40 years after he was first conceived, the Star Wars villain who never saw his day in the sun is back. Admittedly, this is an obscure character even by hardcore fan standards. This is as unknown as they come, but that only serves to make the character's return all the more interesting.

Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm recently released a new book titled Star Wars: Jedi Knights. The book comes from writer Marc Guggenheim ("Arrow") and artist Madibek Musabekov ("Star Wars"). In terms of the overall timeline, it takes place around the Fall of the Jedi era before the events of The Phantom Menace. Aside from the rich storytelling the prequel era proved to be, the intrigue of the book has to do with Atta Prime becoming part of the official canon. Readers would be forgiven for not knowing that name, but it's a villain that traces its roots back to the mid-1980s after the release of Return of the Jedi.

Atta Prime was intended to be an action figure released by Kenner to help keep Star Wars alive after the original trilogy ended its run. As toy sales declined, Kenner's idea was to keep the story alive through toys. Ata Prime was supposed to be the big bad of this abandoned story. Editor Mark Panicchia explained in a press release how the whole thing came about.

"While developing the series, Mark discovered this deep cut - the antagonist from Kenner's unrealized The Epic Continues toy line. inside!"

You can take a look at the character in the cover above. Aside from the toypack lid, there's also one perfecting his large, golden helmet. The character also appears on the cover of Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader, which you can also view below. Very important, Ata Prime now he joins Shadows of the Empire villain Prince Xizor as abandoned characters that Lucasfilm later brought into the official canon.

This is far from the first time Lucasfilm has brought back an old character during the Disney era. Instead of glorious, Grand Admiral Thrawn makes his long-awaited return in Star Wars Rebels before becoming the main villain of "Ahsoka". The difference here is that Thrawn was part of the very popular Heir to the Empire trilogy of novels. The same cannot be said for Ata Prime, who is known only to the most die-hard fans.

So who exactly is Ata Prime? Of course, Guggenheim will put his own stamp on the character for its official launch. That said, Kenner (at Banta skull) originally described Ahtha Prime as follows:

“A powerful force long held in exile at the far edge of the galaxy has been unleashed with the death of the Emperor. It now moves, like a plague, securing control over the shattered remnants of the empire and re-enslave the newly liberated worlds. Atta Prime, master of genetics, ruler of the dark worlds and architect of the Clone Wars, is on the loose again His advanced battle army of clones has already decimated rebel outposts along the galactic borders. His goal is to destroy the Rebel Alliance forever and control the Galaxy.

The mention of cloning is interesting as it is a major factor in Palpatine's resurrection after his death in Return of the Jedi. As for how Atta Prime will factor into this era of relative peace in the galaxy? We'll have to wait until the book arrives in March, but the synopsis for the series explains that he'll mix it up with Obi-Wan Kenobi's former master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

Star Wars: Jedi Knight takes place before The Phantom Menace and stars legendary prequel trilogy icons Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and more, including fan-favorite characters and all-new Jedi . Each exciting issue follows a different Jedi duo on key missions across the galaxy, with an overarching threat binding them together, who is the mysterious new villain targeting Qui-Gon Jinn for death, and how it will force the Jedi Order to evolve for a new age ?

Those interested can get the full story when Star Wars: Jedi Knight no. 1 will hit shelves on March 5, 2025.