Brand-new Black History Month variant covers have been announced for the current lineup of Marvel’sStar Warscomics, spotlighting Black characters from a galaxy far, far away, including from big Star Wars projects, likeThe Acolyteon Disney+ and theStar Wars: Outlawsvideo game. These covers mark the first comic book appearance of some of these fan-favorite Star Wars characters.
The first of the five featured characters is VailfromStar Wars: Outlaws, drawn by Ernanda Souza on the Black History Month variant cover ofStar Wars:Ahsoka#8.Mother Aniseya fromThe Acolytestars on the variant cover ofStar Wars: Legacy of Vader#1 by Karen S. Darboe.Osha and Mae fromThe Acolyteare drawn by Mateus Manhanini on the variant cover ofStar Wars:The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi#1.
Finally, Lando Calrissian fromThe Rise of Skywalkeris drawn by Ken Lashley on the Black History Month cover ofStar Wars:The Rise of Skywalker#1, a new adaptation of the movie. All Black History Month Star Wars covers will beavailable throughout February from Marvel Comics.
Marvel’sStar WarsComics Celebrate Black History Month by Spotlighting Fan-Favorite Characters
But Some Character Choices are Better than Others
Some of the 2025 choices for the Black History Month covers are great, and others leave something to be desired. Vail Tormin, a bounty hunter who players meet in the video gameStar Wars: Outlaws,is a great choice, as she is a new character tothe Star Wars galaxy, and the cover may beintroducing the character to fans who haven’t played the game. Mae and Osha, created by a vergence in the force inThe Acolyte,are another great choice for cover stars, as the cancelation of the show left fans wondering where their stories could go next. This cover is a good tease, as Osha shows off her new red lightsaber.
With the 10th anniversary ofThe Force Awakensin 2025, Finn may have been a better choice.
Lando Calrissian is a classic Star Wars character who will always be relevant to a galaxy far, far away, but being depicted in hisThe Rise of Skywalkerdesign and appearing on the cover forThe Rise of SkywalkerAdaptation#1 makes him even more perfect of a choice. Mother Aniseya, on the other hand,could have been replaced by someone else.The Acolyteis already represented in this variant cover series, and with the 10th anniversary ofThe Force Awakensin 2025, Finn may have been a better choice.
Our Take on These Star Wars Characters Making Their First Comic Appeareances
The Tenth Anniversary of Marvel Star Wars Storytelling
TheAhsokacomic series is an adaption of the Disney+ TV show of the same name, and Vail only appears inStar Wars: Outlaws,so she won’t be in the comic, but as a relatively new character,this variant cover marks Vail’s first comic appearance. While Mae and Osha are from the High Republic era,Fear of the Jeditakes place before they’re born, and Aniseya is dead before the events ofLegacy of Vader,but these covers will be their first comic appearances as well. Lando, of course, has played a role in various Star Wars comics since their beginning.
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Along with celebrating Black History Month, Marvel is celebrating ten years since Star Wars storytelling returned to Marvel Comics. Each of these variant covers has a little plaque in the top left corner that says “Star Wars Marvel 10 Years.” Celebrate Black History Month, along with the tenth anniversary ofStar Wars’return to Marvel’s comics, all throughout the month of February by picking up these variant covers from a local comic book store.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader#1is available February 5th, 2025;Star Wars: Ahsoka#8andStar Wars: The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi#1are available February 19th, 2025;Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Adaptation#1is available February 26th, 2025, all from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
