Wedge FAQ, v 1.22 The FAQ all about Wedge Antilles, unsung hero of the Rebellion. It isn't a FAQ in the truest sense...its not in question/answer format, but it still gives the answers to Freqently Asked Questions. If you have any additions, suggestions, or flames mail the current editor: hilliard@ix.netcom.com -------------------- Table of Contents: [A "+" by the entry means its been modified since the last version] [A "*" by the entry means its been added since the last version] + Part 1 - FAQ History and Acknowledgments Part 2 - Wedge Sightings: His appearances in the films and the books A: THE MOVIES i) Star Wars: ANH ii) SW: TESB iii) SW: ROTJ iv) Differences between Movies & Novels v) Wedge in future movies B: THE BOOKS i) The Truce at Bakura ii) The Zahn Trilogy iii) Dark Empire (1-6) + iv) Dark Empire II (1-6) v) The Jedi Academy Trilogy + vi) Assault at Selonia C: WEDGE ON THE TELEVISION D: WEDGE ON THE RADIO E: WEDGE ON THE COMPUTER F: STAR WARS: THE RPG G: WEDGE MERCHANDISE Part 3 - The "Captain Antilles" Controversy Part 4 - Denis Lawson: The Man, The Myth, The Legend A: MOVIES B: BRITISH TELEVISION C: BRITISH THEATRE D: LAWSON OVER THE AIRWAVES E: LAWSON INTERVIEW F: LAWSON ENCOUNTER G: LAWSON CONTROVERSY H: CONTACTING DENIS LAWSON + Part 5 - The Wedge Timeline Part 6 - Miscellaneous Wedge Stuff + A: WEDGE COMICS B: WEDGE BOOKS + C: WEDGE FANFIC -------------------- Part 1 - FAQ History and Acknowledgments This is version 1.1 of the Alt.fan.wedge FAQ, by Matt Hilliard [hilliard@ix.netcom.com]. This version includes many updates and changes to version 1.1 by C. Mark Veaudry. The history of the FAQ is as follows: [0.0] Dec 93 (?) The start of it all. Shortly after the newsgroup was created, a list of potential FAQs was posted to the group, with a request for answers to them. From the follow-up posts and email replies came... [0.3] Jan 94 First real version of the FAQ. Very sketchy, but nevertheless a semi-formal FAQ, in question-answer format. A flood of new follow-ups and emails were the result of this. The version number has no particular significance other than being a number less than 1.0. [0.7] around Feb-Apr 94 Mostly vaporware. Never completed, as the self-appointed editor [Keith Lim] found himself overwhelmed with the volume of contributions at the same time that all kinds of other things in his life popped up and demanded his attention. Exists only as a slightly-improved 0.3, with all the unsorted and unedited contributions tacked on at the end. Posted once to the group on an as-is basis. [0.9] Apr 94 The uncompleted 0.7, plus everything else that trickled in after the first flood, edited, sorted, summarized. Completely new table of contents and indexing system. History of FAQ added. Because of much duplicate information received, contributors acknowledged only once at the beginning, and not for every piece of info in the FAQ (with some exceptions). Questions replaced by keywords/general topic descriptions. Still not very complete. [1.0] May 94 FAQ taken over by Kenneth Soper. More complete information on Wedge's lines added. More information on Wedge's role in the various post ANH-ROTJ Star Wars novels added. Other general reorganizations, mostly of existing information. [1.1] June 94 FAQ passed on to Mark Veaudry. Minor changes made to the TOC, Wedge "character" stuff consolidated in part 2, Lawson "actor" stuff in part 4. Wedge's lines from the movies were inserted in place of previous FAQ's lines from the novels. Some novel lines moved to part 2: sec. A: item iv. [1.2] May 95 FAQ moves again, this time to Matt Hilliard. Many things changed to account for the one year in which the FAQ has not been updated. Parts 5 and 6 are added. Part 2 sec A and B overhauled. [1.22] August 95 The FAQ is given another much needed update. Comics, Fanfic, and Timeline Sections added to. Contributors: Cynthia Becht [forwarded; no email address given] Jeremy T. Coffey JC3952A@auvm.american.edu Preston Crawford prestonc@lclark.edu Robert Cuyegkeng rcuyegke@jupiter.scs.Ryerson.CA Dogbert nedblake@parsifal.umkc.edu Rebecca Drayer drayer@minerva.cis.yale.edu Robert Fentiman rfentima@ub.d.umn.edu Gallandro dkemper@oolong.hacks.arizona.edu John Greenawalt ashen@access.digex.net The Harvester of