STAR WARS: HERALD OF FURY

Character: Owen Skywalker

"Uncle Owen," Luke Skywalker's stubborn and irritable guardian, whose charred corpse testified of the Empire's brutality, barely appears in Lucas' prequels. His cameo appearances merely connect plot points, showing he is somehow related to "Anakin of virgin birth" (a stepbrother) and that he gains custody of Luke. The audience learns little about Owen, beyond his resentment at having to raise someone else's child. Anakin and him have almost no history or contact, only a few words being spoken between them. If there is a relationship between them, it's a formality.

In A New Vision, we wanted to explore Anakin and Owen in different ways. We were sick of the dime a dozen "orphan hero" stories. Instead of killing all kin in some fantastic tour de force (the Bruce Wayne moment), making our heroes hellbent and potentially corrupted by revenge, we thought it would be more interesting to see how protagonists and their family members cope and communicate after losses they share. Losing parents doesn't mean there are not cousins, grandparents, and other extended family to connect with; it's shocking how orphan stories tend to omit these relationships.

With Owen, we wanted to show where his obvious hatred for the Jedi originates in holding them responsible for his younger brother's transformation: physical and emotional. By highlighting the intimacy of their brotherhood, the eventual tragedy in A New Hope becomes all the more poignant. Anakin's obsession in furthering the cause of the Empire indirectly causes his once beloved brother's death.

Herald of Fury will plant the seeds for this, while also making Owen endure harrowing experiences that will key into his later emotional imbalance and anger management issues. Owen's a hothead to begin with, but his life's events will further along his natural proclivities.

Never satisfied with passive characters, we introduce Owen quickly in the first chapter as a brave and competent marksman. This we admittedly garnered from the script for A New Hope, where during a visit with Biggs Darklighter, Luke is told, "Your uncle could hold off a whole colony of Sandpeople with one blaster." But he's more than a fighter. Owen is a capable businessman, a gifted speaker of multiple languages, and fiercely loyal to his family. We hope you'll enjoy this inclusion of another Skywalker, even if this one's not sensitive to the force.