Return of the X-Wing

In the Star Wars Original Trilogy, X-wing pilots were the Top Guns of space. In their orange flightsuits, they hunkered down in single-man cockpits and took on the deadliest superweapon in the galaxy. Without even knowing the characters beyond their callsigns like Red Five or Gold Leader, the audience knew these were men of distinction. Besides the famous Luke Skywalker, the movies give fans glimpses of X-wing pilots like Biggs (“Hurry, Luke! They’re coming in much faster this time.”), Porkins (”I can hold it!”), and Gold Five (“Stay on target!”). One of them, Wedge Antilles (“Look at the size of that thing.”), survived all three movies; after pulling out of the trench run in A New Hope, he made a name for himself wrapping a tow cable around an Imperial walker’s legs in The Empire Strikes Back and firing one of the critical shots to destroy the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

In the stories of the Expanded Universe, Wedge and Luke went on to form the elite Rogue Squadron, a unit that fought in many of the most important battles in the New Republic’s bid to finally bring down the Empire. The X-wings’ heyday was the 1990s, first with the highly popular videogames from LucasArts, then in other media. Dark Horse Comics released the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron comics in the late 1990s. The primary writer of that 35-issue series, Michael Stackpole, authored a novel of the same name in 1996. Despite the fact that the stories featured only minor movie characters like Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson, the X-Wing series earned a passionate fanbase. Aaron Allston added a new elite commando unit to the mix with his entry, Wraith Squadron. With nine successful books over a four-year span, the series came to an end when Del Rey took over the novels license from Bantam.

Two years ago at Star Wars Celebration V, a seemingly off-hand mention that another X-Wing book was in the works garnered excited whoops from the fans in attendance at the Del Rey panel. After a thirteen-year wait, stories about X-wings and their pilots are returning in force to the galaxy far, far away, with last week’s release of fan-favorite Aaron Allston’s latest book, Mercy Kill.

While most of the books released in the recent Expanded Universe required the reader to commit to a lengthy series, Mercy Kill takes a different approach, weaving a tight tale around a vibrant cast of characters. In my interview with the Allston in this month’s Star Wars Insider Issue 135, I asked the author why the X-Wing series appealed to so many fans even though it doesn’t focus on the Jedi or the iconic heroes and villains of the movies. He believes “fans appreciate the X-Wing series precisely because the Jedi and the Force play a reduced role…readers like to be reminded that characters who aren’t superheroes have an important role to play in the galaxy far, far away.” Although Allston is known for his humor, this book is packed with action, intrigue, and just enough tragedy to remind the audience how high the stakes actually are.

Over the years the X-Wing comics and books have introduced many memorable characters. They include Corran Horn, a Corellian law enforcement officer turned Jedi Master, Winter, a childhood friend of Princess Leia’s who became an intelligence agent, and Tyria Sarkin Tainer, an Antarian Ranger who earns her Jedi Knight status by thinking outside the box. Allston consistently crafts relatable female action heroines in the vein of Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor, earning him praise among Star Wars fans. In Mercy Kill, daughters of Wedge Antilles and Tyria Sarkin Tainer continue their family legacies as new recruits into Wraith Squadron, which also includes returning favorites Voort “Piggy” saBinring, a genetically altered Gamorrean, and Garik “Face” Loran, a former movie star.

For science fiction fans looking for an enjoyable action-packed read, you really have to look no further than Mercy Kill. If this book whets your appetite, the previous nine books have been released in an ebook bundle or can be purchased individually. (Starfighters of Adumar, a stand-alone, still stands as many Expanded Universe fans’ all-time favorite.)

X-wing stories and action heroines are making a comeback on the comics side, too. Dark Horse Comics announced just prior to San Diego Comic-Con that Brian Wood would be writing an upcoming new comic run, simply titled Star Wars, set shortly after the events of A New Hope. Wood noted in his Tumblr post, “Oh yeah, Leia’s an X-Wing pilot.” The io9 exclusive featured a panel depicting the Star Wars princess flying one of the iconic starfighters.

This past Saturday at GeekGirlCon, I moderated a panel on the female characters in Star Wars: “From Jedi Princess to Sith Witch.” While some time was spent on the archetypal characters like Princess Leia, the female characters who fall outside of the archetypes – like mercenaries, X-wing pilots, smugglers, intelligence operatives, and politicians – were the ones I was most excited to talk about. If you missed the coverage of GeekGirlCon this weekend the panel was tweeted live by @GeekGirlCon and there is a Twitter summary at my blog.

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Tricia Barr took her understanding of brand management and marketing, mixed it with a love of genre storytelling, and added a dash of social media flare to create FANgirl Blog, where she discusses Star Wars, fandom, and strong female characters. She also writes about Star Wars for Random House’s science fiction and fantasy blog Suvudu.com. Her interview with X-Wing: Mercy Kill author Aaron Allston can be found in this month’s Star Wars Insider Issue 135.