Star Wars: Hidden Empire is the third and last part of a trilogy that began with Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters and Star Wars: Crimson Reign. It’s time for writer Charles Soule and artist Steven Cummings to give us a conclusion to this story focused on Qi’ra and the criminal organization Crimson Dawn.
As the official synopsis reveals, “The mysterious criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn and its leader, Lady Qi’ra, have become the galaxy’s most wanted, now that Emperor Palpatine has realized the scope of their plans against him and moves to destroy her. But Qi’ra still has tricks up her sleeve, and with the help of the Knights of Ren and her many other allies, she will not go down without a fight!”
What to read before Star Wars: Hidden Empire?
This event takes place during the Age of the Rebellion. Check out our Star Wars Comics Canon Reading Order to learn more about it.
No surprise, for a better comprehension of the events taking place in Hidden Empire, you need to read at least the main series from the past two crossover events. For the complete experience, we recommend reading the tie-ins.
- Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Omnibus (the whole event)
Collects Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha (2021) #1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters (2021) #1-5, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Jabba The Hutt (2021) #1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – 4-Lom & Zuckuss (2021) #1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Boushh (2021) #1, Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters – Ig-88 (2021) #1, Star Wars (2020) #13-18, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020) #12-17, Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #12-17, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #10-15, material from Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha Director’s Cut (2021) #1. See our Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Reading Order. - Star Wars: Crimson Reign (the main event)
Collects Star Wars: Crimson Reign #1-5. There is no Omnibus yet for this event, so go check out our Star Wars: Crimson Reign Reading Order for all the tie-ins!
It has to be pointed out that the series had a few issues before the start of Hidden Empire (all available in the respective trade paperbacks of each series).
Star Wars: Hidden Empire Reading Order
The more the trilogy progresses, the less it ties in with the other series. Hidden Empire crosses over officially with Bounty Hunters and Doctor Aphra. For the bigger picture, you’ll find below a reading order including the Star Wars series and the Darth Vader series. After all, they also take place during that period! Keep in mind this is more an event surrounded by independent stories, and maybe, reading by arc/series would be better in that particular case!
Hidden Empire Reading Order: Collected Editions
Following is a listing of the trade paperbacks collecting the issues from the Hidden Empire crossover.
- Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 6: Return of the Handmaidens
Collects Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #28-32 - Star Wars: Hidden Empire
Collects Star Wars: Hidden Empire #1-5 - Star Wars: Bounty Hunters Vol. 6 — Bedlam on Bestine
Collects Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020) #29-34 - Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 6: Ascendant
Collects Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #26-31
Hidden Empire Reading Order: Issue by Issue
You’ll find in bold the official issues considered part of this crossover. The following listed has entirely been revised and has been inspired by JOR22007’s comment and Sam_NoSpam at Reddit! Don’t hesitate to make suggestions in the comments, we’ll update to make it the best order possible!
- Bounty Hunters #23-26
- Darth Vader (2020) #25-27
- Star Wars #25-28
- Star Wars Revelations #1 (this issue introduces the crossover)
- Darth Vader (2020) #28
- Doctor Aphra (2020) #22-26
- Hidden Empire #1
- Bounty Hunters #27-28
- Doctor Aphra (2020) #27
- Hidden Empire #2-3
- Bounty Hunters #29-31
- Doctor Aphra (2020) #28-29
- Star Wars: Hidden Empire #4-5
- Darth Vader (2020) #29-32
- Star Wars #29-33
- Darth Vader (2020) #33-34
- Bounty Hunters (2020) #32-34
- Star Wars (2020) #34-35
- Doctor Aphra (2020) #30-31
After Star Wars: Hidden Empire
The Qi’ra trilogy is over but the Star Wars Canon Universe continues to expand! Soon, a new crossover will tie again into the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra series, Star Wars: Darth Vader series, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters series, and the main Star Wars run…
This time, the Star Wars Universe into chaos by revisiting a classic subject of science-fiction: the rogue A.I. in Star Wars: Dark Droids!
