goodwin
• Cover Artist: Carmine Infantino

Read

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Before long, the group returned to the Millennium Falcon and took off for space in the pages of issue #33. Luke infiltrated an in-space exchange and overheard Baron Tagge’s plans for the Omega Frost weapon, which could spell certain doom for the Rebellion.

Captured, Luke battled Baron Tagge in a lightsaber duel that resulted in the youth destroying his opponent’s special glasses, but not actually hurting Tagge in the process, even given the darkened conditions. Luke quickly escaped in a TIE Fighter, but remained far from safe and sound.

Finally, in the last piece of the story, Luke jettisoned himself from the fighter as Han returned in the Millennium Falcon with Princess Leia to see the kind of trouble the Omega Frost could produce in open space. Alone with just a space suit, jetpack and his lightsaber, Luke attacked the Omega Frost-producing device and barely survived the ensuing explosion. Luckily for him, the Falcon flew nearby and Han picked him up!

From the Jedi Temple Archives

In addition to bringing back characters like Fixer and Camie who originally appeared in the first draft of the “New Hope” script and also in the pages of STAR WARS #2, these issues also bring in another fun bit of Star Wars culture in the form of the Imperial Troop Carrier! Toy-minded fans will remember this as one of the vehicles released in 1979. You could pack a bunch of figures in this sound-enhanced vehicle. In addition to popping up on Tatooine in these issues, it also appeared several times in early episodes of “Star Wars Rebels,” a show that has gone to great lengths to mine the archives for all kinds of nods to the designs that went into making this franchise memorable.

Next week we check back in on DARTH VADER by Charles Soule and Salvador Larroca with issues #7-12!

The X-Men clash with giant monsters in ALL-NEW X-MEN #1.MU, out February 1, but not for the first time. The merry mutants’ history’s littered with instances of colossal creatures crashing their parties, but this latest threat might prove the most challenging.

Take a look at a few of our favorite instances of the X-Men squaring off against monstrous opponents.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #10

• Published: March 10, 1965
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 08, 2009
• Rating: T+
• Penciller: Jack Kirby
• Cover Artist: Jack Kirby

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Giant Size X-Men (1975) #1

• Published: January 01, 1975
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Writer: Linda Fite
• Penciller: Werner Roth
• Cover Artist: Gil Kane

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #96

• Published: December 10, 1975
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Rating: T+
• Writer: Chris Claremont, Bill Mantlo
• Penciller: Dave Cockrum
• Cover Artist: Dave Cockrum, Sal Buscema

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #181

• Published: May 10, 1984
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: May 19, 2014
• Rating: T+
• Writer: Chris Claremont
• Penciller: John Romita
• Cover Artist: John Romita

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Astonishing X-Men (2004) #39

• Published: June 01, 2011
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: May 16, 2012
• Rating: T
• Writer: Daniel Way
• Penciller: Jason Pearson
• Cover Artist: Jason Pearson

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Join up with the mutant heroes as they dive into Monsters Unleashed in ALL-NEW X-MEN #1.MU on February 1!

With so many classic creatures on the loose in Monsters Unleashed, we turn to their earlier adventures thanks to Marvel Unlimited.

Unlike many of the other Monsters Unleashed creatures, Genie doesn’t do anything terrible on his own accord. In 1960’s TALES TO ASTONISH #8, thanks to the artistic talents of Jack Kirby on pencils and Steve Ditko on inks, we meet the wish-granting being. Unfortunately for Genie—and the world—he found himself bound to a scheming ex-con named Freddy Sykes who read “Arabian Knights” while locked up in prison and eventually tracked down a stray lamp in a southern swamp after serving his time.

At first Freddy wished for opulent, but ultimately harmless items like a solid gold castle and a winged horse. After that, though, his requests became more harmful and megalomaniacal. He wished for the oceans to dry up and then to block the whole sun. Genie disapproved of each request, but had to fulfill them thanks to the rules binding his kind.

Just as Freddy intended to use the lack of water and sun to make himself the most powerful man on the planet, he had another idea: “If I traded places with the Genie—if I became the Genie, then I wouldn’t be dependent on him [anymore]! I would have all his magic powers and I could do whatever I wanted myself!”

Tales to Astonish (1959) #8

• Published: March 01, 1960
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Penciller: Don Heck
• Cover Artist: Jack Kirby

Read

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Well, apparently ol’ Freddy didn’t read all the same Genie stories we’ve seen because he completely forgot that they tend to be cursed into granting only the wishes of the one who freed them. With their roles reversed, Genie ordered Freddy to return the ocean and unmake the castle and horse before sending him back into his new home: the bottle. As Genie walked away, he pledged to live a life worth living while also hoping that Freddy would spend enough time cursed to learn his own lesson.

That didn’t quite pan out as Freddy the Genie appeared in the following issue of TALES TO ASTONISH. He’d floated around the swamp for a while, building up a layer of grime on his bottle, so when a passerby found it, he didn’t see anything inside but left it uncorked allowing Freddy to escape! The ne’er-do-well immediately flew to New York City and negated gravity before going on a country-wide tour of mayhem that also included bringing the moon to Earth. He then planned to take over the planet and extend his empire into space before realizing he lost his abilities outside of Earth’s atmosphere!

Quickly returned to the bottle, Freddy understood his punishment: “I know now that I’ll remain here until the greed and avarice are purged from my soul! And then—in time—who knows?” Who knows indeed?

Tomorrow, witness the birth of Devil Dinosaur and his pal Moon Boy thanks to the master monster maker Jack Kirby!