Sorrow gloverr@ucsu.Colorado.EDU Heather Henderson hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu jfickus3rd tolly@access3.digex.net Karlis Kalnins kkalnins@malibu.sfu.ca Keith Lim [currently no email address] Scott Livingston cubman@delphi.com Don Lowe [email address unknown] Craig Teruo Matsumoto wedge@shell.portal.com Iaine McCafferty imm2@leicester.ac.uk Miguel Padilla mpadilla@girtab.usc.edu [dgsmith] dgsmith@cats.ucsc.edu Kenneth Soper [currently no email address] C.Mark Veaudry mveaudry@turing.acs.ryerson.ca Andy Walker awalker@aisun4.ai.uga.edu Jason Weiler weilej@vccsouth22.its.rpi.edu Mike Weintraub MWEINTR@auvm.american.edu Doktor Mojo wookiee@vax1.mankato.msus.edu If I missed anybody, please tell me! You'll be in release 1.3. -------------------- PART 2 - WEDGE SIGHTINGS: A: THE MOVIES {There is controversy surrounding some of The Great One's lines in ANH and ESB. Therefore, any line which might be The Great One's, but might not be, is included in [brackets.] References to the novels are taken from the new Del Ray reissue of the trilogy. The dialogue from the movies are taken from the special collector's widescreen edition boxed set.} In the movies, Wedge is portrayed by Denis Lawson. More on him later. Item i - Star Wars: A New Hope Farm Boy: Oh c'mon! I used to bullseye Womp Rats in my T-16 back home. They're not much bigger than two meters. In the novel, this character is identified as none other than The Great One. In the movie, however, John D., not Wedge, says this. Later, while cruising towards the Death Star... Red Leader: All wings report in. {assorted reporting in} Wedge: Red two, standing by. and then... Wedge: Look at the SIZE of that thing! Red Leader: Cut the chatter, Red Two! And, in the dogfight which follows... Biggs: Pull in, Luke. Pull in. Wedge: Watch your back, Luke. Watch your back! Biggs: Fighter above you. Comming in. Farm Boy: I can't shake him! Wedge: I'm on him Luke, hold on. Farm Boy: Blast it, Biggs! Where are you? {Front view of X-Wing firing. Tie fighter go boom} Farm Boy: WHEW! Thanks Wedge! The novel's dialogue is quite different from the movie's. See item iv, below. Other lines from the dogfight and trench run. Red Leader: Red boys, this is Red Leader. Rendezvous at mark six point one. Wedge: This is red two, flying point. Biggs: This is red three, standing by. Farm Boy: Biggs, Wedge, let's close it up. We're going in full throttle, that should keep the fighters off our back. Wedge: Right with you, boss. Biggs: Luke, at that speed are we going to be able to pull out in time? Farm Boy: It'll be just like Beggars Canyon back home. Biggs: We'll stay back far enough to cover you. Wedge: My scope shows the tower, but can't see the exhaust port. Are you sure the computer can hit it? Farm Boy: Watch yourselves. Increase speed full throttle. Wedge: What about that tower? Farm Boy: You worry about those fighters. I'll worry about that Tower! later... Wedge: Fighters coming in, point three. and finally.. Wedge: I'm hit! I can't stay with you. Farm Boy: Get clear Wedge, you can't do any more good back there. Wedge: Sorry. Some readers of alt.fan.wedge claim that when Han attacks the three TIE Fighters on Luke's tail, Wedge hits the second one, which caroms into Vader's fighter, sending it off into space. The editor has been unable to find any support for that statement (much as he'd like to,) especially since no laser fire hits the second fighter. Item ii - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Wedge appears in one scene, the Hoth Speeder Battle. It has been mentioned that there are people who think the Speeder pilot who found Han and Luke after their night on Hoth's surface was Wedge. In fact it was Rogue 2, a pilot named Zev. Wedge's true dialogue is as follows: Farm Boy: Rogue Three? Wedge: Copy, Rogue Leader. Farm Boy: Wedge, i've lost my gunner. You're going to have to take the shot. I'll cover for you. Set your harpoon, follow me on the next pass. Wedge: Coming around, Rogue Leader. Wedge: Activate harpoon! {thunk} Wedge: Good shot, Jansen! {circling around legs} Wedge: One more pass... Jansen: Cable out! Wedge: Detach cable! {crash. Wedge circles and hits the exposed neck joint. Boom.