– Spoiler Review –
Han Solo – Imperial Cadet fills in Solo: A Star Wars Story’s three year time jump with a fun, low stakes stay for Han in the Imperial Academy, where its secondary characters are more intriguing than the main because he doesn’t have as much growth as they do, resulting in a miniseries that’s not vital for enjoyment of the film but has plenty of enjoyable moments on its own.
Despite its flaws, I still enjoy the film Solo, but one of its problems rears its head in Han Solo – Imperial Cadet: it just showed that Han has always kind of been Han and there’s not much growth in the character in this part of his life other than closing himself off from commitments, like causes and relationships, after Qi’ra’s choice, which we see the Original Trilogy slowly chip away at. So during his stay in the Imperial Academy at Carida, Han is his normal, smarmy, cocky self, but his hidden heart of gold continues to appear as he risks his own life/career to save his fellow cadets, resulting in plenty of punishment for the young scoundrel. It’s not terribly surprising stuff, as a rogue helping his friends excel recalls such films like Stripes and the opening training section of Full Metal Jacket, but this series never quite reaches the same heights, but not like it was trying to in the first place. Han scuffles with his fellow recruits and his mouthy nature makes them hate him initially, but his skills in a craft and willingness to help the recruits who hate him help turn around their perceptions of him. The most interesting development comes from Han shaking down a patron at a bar he sneaks his team onto during a mission, asking the Ithorian if Qi’ra is still alive, as we know that’s a major drive for him so to see him take such a giant risk to simply learn that fits very well with Han in Solo. There are also some flashbacks to his and Qi’ra’s time as White Worms, both from the opening section of Solo and stuff we didn’t see on film, adding context to his desire to find Qi’ra again as well as his skills with piloting; It’s not as comprehensive as Most Wanted, but it’s enough to get the point across.
The rest of the cast is fun for the most part, with a little character development mixed in resulting in a bit of a surprising tale about Han’s time in the academy. On the non-Cadet side, Han’s clash with authority figures includes Drill Sergeant Triosa Broog, but their back and forth only really lasts the first issue, while the bulk of his conflict is the Flight Instructor Yurib Nakan, who sees a lot of himself in Han and attempts to mold him into the weapon he knows Han could be for the cause. I liked Yurib in this story because it was interesting to see what Han could’ve become had he bought into the Imperial system, but I was disappointed Triosa’s appearance was so brief. On the Cadet-side, there’s the group that begrudgingly befriends Han despite his mouth getting everyone in trouble, which is made up of the likeable, funny twins Tamu and Lyttan Dree, and Kanina Nico. Of course there’s the one Imperial devotee/bully 404-913 aka Beilert Valance*, whose desire to be the best/not upstaged by a scrum rat results in clashes with Han and his looser approach to things. Out of the group, Kanina’s journey is the most intriguing, not only because it holds a bit of a surprise, but I enjoyed how she’s a mirror of Han in the sense: she plays by the rules and joined to help protect someone back home, whereas Han plays by his own rules and joined to help himself get back to someone back home. She makes some pointed commentary about his unwillingness to join a cause, something greater than himself, though we all know that’ll change once he has a good reason to: friends like Luke and Leia. But for Kanina, when the realities of the Empire’s rule come clear, her life changes in a really intriguing way, to the point I would’ve rather we focused on her and then had a whole miniseries about her next steps into a much larger world.
Robbie Thompson is not only the writer of this miniseries, but he’s also been writing the Solo: A Star Wars Story comic adaptation, and while I’ve only read an issue of the latter (so far), Thompson has Han down pat, because while I might find it a detriment to this story Han is basically already Han, there’s no mistaking the character is richly brought to life here like he was in the movie. Thompson’s original characters were far more interesting, and because of their tales or Yurib’s connection to Han, it helps propel this miniseries into an entertaining read, especially now that it’s collected and one can read it all together. I stopped reviewing the miniseries after the first issue just because I had the same thing to say after reading the second issue, and once I read it in full after issue #5 came out in March, I basically would’ve had the same thing to say up until the final issue, but this is something most miniseries can’t escape (but some certainly have). Leonard Kirk was the artist for the series and Arif Prianto joined him on colors, and together their work was mostly enjoyable. I had some issues with Han’s head/face, as it looked disproportionate to his body at times, his chin was oddly too big, or his face looked much older than he should be, while some of the action sequences were a bit too chaotic to follow. I did really like the use of color, like with the early days of Han’s training and being down in the mud, the panels were covered in dirt, grime, and darkness, but as he got closer to making friends with his cadets and still being himself despite the Empire’s best efforts, the issues got brighter and a little more colorful. My favorite panel of the whole miniseries might be the full page of Han and the other cadets at the travelling casino, playing games, falling in love, winning big. Letterer for the series was Joe Caramagna and editor was Tom Groneman.
Here are a few other things:
- *Cadet Valance is actually the canonization of original Marvel comics character Valance the Hunter, a former Imperial who was made into a cyborg after a crippling injury, much like the Valance of Imperial Cadet ends up going through! And in fact, you’ll be able to see him in all his Legends glory in May, as Marvel is celebrating 80 years by bringing back the Original Marvel Legends run for one more issue, of which he’s slated to appear in!
- It’s a super minor thing, but the typeface for opening credit pages, while on point of an Imperial document, made it really hard to tell the difference between a “K” and an “H.”
- While Imperial Cadet doesn’t quite line up with Han being on Mimban in Solo, you can see the deleted scene of Han’s flying school days coming to an end here.
- The David Nakayama covers were a true delight, as I liked his depiction of Han over the main artist.
Han Solo – Imperial Cadet offers a mildly entertaining tale about Han’s time with the Empire, and while it has its faults and the secondary characters
+ Quick, fun pace after a little set up
+ Side character have some good surprises…
– ..which I would’ve rather followed
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Han Solo – Imperial Cadet: #1
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