– Spoiler Review –
Leia and Luke get restless, Vader makes a ‘deal’ with Jabba, and a mysterious new stranger is on the hunt for Solo. Star Wars #4 takes a break from the action packed first three issues to shuffle pieces around the board and deal with the consequences of the Cymoon 1 operation for our heroes.
SW #4 is definitely not boring, but it does feel like the set piece mover that it is, putting our characters down new paths following their harrowing ordeal at Cymoon 1. At least they are interesting avenues, especially with Luke, who starts doubting himself after he stood up to Vader, lost like the inexperienced Jedi he is and watched slaves he freed killed by Vader. For some reason, likely the Force, he decides his journey to find himself should take place on Tatooine, where Vader, Boba Fett, and a mysterious woman are all currently hanging out. Who of the three will Luke collide with on his travels?
Some of the material comes off a little confusing if you haven’t been reading the Darth Vader series, seeing as that’s where Vader makes a preliminary meeting with Jabba to procure bounty hunters and announces his plans to return to bargain on the Empire’s behalf, though the writing mostly makes up for that lack of information. Either way, the interactions between Jabba and Vader are laced with the right amount of hidden subtext in their every word, always dancing on the edge of what can and can not be said with each other. In fact, my favorite panel of #4 comes from Jabba commenting on Luke by saying, “Who knew anyone of note was ever born on Tatooine, eh?” as the twin suns are reflected in Vader’s eyes.
Leia meanwhile is restless like Luke, but she wants to go on more missions and strike at the Empire instead of going on any soul-searching. I understand her desire to continue to engage the Empire and strike them while the Rebels still have the advantage, but Ackbar and Mothma make sound, solid points about their resources and the bigger picture. Leia still has much to learn, but has the fire to stand up and fight, which means this portrayal of Leia certainly feels like Leia.
But what I found most interesting was the new stranger and her voice activated gun, which was an awesomely effective way to introduce a character and make her stand out immediately. She wasn’t hired by Vader, isn’t a bounty hunter, and is interested in one smuggler only: Solo. Will she figure out Luke’s connection to Solo and use him to get to Han? And what exactly is she after Han for anyhow, because if she’s not a bounty hunter than she’s definitely not one of Jabba’s goons looking to collect on him dumping that shipment.
Here are a few other things:
- It’s not hard to hear the ridiculous laugh of Salacious Crumb when one panel highlighted him, but I thoroughly enjoyed and couldn’t stop laughing myself once Vader said to Jabba, “If you value that creature’s life, you should tell it to never again do that in my presence.”
- I wasn’t a fan of how Jabba was drawn, as even though we all know he’s bald, he looked like a creature who actually shouldn’t be bald and needed hair.
- Though initially I missed it, it’s important to note Leia calls Mon Mothma “Chancellor.” Curious, no? Looks like the Rebel Alliance has a Chancellor position then and at least they picked the correct woman for the job. Mothma was made the first Chief of State once the Rebels overthrew the Empire at the Battle of Endor in Legends.
- Looks like we’ll have to wait until #5 to learn what exactly Obi-Wan left in that box for Luke.
- It feels like SW #4 takes place before DV #4, seeing as Vader references Krrsantan as having a simple job and in DV #4 he’s completed his job.
Star Wars #4 continues the solid character writing this series is known for, all the while setting up conflicts for our characters to confront in upcoming issues.
+ The new character
+ Vader and Jabba’s interactions
– Bit of a slow down
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Star Wars (Vol. 1)
Jason Aaron: Skywalker Strikes: #1 | #2 | #3 | #5 | #6 | Old Ben’s Journals | Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon (#8-12) | Rebel Jail (#16-19) | The Last Flight of the Harbinger (#21-25) | Yoda’s Secret War (#26-30) | The Screaming Citadel crossover (#31-32)| Out Among the Stars (#33-37) | Retrospective (#1-37)
Kieron Gillen Retrospective (#38-67) | Greg Pak and Phil Noto Retrospective (#68-75)