When you get great minds together, great things inevitably happen. But factor in super powers, a jealous villain, and a large, red dinosaur and you have something really special going on!

On January 25, the team behind MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR invite the latest and greatest mind of the Marvel Universe—RiRi Williams—to team up with the “Smartest There Is” in Lunella Lafayette, aka Moon Girl in issue #15 of the latter’s ongoing series! Before this story comes out, however, we wanted to talk with writers Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder about why they think these two up-and-comers represent some of the most brilliant in the MU and how Ironheart’s arrival on the scene could be important for the precocious young Lunella.

Marvel.com: Brandon and Amy, you just set loose the second part of “The Smartest There Is” story arc this past Wednesday, and next month, readers will see RiRi Williams, aka Ironheart, make her appearance in MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR. Why was RiRi someone you wanted to bring into Lunella’s world?

Brandon Montclare: There’s a lot of wunderkinds—especially science brainiacs—among the younger, newer characters. Amadeus Cho was maybe the first, and he’s had a lot to do and say with Moon Girl. Now it’s RiRi Williams’ turn—and the fans have really been wanting to see this happen. That just shows you how popular Iron Heart is, even though she’s a very new character.  There’s also Nadia Pym. And Lunella will be appearing in the early issues of UNSTOPPABLE WASP. You had Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Hank Pym putting their heads together. It’s natural for this new generation to come together in the same ways.

Amy Reeder: And even though I only got to draw her on the cover, she’s such a cool character with a great design. I’m excited for everyone to see [series artist] Natacha Bustos’ version of RiRi Williams. I was super excited when I saw it!

Marvel.com: They do seem to have a lot in common. Would Lunella see RiRi as something of a role model or bigger sister?

Amy Reeder:  A big part of Lunella’s story is how difficult it is for her to connect with people. She thinks differently and doesn’t know how to let people in. With Hulk, he seemed paternalistic and maybe even condescending at first. But he had to have incredible patience with the precocious Lunella Lafayette. He’s bounced back into the story in issues #12-14, but Lunella still keeps him at arm’s length. I think the big sister stuff happened with Ms. Marvel in the second arc. Where the relationship lands between RiRi and Lunella is very, very important to #15, so readers will have to wait and see! But it’s safe to say that RiRi is one of the first people to “get” Lunella.

Brandon Montclare: Yeah. I think the only one who really gets her—and who she lets in, even though she doesn’t really recognize it—is Devil Dinosaur. His unconditional support—again, never recognized—is probably the thing that’s allowing Lunella to grow. It’s not her smarts.

Marvel.com: Like any siblings, however, rivalry usually factors into the equation at some point. Given that these two young women are known for their unparalleled intellect and ability, who do you think is the smartest?

Amy Reeder: Ah! Again, we don’t want to spoil anything. But when the rivalry plays out in #15, I’ll say this: Expect the unexpected.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #15 cover by Amy Reeder

Brandon Montclare: Lunella’s the Smartest There Is! I’m biased, of course, but it’s nonetheless true. It’s not just the Banner Box—by the end of the arc the world will start to clock that there’s a new top intellect in the Marvel Universe. And on that rivalry: Fighting over that kind of ranking maybe isn’t something that top minds do. Leave that to the second-raters like the apparently incongruous Doctor Doom that’s been stalking Moon Girl.

Marvel.com: If you were limited to one reason as evidence for Moon Girl’s claim as the smartest genius in the Marvel Universe, what would it be?

Brandon Montclare: If I had to pick one reason, it’s the Banner Box—the ostensibly “unsolvable” test that Bruce Banner left as his legacy. Reed Richards tried, but couldn’t crack it before [he] disappeared. More than just a puzzle to prove Lunella is the biggest genius in the Marvel Universe, it connects Lunella to past characters who are now gone.

Marvel.com: On the other hand, what do you think makes RiRi competitive as one who could lay claim to that same title?

Amy Reeder: Well, she built a suit of Iron Man armor out of spare parts, impressing the hard-to-impress Tony Stark. Not too shabby! But both these characters are new, and Marvel is going to be telling a lot of stories with these characters for years to come, which will back up their cred.

Marvel.com: Any friendly competitions aside, what aspects of writing these characters’ interactions do you enjoy the most? 

Amy Reeder: All the interactions, honestly. It’s a great opportunity for character moments when these two meet. There’s plenty of action, and the background intrigue deepens a lot in this issue. But having these two talk is what’s most enjoyable, almost regardless of what’s happening around them.

Brandon Montclare: I just like setting it all up for Natacha’s line art. As Amy mentioned, it’s full of character moments. That’s fun to write—but we write to showcase Natacha. There aren’t many people who can do it the way she does. And there’s no one who can do it as well with Moon Girl, that’s for sure. So we take advantage of that. We work hard to make every page visually interesting—or I should say, potentially visually interesting for Natacha to execute, with Tamara Bonvillain making her tremendous creative contributions with color. Natacha is an ace drawing expressions and emotional interactions, in general. And already having seen Natacha’s art on #15, I think these two specific characters playing off each other is something really special.

Marvel.com: Last question! If we are looking at the two most intelligent minds in the Marvel Universe, what sort of villain would think to step up to the plate and confront them?

Brandon Montclare: The one who popped up at the end of #14 isn’t going away anytime soon! Doctor Doom was always second-best to Mr. Fantastic. And it always bothered him. With Reed Richards gone, this should have been his big moment. But he’s trumped by the new kid on Yancy Street.

Amy Reeder: Or is he? There’s some twists coming up that will definitely explain the inexplicable.

Step up for intellectual interactions aplenty in MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #15, available January 25 thanks to Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos and company!