Charles Soule’s Star Wars: Hidden Empire collects issues 1-5 of the titular series written by Soule with pencils by Steven Cummings, inks by Victor Olazaba and Wayne Faucher, colors by Guru-eFX, letters by Travis Lanham, and covers by Paula Siqueira and Rachelle Rosenberg. It continues Qi’ra’s story and that of Crimson Dawn from the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, bringing her tale to a close for now following War of the Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign. Qi’ra assembles her own hidden fleet alongside disparate groups including Chanath Cha and the Orphans, the Knights of Ren, Kho Phon Farrus, and Archivist Madelin Sun to seize the Fermata Cage, an ancient trap used to capture Sith or anything the Sith considered dangerous. Fearing that it might contain a rogue Sith Lord, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader plan to destroy the device and prevent its activation as any additional Sith is a threat to their power under the Rule of Two. Some of Qi’ra’s forces are Force-sensitive, like the Archivist and Knights of Ren, while others want to escape from under the Emperor’s thumb. Soule shows the Emperor’s reach in an early holo-conference where he asserts his authority over the Hutts and Black Sun, the latter represented by Prince Xizor. Hidden Empire helps to showcase some of the other conflicts and power struggles going on in the galaxy alongside the Rebellion against the Empire. Elements of the story recall prior Expanded Universe stories, specifically Dark Empire and Crimson Empire. Soule showcases the breadth of story possibilities remaining during the Original Trilogy era. Fans of Star Wars’ back catalog of characters will enjoy seeing many of them in action here while this builds on the promise at the end of Solo in showcasing Crimson Dawn. ( )