– Spoiler Review –
Chewbacca #3 continues the series’ decent run, as the lovable Wookiee finds himself fully committed to helping Zarro, and the people of her planet, while the little whipper-snapper comes into her own. As Chewie might put it, “WWRRRRAAAHHHH.”
So far not translating Chewie has paid off and been handled really well in the series, allowing his actions to speak louder about him as a character. Last issue he built a stun prod out of a GNK droid and by the end of this one he’s tinkering around at a local’s shop building something to help protect/free the people of Andelm IV from Juam and his Imperial cronies. We’ve seen the big guy be crafty in the films, from putting Threepio mostly back together and working on the Falcon, so it’s only natural and welcomed to see more of his mechanical skills come to the forefront. Also, his shooting abilities and immense strength get shown as well, specifically when he manages to topple an entire tree to dig his way out of the mines. It’s as cool as you’d expect, and serves as both a humorous moment and impressive feat; moments like the ones in #3 are why I was looking forward to a series starring the mighty Wookiee in the first place.
But what I’ll remember this series more for, at least in regards to Chewie, is the flashbacks. The ones in #3 build off of #2’s, where he was shown captured by the Trandoshans at one point (I theorized it could’ve been leading up to his The Clone Wars appearance). Here, as he’s digging his way out of the mines, he uses the anger from being captured to help him focus his strength and fury to toppling the tree, giving everyone else in the mines a chance to live another day. Here’s hoping we get a few more before this series is through.
The next most memorable thing is the young, feisty Zarro. We’ve seen her headstrong and brave attitudes already, but it’s even more noticeable when he father is cowering and ready to run away from the situation and his young daughter seems to be the only one willing to fight back. She really comes into her own this issue, pointing out how fleeing will do her conscious no good and that they should stay and fight for their home. Add another to the ranks of awesome new female characters being added to the Star Wars canon thanks to Marvel.
Here are a few other things:
- Sevox’s story about rejecting implants and hacking his protocol droid to see is a very interesting world building moment, pointing out all the strange things that can happen to normal people and how they deal with them in a galaxy far, far away.
- I won’t be able to say this enough but…Phil Noto’s work is just stellar. For the art alone you’ll want to pick up at least the trade.
- Juam’s Shistavanen friend is finally named: Tyvak.
While the feeling that you could wait to collect this as a trade hasn’t left the series, Chewbacca #3 brings the more memorable aspects of its main characters to the forefront.
+ Chewie’s “strength” of character
+ Zarro stepping into her own
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.