Going into this series, even the creative team must have known that Princess Leia would be a hard sell.  She is a beloved character by most fans of Star Wars, but also in very few fan’s lists of favorite characters.  Instead the relatively dour character is one that has fulfilled the role as the main heroine in a functional way, but not in a way that most people would ever really consider to be fun.  Her role of main character has still often mostly been that of sidekick, and so a series about her own adventures might have seemed a bit out of place.  That she was given a chance to shine on her own is a risk which has paid off for Marvel, the more so that these stories are considered to be official canon of the Star Wars universe.

As the previous issue left off, Leia has promised to group together all Alderaanians who have survived the destruction of their home planet, and this has taken Leia to the extreme of exchanging herself for the traitor in their midst,  Tula, the former agent for the Imperials.  While the reader will know than Star Wars canon set between episodes IV and V featuring Leia means that the character has to live, her fate still feels very much in the danger as she steps into the hands of the Imperial officers, eager to rush her off to the fate which they think that she deserves.  Things do not exactly transpire like this, but the end result is that Leia is able to somewhat fulfill her goal, even to a degree which she had not thought possible, moving beyond prejudice to find a commonality for all.

Though it has been less talked about than the main Star Wars series, this series likely should have been.  It got off to a slow start, but it picked up steam quite quickly, and the entire five issues story reads better together than monthly.  With this final issue, it would also be nice to see the return of Evaan, the rare female character in the universe that is written like what most modern comic readers expect from a female character.  With this fifth and final issue, Leia proved two things as a character, first of all that she can carry a series, and secondly that she should probably given the opportunity to carry one or two more.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Terry Dodson
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy