Disney+ is making a big push into geek-friendly households and onto our screens. Three new Marvel superhero shows are just the beginning. Exploring Disney's other major nerd IP, the Star Wars universe is also making a dramatic expansion onto the small screen. New episodes of Clone Wars, new series The Mandelorian, and now Obi-Wan all show tremendous promise. Titillating nerd tastebuds even further, Disney just announced that Ewan McGregor will be reprising his role as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on the titular show. McGregor was the best thing to happen to the prequels. With his star power added to the mix, what are we hoping we'll see on the show? One of the best places to look is in the Star Wars comics Marvel published in the 2010s... and much earlier, as we'll see.
10 Ben's Life on Tatooine
Disney has revealed little about this show's plot and characters. That said, it makes sense that some of its stories will take place on Tatooine. This desert world is where audiences first encountered the sophisticated space wizard, where he was both in hiding and keeping a watchful eye over the Skywalker family. Starting in 2016, Marvel published a series of stories "From the Journals of Old Ben Kenobi." These journals show Obi-Wan trying and failing to keep his nose clean on the desert planet, and coming into conflict with Jabba during "The Great Drought." There's also a wicked Wookee bounty hunter, Black Krrsantan, introduced in this story. He'd be a great addition to the show.
9 Sand People Treated Like Real People
Speaking of Tatooine, one of the fan-favorite features of that lump of sun-bleached sand are the Tusken Raiders, aka Sand People. They're clearly an intelligent, if hostile, indigenous people. In the films they've been treated as monsters without personalities or culture. The Obi-Wan series provides an opportunity to make the Tuskens more interesting. Hopefully we'll see what makes them so aggressive and odd.
Again, the comics have already done some of the heavy lifting. The 2017 story "The Sand Will Provide" explores the Tuskens' traditions, their relationship with their Dewback steeds, and their belief that all water is sacred. Some of the story veers into stereotypical "noble savage" territory, but the idea is good. Also along those lines...
8 Force-Sensitive Mystics
Jedi and Sith don't have a monopoly on mystic power throughout the galaxy. Places and people are untouched by their influence, but still touched by The Force. Dating all the way back to 1977, Marvel's original run of Star Wars comics give us some templates to build on. These include a shaman known as "The Old One" and Don-Wan Kihotay, an old man who believed he was a Jedi Knight. These individuals seem to lack the discipline that comes with Jedi training. They also seem... unstable. The Old One was killed by the "Behemoth" he summoned to protect his town. Kihotay was modeled on Don Quixote. Also of interest are followers of shamanic and religious traditions with nothing to do with Jedi, like the obscure Priests of the Sacred Way. It's all good as long as no one mentions midichlorians ever again.
7 Clat the Shamer and the Guild of Vindicators
Proof that Jedi aren't the only ones with magic powers, Clat the Shamer was a mutant in the original Star Wars comics. As a leader in the Guild of Vindicators, a vengeful secret society, Clat was also a psychic assassin. He compelled guilty consciences to commit suicide and eventually tried to kill Darth Vader.
The Guild targeted Imperial war criminals almost exclusively. Clat's a menacing, Sith-like presence, with his gaunt face and bad teeth, but technically on the side of good. Demonstrating the effects of war on the galaxy as a whole, groups like The Guild make a lot of sense. They serve as living emblems of vengeance, and how it turns victims into the monsters they try to punish.
6 Jaxxon, the Mean Green Space Rabbit
Bucky O'Hare? No relation.
Once the Rebels blew up the Death Star, Marvel's original run of Star Wars comics were left to their own devices. This resulted in the heroes wandering around the galaxy doing whatever series writer Roy Thomas thought they should. Jaxxon, a large green carnivorous rabbit, is the ultimate expression of this approach. He joined Han Solo's "Star-Hoppers" in a Magnificent Seven-style rescue mission. Jaxxon had a wicked tongue and a acerbic sense of humor. He also leaned into the whole "space bunny" thing, naming his ship The Rabbit's Foot. No friend to The Empire, he's a great variation on Han Solo's character type, and just ridiculous enough to always amuse.
5 Sithspawn
The Sithspawn are animals and sentients that Sith Lords have mutated using a combination of genetic engineering and the Dark Side. Grotesque and violent, Sithspawn often have supernatural powers unlike any Sith or Jedi. While groups of similar Sithspawn exist, no two are the same.
The term "Sithspawn" was coined in the 1994 Dark Horse Comics series Dark Empire II. These monsters have played major roles in the Star Wars video game franchises as well. The idea behind them goes back even further to the original Star Wars series. Creatures like "The Smoke Demon" from 1979's Star Wars Annual and 'The Behemoth from the World Below" fit neatly into this category. Sithspawn are morally ambiguous monsters, perfect villains for any Star Wars horror stories. They're also a perfect excuse for the creators to get creative in their monster designs. Face it-- everything's better with Sithspawn.
4 Elite Storm Troopers
Imperial Storm Troopers are known for their power to blast vaguely in the heroes' general direction. That's not true of Sergeant Kreel and Task Force 99, aka SCAR Squadron. Kreel is a dangerous force on his own, wielding a stolen lightsaber and surviving multiple duels with Luke Skywalker. Paired with the rebel-hunting Task Force 99, he's truly deadly.
Kreel has been a spy as well as a soldier, and he's as smart as he is fanatical and ruthless. He's roamed the galaxy and even worked with the Hutts. He'd be a natural choice to send after Obi-Wan if the Empire is hunting the fugitive Jedi.
3 More Weird Aliens
Critters like giant space worms, wampas, and sarlaccs are staples of the Star Wars universe. True to form, the comics give us a larger pool of alien horrors and allies to draw on. Marvel's more recent series (2016 to present) has introduced telepathic parasites, rock monsters (or maybe rock people?) and even a living mountain that Yoda fought. The original (1977-1986) Marvel series introduced creatures like the Sea Dragons of Drexel. Other comics creations have included brain worms that could animate the dead - so yes, Star Wars Zombies. Living gemstones that spread a fatal disease have even been a part of the comics canon. We're looking forward to a larger, weirder galaxy, and alien monsters are always a good idea.
2 Sunspot Prison
The Alliance's secret prison for Imperial captives, Sunspot Prison is another one of those nasty features in the Star Wars universe. The mere existence of a secret prison seems antithetical to the Alliance's "good guy" status. It's also the site of a major prisoner massacre by rogue rebel agents. As filthy as it is, though, Sunspot Prison also shows the endless compromises that a lengthy war forces on good people. Plus, its design is incredibly cool. It's an orbital space station in close orbit around a star, virtually undetectable because of its bright neighbor. Practically inescapable, Sunspot Prison was also a temporary home for our number one pick...
1 Doctor Aphra
Rogue archaeologist Chelli Lona Aphra is beautiful, brilliant, and amoral. As an expert on the Jedi she happily worked for Darth Vader. However, after their inevitable falling out, Aphra faked her death and continued to roam the galaxy. As much of a con artist as a scholar, Aphra is charismatic and fun to watch. She prefers to think her way out of situations, but also has a nasty temper. She also has an alliance with that aforementioned Wookie, Black Krrsantan. She'd make a perfect frenemy for Old Ben Kenobi. Imagine her, drifting in to clean up one mess while consistently sowing the seeds for a worse one.
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