– Spoiler Review –
In Star Wars #71, a dark presence arrives to muck with Chewie and Threepio’s mission, Leia and Han consider alternative ways to tackle theirs, and…Luke Skywalker robs a freaking bank?!!? The final arc of the series,* by writer Greg Pak and artist Phil Noto, continues to ensure the series will go out with a Death Star-sized bang.
There’s plenty of humor between Chewie and Threepio bickering about who’s to blame for their mission going south so quickly, but if there’s any mission of three in “Rebels and Rogues” that has some of the most intriguing concepts being explored and the biggest drama, look no further. The rock elders, whom Threepio can finally understand and chat with, care little about his urgent message to warn them about explosives, and instead want him to question his programming of trusting the fleshy humans. They call him Cousin Ore, as he’s not human but not like them, understand he can have his own sentience, much like he felt about the rock people, which caused him and Chewie to return to defuse the bombs. The elders take Goldenrod down memory lane, somehow accessing his memories and trying to show him how the humans will always leave him, like using flashbacks to post-Death Star I destruction victory scenes in A New Hope, but Threepio considers it all quite rude. Regardless, they request his help communicating with some newly arrived fleshy beings, one of them being Darth Vader, which causes Threepio to reconsider having Chewie disable the bombs! If the rock elders think of Threepio as a cousin, what will they feel about Vader, both machine and man? And considering some time ago, Vader rebuilt Threepio, will the elders dredge up those memories for Goldenrod (and of course make him forget them again)? In the end, what I like most about Vader’s arrival is how he fits the elder’s message to Threepio on how the humans will always leave him in the end, as Anakin is the first one to abandon him, taking off to be a Jedi and leaving the droid to toil around the farm with his mother. There’s more delicious, deeper concepts to explore here and I’m damn excited to see where this all goes over the last four issues.
Dar interrupting Leia and Han’s plans definitely made sense when he admits the current state of affairs on Lanz Carpo is far preferable to Imperial rule, but when he has Han and Leia down his sights, I had my concerns about him. Thankfully, he might not be all bad, as he comes up with a far more sensible plan: why not trick Boss Carpo into attacking the Empire for them? This is something he comes up with after Leia wipes the floor with his butt, which might’ve motivated his quick thinking, but still, it sounds like a far better plan to me. While it might be more dangerous for them, the Han and Leia decide to go along with Dar’s idea for the moment as the reality of their original plan finally hits them; the unintended consequences from each mission have been wreaking havoc on everyone’s plans this arc. Dar’s insights extend beyond sensible plans, as he wonders why the hell Han and Leia aren’t together yet, which leaves the two speechless, building off the fun of the honeymooner humor from last issue. They avoid the awkwardness of the situation, and the even more awkward ball dancing they get roped into, by focusing on the mission, but we all know they won’t be avoiding the romantic tension much longer. I’m curious who Dar is dancing at the end? Is it Boss Carpo’s wife or just a rich person on Lanz? And is Dar truly trying to help them? I’m eager to see how this all shakes out!
Before anyone splits hairs over Luke robbing a bank, know it’s an Imperial payroll garrison and it’s only staffed by droids,† but it’s less about what he does and more about how he goes about doing it. Warba tells Luke they have to bribe some secretary and the fastest way to get the necessary dough is robbing the garrison. While Luke thinks it’s impossible, much like he’ll tell Yoda shortly after this on Dagobah, Warba hypes him up by introducing him to the Guardians of the Whills mantra, “I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me,” saying those without the Force have done impossible things simply because they had faith. So what does Luke go and do? Chanting the mantra like Chirrut Îmwe before him (love all the Rogue One love across canon!), Luke waltzes up to the bank, taking out security like an afterthought, and despite losing his lightsaber, he manages to come out unscathed and holding more credits than you can shake a rancor at. I love how this shows Luke needs more faith in the Force but also feels like a meta-joke on Luke’s plot armor, as we all know he won’t die until much later, so of course he could lazily pull off impossible feats. When Luke loses his saber, we start to see Warba’s potential true colors, as she eagerly grabs it up, believing he won’t survive robbing the bank, only for her to play it off when he appears with all the creds. Is Warba one of the best con-women around, playing up what little she knows about Jedi, acting like his teacher only to score Luke’s saber and sell it for the right price? Or is there some truth to her teachings and the saber would be a nice prize for her troubles? Much like the other two storylines, I’m all in on seeing what comes next!
And on art, Phil Noto continues to bless us readers. From Leia’s ass-whooping of Dar Champion and Luke’s robbing of the bank, the action sequences are a bright spot in already so much goodness, while I love the juxtaposition of a full page used for both Vader’s entrance into the rock elders’ chambers and Luke exiting the bank full of cash. Thinking of how we only have 4 more issues of Noto’s greatness makes me sad, but hey, maybe he’ll stick around to kick off the next era of the series (see * below!).
Here are a few other things:
- *In case you missed the news, the Star Wars series is closing after this arc with issue #75, though it isn’t truly the end, as it will return in some shape or form, likely taking place in a different part of the timeline and branded with a new #1, like how we got two Darth Vader series. I expect we’ll learn just what’s next at NYCC, as a recent description of the publishing panel teases quite a few big reveals for what’s next across all mediums. We’ll have the news here when it drops!
- †Considering I work at a bank, and I know banking is getting closer and closer to phasing out the majority of the human workforce involved in it, I actually appreciated knowing the GFFA is full on autonomous; probably far less errors that way! Not saying I make a lot of errors or anything!
Star Wars #71 continues to evolve the three fantastic separate plots, making “Rogues and Rebels” a helluva way for the series to end.
+ Luke chanting the Whill’s mantra
+ Leia kicking Dar’s butt
+ Threepio and Chewie’s predicament
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
STAR WARS
Greg Pak — Rebels and Rogues: #68 | #69 | #70
Kieron Gillen — Kieron Gillen Retrospective (#38-67)
Jason Aaron — Jason Aaron Retrospective (#1-37)
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