Star Wars: Easter Eggs and References in Marvel's Princess Leia #1

We've been keeping close tabs on the Marvel Comics Star Wars series. With over three decades of creations, and favorite moments, lines, characters, vehicles, and more from across all of those, it's an easy place for writers and artists to drop in some fun Easter Eggs.

Here then are five we found in Star Wars: Princess Leia #1, on sale this week from Marvel, from translations to movie scenes and beyond.

A Beginner's Guide to Aurebesh

Here's a two-for-one entry. There are two instances of Aurebesh, the prominent written language across the Star Wars galaxy, in the pages of Leia #1. The first is on page 9, when General Dodonna is telling the Princess that there's a bounty out on her. It says, very unsurprisingly:

"Secret Alert
High Command Only

Leia Organa Traitor
Bounty
10,000,000
Dead

High Command Only
Secret Alert"

The Empire is nothing if not efficient in their transmissions.

Part the second is not just Aurebesh to translate for fun by nerds like me, it also is a shoutout to one of the most famous (and most used) lines in Star Wars lore! When Leia and Evaan are attempting to leave the system, Leia asks R2D2 for his input. His reply puts him in the annals of Star Wars history, joining Obi-Wan, Anakin, Luke, Han Solo, and others in saying a variation of "I've got a bad feeling about this." Best Easter Egg yet in these comics. Kudos, Waid and Dodsons!

The Throne Room

That first scene should look mighty familiar, Star Wars fans. That's because it's also the very last scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, showing just how closely this follows that film, literally seconds after it ends. In the following pages, Waid also answers the question, "Wait, they just lost several Rebels, and an entire planet was blown up, so why are they all celebrating so much?"

Waid's Favorite Star Wars Line

Back when we launched the May the Force Be With You column, we asked fans and creators alike to tell us what their favorite line in the whole saga was. Waid's response was "I know." Sure enough, when Leia is flirtatiously talking with Han Solo, she encourages him to see what "A hairy beast and his copilot" can do for the Rebellion. He responds, "Hey, he's the copilot" while pointing to Chewie. Leia's response? Just those two little words. Excellent.

Aliens Among Us

Surprisingly, after their abundance in the other two series, there are only two non-humans featured in this issue. Chewbacca, of course, is a Wookiee (two o's, two e's - and happy 10th Anniversary, Wookieepedia!).

The other is Admiral Ackbar, the most famous Mon Calamari, who fans know from Return of the Jedi and The Clone Wars. Sadly, though, he says nothing at all about a trap.

Food for thought...

Outside of the full-on Easter Eggs, there was one other little nods that are mighty interesting. At the very end of the issue, Leia is headed with Evaan to Naboo - which she doesn't know is actually her maternal homeworld! Intrigue!

What was your favorite Easter Egg in the first issue of Leia? What else did you catch?