} Wedge: Whoa! That got him! And finally, when the battle is over and the Speeder pilots are changing to their X-Wings... [Wedge: Good luck, Luke! See you at the rendezvous.] This is confirmed to be Wedge by the novel. Item iii - RETURN OF THE WEENIE...er...JEDI Our first view of Wedge is during the Mission briefing. He doesn't have any lines. Approaching the Second Death Star... Admiral Ackbar: All wings report in. Wedge: Red leader standing by. {other random reportings in} Wedge: Lock S-Foils in attack positions. Lando: Break off the attack! The shield is still up! Wedge: I get no reading, are you sure? Lando: Pull up! All craft pull up! Lando: Accellerate to attack speed. Draw their fire away from the cruisers. Wedge: Copy, gold leader. Lando: Watch yourself, Wedge. Three from above. Wedge: Red three, red two, pull in. Red 2 or 3: Got it. Three of them coming in from 20 degrees! Wedge: Cut to the left, I'll take the leader. {space battle footage} Wedge: They're heading for the medical frigate. {more space battle footage} Much later on... Wedge: Good shot, red two! And then, after the shield goes down... Wedge: I'm going in. {Wedge is the first one in. Exterior shot of X-wings and the Falcon in the Death Star} Wedge: Form up and stay alert. We could run out of space real fast. Upon finding the central reactor... Wedge: There it is. Lando: Alright, Wedge, go for the Power Regulator on the North Tower. Wedge: Copy, gold leader, I'm already on my way out. We then see Wedge clear the Death Star. Our final look is when he shows up at the Ewok celebration. Item iv - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MOVIES AND THE NOVELS In the novel version of Star Wars (A New Hope), Red Squadron is Blue Squadron, and Gold Squadron is Red Squadron. Therefore, Wedge is Blue Two instead of Red Two. Wedge as a character is not developed much more than in the movies. He is identified as a Corellian (same as Han Solo). In general, he does have a few more lines when he appears, but he doesn't appear any more often. There are, however, some major differences between the dialogue in the novels, and the dialogue in the movies. Here, below, is the novel's version of the space battle in ANH. (for comparison to the movie's version, check item i, above.) Biggs: Watch your back, Luke. Farm Boy: I can't see him! Where is he? Wedge: I'm on him Luke. hold on. Far Boy: Dammit, Biggs! Where are you? {Front view of X-Wing firing. Tie fighter go boom} Farm Boy: WHEW! Thanks Wedge! In the above example, Biggs has lost both his lines from the movie, but takes one of Wedge's, and two out of three of the weenie's lines are different than the dialogue from the movie. This is just a small example, but it is a good indication of the amount of difference that exists between the print and film media versions. Item v - WEDGE IN FUTURE MOVIES Based on current information, it seems that Wedge (the character) is not very likely to appear in future movies in the Star Wars universe (though there may be roles that the actor Denis Lawson might be suitable for.) Unconfirmed report #1: The next three movies will be set fifty years before A New Hope, and involve the Clone Wars (referred to in ANH). Unconfirmed report #2: The next three movies will be set about thirty years before A New Hope, centered around the young Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Unconfirmed report #3: Episodes #7-#9 (not necessarily the next three movies to be made) will be set twenty years after the events in the Zahn books, and will be centered around the lives of Leia's twin children. B: THE BOOKS For more detailed information about Wedge's exploits, see Part 5. Item i - Truce at Bakura (Kathy Tyers) Time: It begins a day after Return of the Jedi Wedge is in his usual supporting role. At the beginning of the book he heroically risks his life to keep information valuable to the Alliance intact. Unfortunetly, Item ii - The Zahn Trilogy (Timothy Zahn) Time: Five years after Return of the Jedi Wedge plays a large role during the three books. He commands Rogue Squadron. Wedge and his fellow pilots in Rogue Squadron are almost the only reason for the New Republic victory at the shipyards at Bilbringi. Wedge has too many lines for them to be quoted here. Item iii - Dark Empire, Issues 1-6 (Tom Veitch) Time: Six years after Return of the Jedi Wedge assists Lando in commanding the Star Destroyer Emancipator. He has accepted the promotion to General and doesn't fly starfighters anymore. Griggs: General Calrissian, we've intercepted a new hyperspace communications channel...beamed between Calamari's orbit and the Galactic Core. They're transmitting images of the destruction on Calamari... Wedge: Look at the size of those war machines, Lando! Lando: They're doing us a real favor by beaming those images, Wedge...Griggs! Recalculate our exit from hyperspace at two degrees from their point of transmission. Wedge: Are you crazy? If we leave hyperspace at those coordinates we'll smash into whatever's sending theis signal! Lando: That's the idea, Wedge! {some battle scenes go by; Lando lines} Griggs: Imperial Devestator on ascent trajectory, sir. Lando: I've got a bad feeling about this... Wedge: Me too, boss. Gunners--target all weapon systems on approaching devastator--fire all forward torpedoes! ????: I'm trying, sir! Our forward firing systems won't respond! Wedge: It's no use, Lando--the Emancipator is going to be nothing but scrap! Lando: That's two Star Destroyers we've lost! Man the escape pods! Things haven't been this bad since Vader was alive! {some more stuff cut; Lando and Wedge are brought about the Frigate Antares Six} Wedge: This is excellent! Those new E-wings have found the Devestators' weak spot! Lando: Not the way I saw it, Wedge...that Devastator self-destructed! Whoever's in charge of those monsters is an idiot! You'd almost think he wants to lose! Item iv - Dark Empire II, Issues 1-6 (Tom Veitch) Time: Six years after Return of the Jedi (?) Wedge wants to intercept a shipment of X-1 Viper Automadons headed for Byss, put troops in them, then sneak into Byss. Farm Boy is against the idea, but everyone else likes it. The plan fails, but the troops get out okay. Item v - The Jedi Academy Trilogy (Kevin Anderson) Time: Seven years after Return of the Jedi A lot of Wedge. Most interesting is that he isn't force sensative (probably why he isn't a weenie like Farm Boy), and that he now has a love interest in the form of the alien scientist, Qwi Xux. Item vi - Assault at Selonia (Roger MacBride Allen) Time: Forteeen Years after Return of the Jedi Wedge is flying an Enhanced X-wing and runabouts (Allen's word, not mine) in the evacuation of Thanta Zilbra. B: WEDGE ON THE TELEVISION On MuchMusic, Canada's answer to MTV, there is a video show entitled "Wedge." There is no known connection between the show's title and Wedge, the greatest fighter pilot in the alliance. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if there was a link between the two.) Does anyone have more information? C: WEDGE ON THE RADIO Wedge was portrayed on the NPR radio darmas by Mesach Taylor (Designing Women). Brian Daley wrote the dramas. In the ANH drama, nothing new. The most notable occurance is that Wedge was beginning to lose control in the trench, justifying him leaving. In the ESB drama, Wedge has a much bigger part. He is used to narrate Farm Boy's crash and following since it was radio. Wedge tells the control center about Farm Boy destroying the AT-AT with a bomb (a trick taught to him, no doubt, by Wedge) and other adventures. Then he and Farm Boy escort the last transport in their X-wings. Wedge disables a Star Destroyer on the way out, with no help from Farm Boy (further illustrating Wedge's piloting skill). Basically, Farm Boy told Wedge that they should damage the Destroyer to keep it from getting the transport (Wedge probably wanted to pass over it in search of larger game), and then sat there while Wedge did all the work. To date, no drama has been made of Return of the Jedi. D: WEDGE ON THE COMPUTER In X-wing, a game available for both IBMs (and compatibles) and Macs, Wedge makes an appearance, sort of. The game is divided into "missions". In A-wing mission 5, the goal is to destroy an Imperial base being used as the testing ground for the Empire's new/upgraded TIE fighters. During the briefing session, it is revealed that the location of the +base was discovered by none other than Wedge. F: STAR WARS: THE RPG Wedge does appear as a player character in Star Wars: The Role Playing