– Spoiler Review –
As Leia, Luke, and Han’s stay on the isolated moon of Hubin stretches on in Star Wars #58, each of them deal with the situation in their own, unique way.
“The Escape” is more about the heroes being given a chance to enjoy an escape from the war effort and less about escaping the Empire’s devastating attack in “Hope Dies,” and issue #58 really dives into how each of the Big Three deals with it. For starters, Han Solo has taken to their new lifestyle like a Wookiee to a Life Day feast, comfortably relaxing along hillsides, doing a little hard labor to earn his keep, and enjoying the company. This makes sense for the smuggler and former scrum rat, as he’s always been on the run or fighting, whether it was his stint with the Imperials or his time living job to job since, so he welcomes the break because he knows it’ll never last; He tries to offer Luke this advice, but the young kid is too restless here to hear it. In fact, Han is enjoying their time on Hubin so much he has even relaxed his guards, letting Leia see him in a bit of vulnerable light, revealing some of his past, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, to the point where Qi’ra isn’t named, but he does talk about her. While I wasn’t too surprised about his initial reaction to their predicament, I didn’t quite expect to see him take so fully to their new lifestyle and open up, which was a pleasant surprise. It’s a nice complement to Last Shot’s (an excellent novel) take on an older Han in peacetime/as a new father, as there he’s restless for action because he’s not locked out from the galaxy, beyond looking after his little baby boy Ben, and here he’s okay with being stationary because there is no other option.
Luke doesn’t take to their situation as easily as Han, showing some very Anakin Skywalker-like tendencies while in their “captivity.” Having lived his whole life in isolation on Tatooine, looking to the horizon for adventure, he’s finally found it with the Rebellion AND been told he’s an important part of it considering he’s (as far as he knows) the last of the Jedi, so being unable to fulfill his destiny irritates Luke to no end; it seems like the savior complex got to his head a bit. This highlights what Yoda sensed in The Empire Strikes Back, saying Luke has always been craving adventure, while this also shows how he matured in certain aspects when he went to Ahch-To, able to sit still and live a life without adventure or craving going back to fight. But for now, he hasn’t found that calm, and he begins lashing out at his friends over what he sees as complacency with the situation, though he doesn’t realize they’ve lived more complicated lives than he and their lack of push to get off of Hubin isn’t because they don’t want to fight/help the galaxy anymore. Thane assists with passing the time for Luke, who helps train the young Jedi a bit on lightsaber combat, offering his impressive skills as a warrior to hone Luke as one too.
Luke has some reason to stay and relax though, and an even better way to pass the time, as their mysterious host’s daughter has taken a fancy to Luke, and he to her. The farmboy doesn’t have enough confidence yet, making his time with her less than smooth, something Han teases him about quite a bit. As she gives Luke a bit of rundown about her family, which I’ll get into more of in a moment, she paints a picture of a complicated past which shows she understands his desire to be off Hubin and back in the fight, but she warns his use of a transmitter he’s building could have unforeseen consequences. It almost feels like having to stay still is some type of test from the Force itself and this predicament mirrors his anxiousness to save Han and Leia when the vision of their doom comes to him on Dagobah. Despite Tula’s advice, Luke’s belief that he needs to be out there because the galaxy won’t survive without him is too strong, and after Han and Leia express their desire to wait it out for the next trader ship, Luke lets out that Skywalker anger and uses the transmitter he’s been making with help from Artoo, Threepio, Markona’s family droid Emkay, and even Tula running interference. What will his call for help bring down on these now peaceful warriors purposefully isolated from the galaxy? The solicitations have revealed the answer, one I’m not too thrilled about, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.
