A new foil cover for Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1 puts Darth Vader and Doctor Doom face to face. Kevin Smith's Disney-on-Disney crossover costs $5.99 and hits comic shops Jan. 13, 2027.
Darth Vader and Doctor Doom are finally in the same room. Neither one looks happy about it.
Marvel revealed two new variant covers Thursday, Nov. 5, for Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles #1, ComicBook.com reported. Matteo Lolli's foil variant shows Darth Vader, lightsaber in hand, squaring off with Doctor Doom.
The other new cover, by Cory Smith, drops Wolverine, Hulk and Black Widow into the Death Star trash compactor from the 1977 movie, Fantha Tracks reported. Somebody tell Hulk the walls are closing in.
Issue #1 goes on sale Jan. 13, 2027, for $5.99 with a digital code. It's 40 pages and rated T, according to Marvel's January solicitations.
Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm, which is how a Sith Lord and a Latverian monarch end up sharing a page with no lawyers in the panel.
When does Star Wars/Marvel: Hope Assembles come out?
Issue #1 arrives Jan. 13, 2027, at comic shops, where preorders are open now, Laughing Place reported. StarWars.com said the first issue kicks off "the year-long celebration of Star Wars" for the 50th anniversary of A New Hope, which opened May 25, 1977.
ComicBook.com reported the series runs through May 2027, which puts the finale right around that anniversary.
One wrinkle: Marvel's own listings label the book "#1 (of 6)," and StarWars.com calls it a six-issue series. Some of Marvel's solicitation copy, plus ComicBook.com and Laughing Place, say five issues. Marvel hasn't cleared that up.
Who is writing Hope Assembles?
Kevin Smith, the Clerks filmmaker, writes it. David Marquez (Uncanny X-Men, Civil War II) draws the interiors and the main covers.
"I'm ecstatic to be writing Hope Assembles for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars!" Smith said when the series was announced Aug. 11, Comics Beat reported.
Smith also said he always wished "Spider-Man or Doctor Doom could cross over" into the Star Wars saga. He thanked Marvel and Lucasfilm for trusting him to "fly the Falcon and the Quinjet."
What happens in Hope Assembles?
A reality-altering spell makes the events of A New Hope play out on Earth-616, Marvel's main universe. The Avengers and Spider-Man team up with Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca, while Doctor Doom sides with Vader and the Empire, StarWars.com said.
An October preview showed Vader wearing the Infinity Gauntlet on Rafael Albuquerque's Crossover variant. The Death Star apparently wasn't enough.
Editor Mark Paniccia promised every issue has "moments that will leave fans smiling, cheering," AIPT reported.
What are all the Hope Assembles #1 covers?
Marvel lists nine for the first issue:
A: David Marquez, main cover
B: Alex Ross, Alliance variant, with Luke Skywalker and Spider-Man teaming up
C: Kaare Andrews, Battle variant
D: Cory Smith, A New Hope variant, the trash compactor scene
E: Rafael Albuquerque, Crossover variant, Vader with the gauntlet
F: Dan Jurgens, Retro variant, in the style of Marvel's original Star Wars comics
G: Roge Antonio, Marvel Homage variant, 1 in 25
H: Matteo Lolli, foil variant, Vader vs. Doom
I: Kaare Andrews, virgin variant, 1 in 100
The "1 in 25" and "1 in 100" covers are ratio variants. Shops get one for every 25 or 100 copies of the regular cover they order, and they usually sell for more than cover price.
How does Hope Assembles tie into Avengers: Doomsday?
Mostly timing. Robert Downey Jr. plays Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in theaters Dec. 18, and ComicBook.com flagged the movie in its cover story. The comic lands less than four weeks later.
Marvel has published Star Wars comics on and off since 1977, but ComicBook.com noted this is the first time the two universes truly share a story.
Alex Ross' Luke and Spider-Man cover debuted at New York Comic Con on Oct. 11, where Smith made a surprise appearance at Marvel's panel, Laughing Place reported.
For families, the T rating is Marvel's teen label, so parents of younger Star Wars fans may want to flip through it first.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
ComicBook.com (Nov. 5, 2026), the new Lolli and Cory Smith covers, the Jan. 13 date and the May 2027 run
Fantha Tracks (Nov. 5, 2026), the trash compactor cover and the full cover list from Marvel.com
StarWars.com (Aug. 11, 2026), the story setup, the six-issue count and the 50th anniversary timing
Comics Beat (Aug. 11, 2026), Kevin Smith's quotes
Comics Beat (Oct. 2026), Marvel's January 2027 solicitation with price, page count, rating and ratio variants
ICv2 (Oct. 12, 2026), the on-sale date and the "#1 (of 6)" listing
AIPT (Oct. 20, 2026), Mark Paniccia's quote and the Infinity Gauntlet preview
Laughing Place (Oct. 11, 2026), the New York Comic Con reveal, the Alex Ross cover and preorders
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