Star Wars Confirms Crimson Dawn’s Connection To Clone Wars

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #14

In the latest issue of Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, the origins of Crimson Dawn and its connection to The Clone Wars are confirmed. While it was known prior that Maul’s Shadow Collective of criminal syndicates and the subsequent Crimson Dawn were tied together, this new issue now provides some new details as to what exactly happened when the Republic fell and the Empire rose to power. This is all shared in reference to Crimson Dawn’s return during the War of the Bounty Hunters, which has seen them in possession of Han Solo trapped in carbonite in between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

During the Clone Wars, the former Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious returned, having been rescued and restored by his brother Savage Oppress. As a result, Maul soon began seeking to build a power base to get revenge not only on his master, but also on the Jedi Master who nearly killed him: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Over time, Maul assembled and united several major criminal syndicates such as Black Sun, The Pykes, and the Death Watch, uniting them all under one Shadow Collective. Furthermore, Maul also foresaw the rise of the Empire, and he put Mandalore under siege in the hopes of luring Anakin Skywalker, wanting to kill him in order to thwart Sidioius’ plans. However, Maul would fail and the Empire arrived all the same.

While it’s been known that Maul would later create Crimson Dawn during the Imperial era, the new Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #14 from Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villaneli confirms that it wasn’t just a rebrand/retitle of his Shadow Collective from The Clone Wars. In the issue, the bounty hunter Dengar gets a history lesson, and it’s revealed that Crimson Dawn was originally made up of those who remained and persevered after the Shadow Collective fell apart and the syndicates went their separate ways.

Now, Crimson Dawn is back once more, being lead by none other than the Lady Qi’ra, Dryden Vos’s killer and Han Solo’s first love. Qi’ra now has Solo himself in her possession and is using him as a bargaining chip to help legitimize Crimson Dawn’s return to the galaxy. Not only that, but Dengar and the cyborg Beilert Valance are being hunted by the Dawn’s top assassin known only as Deathstick. However, rather than simply killing them, the issue reveals that Deathstick is merely trying to position them right where Qi’ra wants them according to her plans and designs.

In any case, it’s exciting to learn more about Crimson Dawn’s history, as it’s very much an unseen chapter of the Star Wars timeline and Maul’s own personal story. Knowing that Crimson Dawn became a syndicate in it own right when the Shadow Collective fell apart after The Clone Wars is quite the achievement on Maul’s part, but it’s still unknown what caused him to lose the Dawn before his death in Star Wars Rebels. In any case, it’s going to be interesting to see what Lady Qi’ra’s leadership will bring with this new Crimson Dawn that’s simply been lying in wait, choosing now to reveal themselves to the Star Wars galaxy.

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Kevin Erdmann
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Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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