Continuing the endnotes for my first official Star Wars project, "The Emperor's Pawns," this time my sights are set set squarely on one of my favorite Star Wars characters. I promised over a year ago to write something about Lumiya, so this is it. And it's a doozy.

My introduction to the "Dark Lady of the Sith" of the early Star Wars comics wasn't actually from the comics themselves, but from a trading card in the second series of Topps' Star Wars Galaxy. I was immediately taken with this design of a Vader-like, female Sith. Soon after, I tracked down the old Marvel comics that featured her. In the days before eBay or the reprints from Dark Horse, it was quite a struggle to track down her final appearance in Star Wars #107, "All Together Now." I finally hunted down the issue at an out of the way comic book shop in Las Vegas, and forked over $50. It was a lot of dough for a teenager, but I finally knew the complete story of Lumiya. The result would ultimately be her inclusion among "The Emperor's Pawns" and eventually in Legacy of the Force.


Lumiya

At the time I wrote "The Emperor's Pawns," Lumiya was largely a forgotten memory. The character was originally created by David Michelinie and Walt Simonson and introduced in the Star Wars Marvel Comics as Shira Elan Colla Brie. Later, she was transformed into her more dramatic and familiar Vaderesque guise in the series' post-Return of the Jedi run by writer Jo Duffy and illustrators Bob McLeod and Cynthia Martin.

Lumiya was briefly resurrected in the mid-90s by author Michael Mikaelian for a flash fiction in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine #3--seemingly inspired by Colleen Doran's Topps card, since she also illustrated the short. Coincidentally, Mikaelian was the managing editor of Star Wars Gamer at the time I wrote "The Emperor's Pawns," and we were able to talk about our mutual affection for the character.

Most of the information on Shira's early life in "The Emperor's Pawns" comes directly from the comic Star Wars #63, "The Mind Spider" (1981, Marvel Comics) -- including her birthworld, academy training, and physiological enhancements. This issue dropped a bombshell on readers when it revealed the character was an Imperial double-agent.

If there was one thing I felt that I could add to Shira's backstory, it was to reinforce the emotional and psychological bonds tying her to Darth Vader begun by Michelinie and Simonson. Thus, while the fact that Shira was handpicked by Vader for training in intelligence comes down from the Marvel Comics, the fact she was chosen because the Dark Lord was drawn to her potential in the Force is new. Further, "The Emperor's Pawns" reveals Shira also trained in a variety of fighting styles, including Echani, which was the traditional martial art of the Imperial Royal Guards as seen in Crimson Empire #2 (1997, Dark Horse Comics), and Stava. The name "Stava" is new for the fighting style of the Noghri race, though it was derived from that of a vicious predator from these aliens' homeworld referred to in passing in Dark Force Rising (1992, Bantam). Connecting Shira to the Noghri, Darth Vader pet slave race, was intended to reflect the close bond the Sith Lord and the future Dark Lady shared.

The introduction of Imperial Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard from the novel X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (1996, Bantam) into Shira's history was new, but a good way of setting up the events of Lumiya mid-90s short story reappearance and the confrontations with Mara Jade alluded to in "The Emperor's Pawns" introductory vignette. Vader's arrangement with Isard to send Shira on a solo rite of passage mission for Imperial Intelligence after her graduation is new information, and the particulars of her assignment have yet to be revealed. In any case, it's based on her performance that Vader decides to give Shira the Luke Skywalker job.

That Vader charged Shira with discrediting or even killing his own son is revealed in Star Wars #63, "The Mind Spider" (1982, Marvel Comics). Meanwhile, Shira's near-fatal injuries in a dogfight with Luke occur in Star Wars #61, "Screamers in the Void" (1982, Marvel Comics).

"The Emperor's Pawns" continues the development of Vader and Shira's relationship by revealing that Shira survived her injuries in the vacuum of space by entering into a Force trance. This is a trick that slows an individual's body functions, almost to the point of death, in order to preserve energy. This concept was formally introduced in the novel Darksaber (1995, Bantam), but had been anticipated by the book Scoundrel's Luck (1990, West End Games) in form if not name. In this latter story, it's revealed that Darth Vader survived after the events of A New Hope in his damaged TIE fighter by entering into a mysterious comatose state. Therefore, "The Emperor's Pawns" reveals that when Vader finds Shira has survived in her own TIE fighter by pulling the same trick, the Dark Lord experiences an uncanny sense of déjà vu:

When Vader found her floating in a mangled TIE, the scene was eerily reminiscent of his own experience after being blasted from the Death Star. He felt an odd kinship with her, one he'd not felt since discovering his son.

When Vader also learns that Shira will require cybernetics to survive her ordeal, Vader makes the last symbolic hurdle to psychologically "adopt" this young woman as the daughter he won't realize he already has until Return of the Jedi. The reciprocal nature of the relationship is driven home later in the article when Vader is referred to as Lumiya's "beloved" master.

