Tyler Lucian was a Human male Rebel soldier who deserted from the Alliance in 0 BBY. While stationed in the Yavin system, Lucian was present when the Imperial Death Star superweapon appeared in the immediate run-up to the Battle of Yavin. Filled with fear by the sight of the Death Star, Lucian stole a ship and fled, only to learn that a young pilot named Luke Skywalker had destroyed the Imperial station. Unable to simply return to the Alliance, Lucian went in hiding on Centares, where his knowledge of Skywalker's identity made him a target of the Sith Lord Darth Vader and bounty hunter Beilert Valance. Lucian ultimately committed suicide in 0 ABY to prevent Skywalker's name from falling into Imperial hands.
Tyler Lucian attempts to bargain with Beilert Valance for his life.
A Human male, Tyler Lucian served as a soldier in the Rebel Alliance during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Lucian was stationed at the Rebel base on Yavin 4 in 0 BBY when the Imperial superweapon known as the Death Star arrived in the Yavin system. With a desperate battle for the fate of the Rebellion imminent, Lucian suffered a sudden loss of nerve: rather than stay and fight with his brethren, Lucian instead stole a Rebel supply ship and fled, fearing that annihilation was certain. But as Lucian raced away from Yavin 4, his ship's transceiver received some Rebel chatter indicating that the battle had, shockingly, been won: in fact, a young farmboy from Tatooine named Luke Skywalker had managed to destroy the Death Star with a single well-placed proton torpedo.
However, despite the Rebel victory, Lucian had made himself a deserter and realized there was no going back. Seeking to hide from any Rebel reprisal, Lucian arrived on the Mid Rim world Centares, where he hooked up with a local cantina owner named Merl who ran a side business concealing fugitives. For a price, Merl set Lucian up in a remote hiding place, an abandoned tower near Centares' Rubyflame Lake, once a popular resort before the lake's waters were rendered caustic and polluted by the Empire. As part of the deal, Merl had his men visit Lucian periodically to drop off supplies, while the former Rebel spent his days in quiet contemplation of his past mistakes.
However, Lucian's anonymity on Centares didn't last long. Several months after the Battle of Yavin, the Sith Lord Darth Vader learned from a tortured Rebel spy that Lucian knew the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, a piece of information highly sought after by the Empire. Meanwhile, the notorious ex-Imperial bounty hunter Beilert Valance arrived on Centares for the same reason, although he intended to protect Skywalker, with whom he'd come to sympathize. To that end, Valance wanted Lucian dead, as it was the only way to ensure he wouldn't talk to the Empire. Valance's hunt led him to Merl's cantina, where he extracted Lucian's location in a violent altercation that led to Merl's death.
Tyler Lucian jumps to his death into Rubyflame Lake.
Valance raced to Rubyflame Lake and confronted Lucian, who desperately begged for his life in exchange for any information he had on the Rebel Alliance. However, their interaction was interrupted by Vader, who had also learned the ex-Rebel's identity and location. Lucian darted into the temporary safety of the tower as Valance and Vader battled, watching with morbid fascination as the two cyborgs fought to the death. The Sith Lord eventually earned the upper hand and sent Valance plunging to his death, but not before the bounty hunter said a few words that stuck with Lucian: his sacrifice would be worth it, as any delay would only allow Skywalker to get stronger and become Vader's match. That final message helped Lucian to ultimately regain his courage and leap to his own death into the lake's acidic waters, protecting the secret of Skywalker's identity.
A desperate man haunted by the mistakes of his past, Tyler Lucian spent the days after his defection from the Rebel Alliance regretting the lack of courage that led him to flee the Battle of Yavin. Upon the Death Star's arrival in the Yavin system, Lucian felt all hope leave his heart, and made a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Lucian's days on Centares were spent in despairing contemplation of his past betrayals, but those regrets didn't make him any braver: when Valance arrived and threatened him, his first instinct was to immediately bargain for his life with all the information he had, an act which earned him Valance's scorn. However, Valance's sacrifice helped Lucian regain the nerve he had lost at Yavin, driving him to give his own life for the good of the galaxy and protecting Luke Skywalker's identity.
Tyler Lucian first appeared in Star Wars (1977) 29, written by Archie Goodwin and released in 1979. Lucian was illustrated by Carmine Infantino.