Star Wars is Bringing Back a Major Legends Villain

Star Wars comics have just officially made Prince Xizor, the leader of Black Sun, canon once again – how long until he appears?

You Are Reading :Star Wars is Bringing Back a Major Legends Villain

This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Crimson Reign #1.

The Star Wars comics have brought back Prince Xizor, ruler of the criminal empire Black Sun and one of the most important villains in the old Expanded Universe. Star Wars has always been somewhat of a transmedia franchise; the first official tie-in novel, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, was published in 1978. But it wasn’t until 1996 that Lucasfilm really began to earnestly explore the potential of a transmedia approach, with the story Shadows of the Empire – told in the form of a novel, a comic, and a video game.

One of the most popular stories in the old Expanded Universe, Shadows of the Empire was set shortly before Return of the Jedi and saw Princess Leia head to the criminal organization named Black Sun in the hopes they could help her track down the missing Han Solo. There, she met with Prince Xizor, a Falleen crime lord who possessed the power to release pheromones that manipulated others. Xizor became infatuated with Leia, using his pheromones to woo her, robbing her of all agency, in a plot that hasn’t aged well; still, he got his comeuppance in the end, underestimating Leia and her allies. Prince Xizor is generally considered one of the Expanded Universe’s greatest villains, even if it was erased from canon when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.

Star Wars: Crimson Reign #1, by Charles Soule and Steven Cummings, finally brings Prince Xizor back into continuity. The story is set close to the same time period as Shadow of the Empire, with Qi’ra attempting to provoke the Empire into conflict with the various crime syndicates by turning them all on one another. She targets Black Sun in particular, conveying messages for the attention of Prince Xizor.

Disney erased the Expanded Universe from canon when they purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, branding the content “Legends.” Since then, though, they’ve made it clear they intend to adapt the best elements for their new canon – with the most prominent example to date being Grand Admiral Thrawn, reintroduced as a villain in Star Wars Rebels, appearing in a range of new canon novels by legendary author Timothy Zahn, and set up as a returning villain in The Mandalorian’s era. Prince Xizor is second only to Thrawn himself in importance, making his absorption into canon especially exciting for fans of the old EU.

There’s a sense in which Prince Xizor’s return has been set up for quite some time. Black Sun appeared in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, and it was heavily implied they were run by the Falleen even in the new Disney canon. Now, Prince Xizor himself has returned – albeit indirectly, through conversation rather than in an explicit cameo. Hopefully, it won’t be long before one of the greatest villains of Star Wars transmedia history makes his bold return.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-crimson-reign-prince-xizor-return/