New Star Wars comic reimagines emotional Princess Leia and Darth Vader moment

For many years, one of Star Wars' biggest mysteries was what happened to Darth Vader's helmet after the events of Return of the Jedi. While The Force Awakens showed the destroyed helmet in Kylo Ren's possession, it wasn't clear—until now—who might have had it before then.

The new Star Wars comic Battle of Jukku - Insurgency Rising #1 includes a scene that implies Leia Organa may have been responsible for putting the helmet into Ben Solo's hands. However, this was not the first time this particular scene has appeared in Star Wars publishing.

Beth Revis's 2022 adult novel The Princess and the Scoundrel first introduced an equally emotional scene where Leia confronts Vader's helmet on Endor. A very short time after the events of Return of the Jedi, Leia approaches the helmet and addresses her father directly. The scene reveals her complex feelings about Anakin Skywalker and her relationship with him, which are further explored in Claudia Gray's Bloodline.

The scene in the first issue of Insurgency Rising is an adaptation of Revis's original scene—a faithful one by writer Alex Segura and necessary due to the medium. What is conveyed in prose in the novel must be largely converted to dialogue in the comic to get the same point across.

Leia actually says very little in Revis's scene, and most of it involves resurfacing memories of her traumatic encounters with Vader. In the comic, Segura clarifies that Leia is confused, angry, and resentful -- but does specifically state that Leia is setting aside her feelings to focus on her family, of which she does not consider Vader any part of. In the book, however, Revis conveys this in three lines of dialogue as Leia confronts the helmet alone:

"I'm glad you are dead. I will never forgive you."

"I hate you."

"You are not my father."

Leia will go on to carry complex feelings about her father for decades to come but also continues to lean on her family -- largely Luke and Han Solo -- to keep her grounded amidst these strong emotions. It's possible the remaining issues of the miniseries will continue exploring Leia's state of mind leading up to the infamous battle between the New Republic and what remains of the Empire on Jakku.

Star Wars: Battle of Jukku - Insurgency Rising #1 is available now wherever you get your Star Wars comics.