Game. As preposterous as it sounds, Luke and Han are given higher skills in piloting and gunnery than Wedge is. G: WEDGE MERCHANDISE Photos of Lawson as Wedge are in the Starlog issue where he was interviewed. (Starlog #93, April 1985, see "Lawson Interview" (part 4:sec. E) below.) No ftp sites for GIFs, ASCII art, etc. of Wedge are known to exist, but there is a WWW site: http://vax1.mankato.msus.edu/~wookiee/wdg.html A beautiful jpg of Wedge's X-wing flying in between a Frigate and Star Destroyer is located at: http://weber.u.washington.edu/milhous/gif/battle03.jpg. A .wav file of The Great One saying "I'm going in!" is available at: http://force.stwing.upenn.edu:8001/~jruspini/multi/sounds/goingin.wav No official posters of Wedge are known to exist. Wedge never had a Kenner [tm] action figure. Wedge does have his own ROTJ trading card, #127 of the O-pee-chee set (Canadian release.) The card is called "Congratulating Wedge", and has a picture of the Great One shaking Han Solo's hand at the victory party on the forest moon, after the defeat of the Empire. The back of the card reads: "HAN SOLO takes time to congratulate WEDGE, a courageous REBEL pilot, during the victory celebration on the Moon of ENDOR. This is truly a glorious day for the forces of freedom." -------------------- PART 3 - THE CAPTAIN ANTILLES CONTROVERSY In A New Hope, C3PO mentions being in the ownership of Captain Antilles. The radio series clearly identifies the captain of the ship Leia was on (at the beginning of ANH) as being Captain Antilles. This would very likely make him the owner of the droids, tying in with C3PO's comment. (The character has a larger role in the radio series than in the movie.) However, it is never made clear, at any time, what exactly is the relationship, if any, between Captain Antilles and Wedge. The corvette (Captain Antilles's ship) Leia was on is identified in the novel as being of Corellian origin, as is Wedge. The similarity of both last name and origin suggest some relationship, but this is never clearly established. Of course, it was supposed to be a counselor ship of an Alderaanian (Leia). The question remains open. Opinions differ. One common opinion is that Captain Antilles is Wedge's father; another possibility is that Captain Antilles was an older brother or cousin of Wedge. On the other hand, "Antilles" could be a very common name in the Corellian system, and two people having the same name could be a coincidence of no great significance. Another idea is that the best way for Wedge to enter the Rebellion would be if his father went with him. Since it is fairly certain that Captain Antilles is a Rebel, this is plausible. In any case, until more information is released, any explanation would be just speculation, and non-canon. Note: "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe" has, in its entry for Captain Antilles, a comment that this character was "Captain Colton" in the novelization. -------------------- PART 4 - Denis Lawson: The Man, The Myth, The Legend Wedge is played by the Scottish actor Denis (not Dennis) Lawson. Most of the info. in this section is from Heather Henderson. A: MOVIES Local Hero (1983? 84?) (starring role, w/ Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster) The Zip (1987) (starring role) Providence (small role) The Man in the Iron Mask (small role) The Chain (small role) Local Hero is recommended by more than one person. Excerpt of a review by Craig Teruo Matsumoto: "...it can probably be thought of as a Northern Exposure in Scotland." The Zip is a short film, about 20 minutes. A short review by Cynthia Becht: "It's about a man who wakes up one day to find he has a zipper on his body from belly to chest. Very weird, funny and quite moving -- and no one ever speaks a word amongst a handful of actors." B: BRITISH TELEVISION The Kit Curran Radio Show The Girl Who Walked Quickly Dead Head That Uncertain Feeling Bergerac (one episode--Lawson plays a hired killer) [Unconfirmed: a part in a TV miniseries about a woman soccer player] C: BRITISH THEATRE Lenny Bruce (bit parts) Pal Joey (musical, lead role) Mr. Cinders (musical, lead role) Lend Me a Tenor The Lucky Chance [Unconfirmed: Lawson won the British equivalent of the Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical for "Mr. Cinders".] D: LAWSON OVER THE AIRWAVES Lawson narrated the audio version of "Heir to the Empire", one of Zahn's novels. Anthony Daniels (C3PO) narrated the other two. E: WEDGE INTERVIEW Starlog #93 (April 1985) Lawson talks about his experiences filming the Star Wars movies. Photos accompanying the article include: Lawson as Wedge Head shot with helmet on Lawson shaking hands with Harrison Ford (Han Solo) F: WEDGE ENCOUNTER Mike Weintraub (MWEINTR@auvm.american.edu) posted the following in alt.fan.wedge: "My ex-roommate from last year is currently in London for the semester. And, somewhere on his search for the internship he's supposed to get in London, he met Mr. Denis "Wedge" Lawson. He hasn't told me all the details yet, but he said that Mr. Lawson did not quite enjoy making the Greatest Movies of All Time, and that he did it only for the money." G: LAWSON CONTROVERSY An unconfirmed rumor/urban legend, probably false: The name of the actor playing Wedge has appeared in the credits as both Denis Lawson (in ROTJ) and Dennis Lawson (in ANH and TESB). This was due to a change in casting. Supposedly, the original actor wasn't available for the third movie, so another, similar-looking actor was used instead. [Ed. note- this doesn't make sense because if the actor was replaced in ROTJ, why is his name spelt correctly in the credits of this movie? It the above is true, it would make sense if the false name was in the credits of ROTJ. I think that it just took them until the third movie to get it right. -MV] This story isn't helped much by the way Wedge's accent changes over the course of the trilogy. Starting off as a nondescript North American accent Wedge later develops an English accent (Lawson's natural accent). Two different explanations for this have been put forward. Neither has been confirmed so far. #1: Lawson's original voice was overdubbed. #2: Lawson was putting on a fake accent. [more info. would be appreciated] H: CONTACTING DENIS LAWSON The Starlog article (Starlog #93, April 1985, see "Lawson Interview" above) reported that Lawson got a lot of mail and tried to reply personally to every person. No address for contacting Lawson was given. -------------------- PART 5 - The Wedge Timeline ************************************************************************ Before Rebellion....unknown ************************************************************************ During the Rebellion.... [Age: 16] - Joined the Rebel Alliance... [Age: 17] - Fought in the Battle of Yavin; callsign: Red 2 [Age: 20] - Fought in the Battle of Hoth; callsign: Rogue 3 - Accepted promotion to Wing Commander [Age: 21] - Fought in the Battle of Endor; commanded Red Wing - Was responsible for capturing an Imperial Probe Droid - Fought in the Ssi-ruuk campaign near Bakura; commanded by Luke Skywalker ************************************************************************ During service in the New Republic... [Age: 24] - Declined promotion to General [Age: 25] - Declined promotion to General [Age: 26] - Aided resigned Han Solo on a contact mission - Escorted Han Solo and Princess Leia; commanded Rogue Squadron - Escorted the Escort Frigate Larkess to Sluis Van; commanded Rogue Squadron - Fought in the Battle of Sluis Van; commanded Rogue Squadron - Assisted Luke Skywalker at the Sluis Van shipyards - Assisted Han Solo on Abregado-rae Spaceport - Escorted a scouting mission led by Han Solo and Luke Skywalker - Fought in the Katana Fleet Battle; commanded Rouge Squadron, commanded by Bel Iblis - Fought in a battle with Imperial forces near Qat Chrystac; commanded Rogue Squadron, commanded by Bel Iblis - Planted information to Imperial spies on Mumbri Storve - Fought in the Battle of Bilbringi; commanded Rogue Squadron, commanded by Admiral Ackbar [Age: 27] - Accepted promotion to General - Commanded the Star Destroyer Emancipator with Lando Calrissian. - Led with Lando Calrissian a failed attack on Byss in X-1 Viper Automadons [Age: 28] - Coordinated one of several groups repairing damage in and around Coruscant - Coordinated the relocation of the Noghri - Coordinated a resupply mission to Yavin 4 - Escorted Qwi Xux to Ithor - Commanded the Maw Installation strike force [Age: 35] - Commanded Rogue Squadron and assisted with the evacuation of Thanta Zilbra ************************************************************************ A: WEDGE COMICS That's right! Wedge is getting his own comic series from Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse has done several other Star Wars comic books in the past, Dark Empire and its sequel most notebly. -- (the following is an official press release from Dark Horse Comics, Inc.) <> For immediate release: NEW ONGOING 'STAR WARS' SERIES BLASTS OFF IN JULY! Dark Horse has had tremendous success with its many STAR WARS miniseries. In July, it intends to parlay that success in a new, ongoing series, STAR WARS: X-WING-ROGUE SQUADRON. "Every STAR WARS miniseries and one-shot we've produced has been received as a major event by the fans," explained editor Ryder Windham. "But events aren't enough! They want a regular fix of the good stuff! So we're launching STAR WARS: X-WING-ROGUE SQUADRON, an ongoing series which will provide a monthly backbone to our schedule of STAR WARS miniseries." STAR WARS: X-WING-ROGUE SQUADRON features the flying aces of the spaceways, the X-Wing battalion known as Rogue Squadron. Led by combat-hardened pilot Wedge Antilles, the only flyer to survive both Death Star missions, Rogue Squadron sets off to reclaim the galaxy from the evil Empire, one planet at a time! The series will feature multi-issue story arcs by rotating creative teams. The first four-issue story arc is plotted by STAR WARS novelist Michael A. Stackpole, author of the forthcoming X-WING novels from Bantam. He's joined by scripter Mike Baron, known for his work on NEXUS, THE BADGER, and PUNISHER. Allen Nunis (ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES) and Andy Mushynsky (ALIENS: BERSERKER) pencil and ink the project, and Dave Dorman (STAR WARS: DARK EMPIRE) provides the painted covers. Like JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN, the first issue of the second story arc will be cover-labeled as a first issue, with the indicia indicating the book as issue #5. The series begins shipping July 11, 1995, with a cover price of $2.95 ($4.15 Canadian). Dark Horse Comics publishes the most diverse line of quality comics in the industry. ### This document _ 1995 Dark Horse Comics, Inc. All rights reserved. On July 11, Rogue Squadron #1 shipped. The comic is Issue 1 of a 4 book cycle, "The Rebel Opposition" (I'm not sure if that's the issue or cycle name). ** SPOILERS** ISSUE #1 Authors and Summary Story: Michael A. Stackpole Script: Mike Baron Pencils: Allen Nunis Inks: Andy Mushynsky Colorist: Dave Nestelle Letterer: Steve Dutro Cover Artist: Dave Dorman Design: Scott Tice Editor: Ryder Windham Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron are on a planet called Cilpar, fighting off TIE Fighters. The Rebels are suppose to talk to either the Rebel Underground or Targeter, the Alliance contact. During the battle Wedge's wingman, Janson, is shot down, and another Rogue Squadron pilot, Tycho, lands to help them. The two find shelter, but are captured by a woman who looks like Princess Leia. Meanwhile, the rest of the squadron land at their base and discuss the possibility of an Imperial spy. However, they are captured by rebels who believe the Alliance and the Empire are "in cahoots". Their leader, a woman named Elscol Loro takes the pilots to Tamarack, a destroyed city. Wedge and Loro talk, and in flashbacks it is revealed that Loro has a Wookiee serving a life debt and that it was Wedge, not Lando, who destroyed the second Death Star (this is in Wedge's opinion, of course), but the conversation is interrupted as Imperial AT-STs arrive on the scene to kill the Rebels... -- B: WEDGE BOOKS Bantam will be publishing a book or series of several books about Wedge. Although details are still sketchy, the author is Mike Stackpole, who will also be writing the first group of Wedge comics. This raises some questions as whether the book(s) and comics will be connected in some way. C: WEDGE FANFIC The Adventures of Wedge Antilles: Gray Squadron, by Matt Hilliard, is available at ftp.wpi.edu/starwars/Stories/AWA_Gray. If you are writing a fanfic about Wedge please mail the editor of the FAQ so it can be included.