Palpatine unveiled his own Final Order Sith fleet in Rise of Skywalker, but Star Wars: Hidden Empire #2 reveals its shocking precursor…
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Hidden Empire #2Emperor Palpatine revealed a hidden Sith fleet during the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but a recent comic shows that the Sith lord isn’t the only one with secret fleets at his disposal. Star Wars: Hidden Empire #2 reveals that Crimson Dawn leader Qi’ra has assembled her own fleet of starships to stand against the Galactic Empire.
First introduced in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Qi’ra was a childhood friend of young Han Solo. After the two were separated, Qi’ra became a member of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn, where she worked her way up to become a top lieutenant in the organization. After that movie proved to be a financial disappointment, it seemed as if the rest of Qi’ra’s story might go untold. However, the character has recently been re-introduced in the comics, where we find Qi’ra now leading Crimson Dawn between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Having agents placed all around the galaxy in both the Empire and the Rebellion alike, Qi’ra seeks to wreak havoc across the galaxy in the hopes of deposing Palpatine.
In Star Wars: Hidden Empire #2 by Charles Soule, Steven Cummings, Victor Olazaba, Guru-eFX and Travis Lanham, it’s revealed that Qi’ra has been using Crimson Dawn funds to assemble her own hidden fleet of starships, the Crimson Fleet. Hidden beneath a waterfall at the Dawnfall Base, Qi’ra has assembled a mighty force, although her allies remain uncertain of its overall effectiveness. “It’s not enough to destroy the Empire,” notes Qi’ra’s associate Chanath Cha. Qi’ra then informs her that was never the ultimate goal. “I’m not trying to destroy the Empire,” Qi’ra states, “I’m trying to end the Sith.”
Crimson Dawn Leader Qi’ra Has Her Own Crimson Fleet
The Crimson Fleet is certainly an impressive collection of starships, and one can’t help but notice the similarities to the Final Order Sith fleet the resurrected Palpatine would later call upon in The Rise of Skywalker. Built in secret by Sith cultists on the planet Exegol over the course of several years, the Final Order was the grand culmination of Palpatine’s master plan to return the Sith to power in the galaxy. But given the recent revelation of Qi’ra’s secret fleet, it does raise an interesting theory: was Palpatine somehow inspired by the Crimson Fleet to create his own hidden force of ships in secret at the outskirts of the galaxy? It’s an intriguing thought, and would go a long way in fleshing out the details of Palpatine’s various plans throughout all three trilogies in the Skywalker saga.
Sadly, Qi’ra’s Crimson Fleet looks like it will be ultimately doomed to fail, but it will still be fascinating to watch how her war with Palpatine plays out in the pages of upcoming Star Wars comics.
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #2 is available now from Marvel Comics
