The phenomenal success of George Lucas's first Star Wars trilogy quite simply revolutionized the cinema; but what sets Lucas's films apart from their legion of imitators is the quality of their screenplays. Lucas originally intended this trilogy to be a single film, but the epic scope of the story (combining hi-tech, sci-fi cinephilia with elements of Arthurian myth and mysticism) demanded that it be split into three.

The first panel of the triptych is A New Hope. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, young Luke Skywalker leads a dull, isolated existence on his uncle's homestead. One day, two androids, C3PO and R2D2, show up bearing a message from Princess Leia, the leader of the rebel forces engaged in a struggle against the vicious tyranny of the Empire - as personified by the rasping presence of Darth Vader. The message leads Luke to realize his heritage as a Jedi Knight. He sets out on a wild adventure across the galaxy and, together with Leia and rogue pilot Han Solo, attempts to thwart the Empire by destroying its menacing base of operations: the Death Star.