Out of the three, I’ve been the most curious about Leia’s reaction to their time on Hubin, as her request for a personal terminal in issue #57 was left as an open thread which most of issue #58 avoids answering, but when it does, damn is it quite the reveal. Leia has, like Han, let part of her guard down, enjoying her time with Han and getting to know the different sides to him, but the betrayal by Queen Trios that devastated the Rebellion in “Hope Dies” weighs on her heavily. Her misguided trust of Trios has left her ability to trust again shattered, aiding her reluctance with Han’s friend Lando on Cloud City, so Leia’s been spending their time on Hubin in search of hope. The hope she finds is also rooted in the Skywalker anger, as it’s revealed she has been fervently planning total revenge on Queen Trios and all of Shu-Torun! It’s both an understandable personal issue, but also a vital strike against the Empire due to it being a resource-rich planet. “Hope Dies” did seem to hint that Trios made the betrayal with reservations, as she might have come too close to Leia and the Rebellion and the allure of freedom it held due to her being under Vader’s yoke, so I’d definitely like to see if Leia gets her chance to strike at Shu-Torun and how Trios might finally get her release from Vader’s reach, even if it costs her the ultimate price.
Tula opening up to Luke provides us with some background on Thane Markona and how the Markona Clan came to own Hubin, though it still leaves some details deliciously vague. What we know now is that Thane’s mother was a Jedi (!!) who amicably left the Order when she fell in love with a “roguish stranger,” though she felt the Jedi were heading in the wrong direction. She raised Thane right, but her husband imparted some less than savory skills onto their son and after their deaths Thane left Hubin and founded a mercenary company, fell in love, had Tula, and Tula’s mother died shortly after. Her dying wish was for Tula to get Thane’s upbringing on Hubin, so Clan Markona took a job so big they were granted Hubin and retired from the business; I’m dying to learn what job they completed that granted them Hubin, as I’m sure it’ll be something which will make Leia and Han regret enjoying their stay. After issue #57 came out, Alex over at Star Wars Explained had a theory that Clan Markona was Mandalorian and the events in “The Escape” could tie into the history of the main character of the upcoming live-action series for Disney +, The Mandalorian. There were a few holes with the theory but it’s a fun one, as it wouldn’t surprise me Lucasfilm would seed something like that here. Thane’s usage of shield gauntlets (portable shields) when sparring with Luke actually helps Alex’s theory, as we’ve only ever seen them used by Mandalorians, and the “roguish stranger” his Jedi mother fell in love with certainly could’ve been the one who gave them to Thane, so now I’m actively rooting for the theory to be correct.
Gillen’s writing thrives in this relaxed environment, as the action-heavy arcs of the last few issues haven’t given him lots of chances to stretch his understanding of the Big Three. The mystery of Clan Markona is a compelling one, making “The Escape” Gillen’s best arc yet. Angel Unzueta (art) and Guru-eFX (colors) have a much better issue than last, as the near-facial tracing isn’t as apparent here and comes closer to Unzueta’s work on Poe Dameron. Shirtless Luke isn’t as pronounced as shirtless Han, but Unzueta was the perfect pick for those scenes, like how the action in the beginning feels tactile and visceral.
Here are a few other things:
- With Luke going shirtless in his training with Thane, we’re two for two of the male leads going shirtless this arc.
- I love how Han assumed Leia inviting him into her room meant they were about to really enjoy each other’s company and then the look on his face when he realizes it’s not about that in the slightest.
- This is the last issue of the series for 2018 and it returns early in January 2019!
Star Wars #58 pits out heroes against their greatest threat yet, a vacation, and their reactions are well-worth the read!
+ Markona Family Details
+ The Big Three’s individual reactions to their new lifestyle
+ The best arc for Star Wars in quite some time
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Star Wars
Kieron Gillen — Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) / Arc Review by Chris | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) / Arc Review by Chris | Hope Dies (#50-55) / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape: #56 | #57 | #59 | #60 | #61 / Arc Review by Chris | The Scourging of Shu-Torun (#62-67) / Arc Review by Chris | Kieron Gillen Retrospective
Jason Aaron — Jason Aaron Retrospective (#1-37)
Greg Pak — Rebels and Rogues (#68-72)