The name and character Lumiya, at the time unknown to be the alter ego of Shira Brie, was introduced in Star Wars #88 "Figurehead" (1984, Marvel Comics), where she was referred to on the cover as the "New Dark Lord of the Sith." The feminization of her Sith rank ("Dark Lady") wouldn't appear until Star Wars #96, "Duel With A Dark Lady" (1985, Marvel Comics).

The information about how Vader offered Lumiya to Palpatine with ulterior motives is new, referring back to the opening vignette, explaining how Lumiya became an Emperor's Hand. Meanwhile, the fact that Lumiya was away during the Battle of Endor constructing her lightwhip comes from Star Wars Galaxy Magazine #3, "Lumiya: Dark Star of the Empire" (1995, Topps). The world where she built her futuristic cat-o-nine-tails and the exotic materials used in its construction are new details. Ziost is the capitol of the old Sith Empire, as seen in the comic Golden Age of the Sith #3 (1996, Dark Horse Comics). The near-indestructible Mandalorian iron which Lumiya employs to forge the weapon comes from Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith #2 (Dark Horse Comics, 1994), while the shard of the immensely powerful Kaiburr crystal that belonged to Vader is from the pulpy classic Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978, Del Rey). The Kaiburr allusion here works overtime by further reinforcing Vader's special trust in Lumiya and also confirming a statement made by Luke that Kaiburr crystals are effective in lightsaber construction in Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers (1996, Berkeley/Boulevard).

The darksider Flint makes his debut in Star Wars Annual #3, "The Apprentice" (1983, Marvel Comics) and resurfaced for one more issue as the "Dark Lord of Belderone" in Star Wars #92, "The Dream" (1985, Marvel Comics). Though no direct relationship between Flint and Lumiya was ever established in the comics series, in light of Yoda's comment regarding the Sith (Always two there are... no more, no less. A master and an apprentice) the opportunity of tying the older Marvels' two coexisting Dark Lords to the brand-spankin' new prequels was too great to pass up. So "The Emperor's Pawns" canonized their cooperation. Later, the essay Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties (2006, StarWars.com) would explain the circumstances under which Flint came to be Lumiya's apprentice.

Mention of the Nagai alien invaders was a reference to the invasion storyline from Star Wars #95-107 (1985-1986, Marvel Comics). A line claiming that Lumiya and Flint together fought and were defeated by the alien invaders known as the Nagai was a flub that occurred after I submitted "The Emperor's Pawns" for editing (Lumiya and Flint actually fight alongside the Nagai), but I suppose it could be considered new information, perhaps a prelude to them working together.

The deal Lumiya strikes with Ysanne Isard for a fleet of Imperial warships and a contingent of Royal Guards is new information, though it refers to the events of the story "Lumiya: Dark Star of the Empire" in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine #3 (1995, Topps). Isard's request that Lumiya capture Mara Jade as part of the bargain is also new, and again refers to the opening vignette and illustration.

In imitation of the Sith Lord Darth Bane per The Phantom Menace novelization (1999, Del Rey), Lumiya is said to "plunge the Sith order back into secrecy." I wrote this line mostly as a safety net, quite expecting Lumiya to disappear into obscurity again after this article was published. The suggestion that Lumiya took on the Royal Guard Carnor Jax as her apprentice is a nod to the "opening crawl" from Crimson Empire #1 (1997, Dark Horse Comics), which states that Jax seeks to position himself as the new Dark Lord. That Jax was among the Royal Guards Lumiya acquired from Isard is new information.

The roleplaying adventure hook "Sinister Alliance" works a few angles. Jax's meeting with the Yuuzhan Vong representative Nom Anor is new information, though Anor himself was introduced in Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood #2 (1998, Dark Horse Comics), making the encounter more than plausible. The premise that the Vong are seeking a partnership with the Sith was inspired by the following exchange between two of the invaders in New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos -- Hero's Trial (2000, Del Rey):

"Someone purged the Jedi order itself... but who?"
"Those whom the Jedi call the Sith?"
"Then we may have allies in the galaxy."
"If any Sith remain, we may indeed."

Roleplaying game statistics for Lumiya offer a few more tidbits about the character. The fact that she can not only speak Basic but also Bothese, Calamarian, and Huttese is new. A Sith holocron listed among her effects is also new; this would eventually be revealed as an ancient dark side relic belonging to the monarch of the Sith species in Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties (2006, StarWars.com).

After her appearance in "The Emperor's Pawns," the character really started to pick up steam. Thereafter, my sometimes co-author Daniel Wallace included her in his New Essential Guide to Characters (2002, Del Rey). Soon after that, she got her own Databank entry on StarWars.com (2002, StarWars.com), and fans began to discover this cool villain all over again. Now that Lumiya's made the ultimate comeback as the string-pulling bad gal in the new Legacy of the Force series, I'm happy as Corellian peaches.

Lumiya has grown powerful in her seclusion, blending traditional Sith ways with new and dangerously innovative tactics.

That's how Lumiya's bio ends in "The Emperor's Pawns" ... a nice setup in retrospect. ~ Abel G. Peña

Continue on to The Emperor's Pawns Endnotes, Part 3: Blackhole and Revelations!

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