This story is titled, “The Saga Begins,” but it’s really already begun. It starts with a recap of the character’s earlier appearances in the black and white Marvel Preview title. Those stories ended in April of 1979, and now it’s the middle of 1980 before we hear from him again, so a recap seems more than appropriate. Plus, this time it’s in color.
We get an origin story that’s a little similar to the movie (except that in the comic, the aliens kill his mom), and then a fairly generic space adventure. After this, the character is gone for a year again.