Canon Comic Review: Star Wars “Mutiny at Mon Cala” Arc (Issues #44-49)

The Rebel Alliance is in need of a fleet, and they know just who to call: the Mon Calamari! Unfortunately, Imperial occupation stands between the Mon Cala and the ascendant Alliance…will new allies change the balance of power and secure the fleet for the rebels?

Following their victories on Cymoon I and the take over of the Harbringer, the Rebellion is in a good spot to start negotiating for new alliances and allies. After the fall of Horox III to SCAR Squadron, the Alliance also needs a new base of operations. Following a successful effort to coax the Partisans into working with the Alliance, Leia leads a group of rebels to Mon Cala to solidify a fleet. Han, Luke, Chewbacca, and the droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO head to Mon Cala with the princess expecting plenty of support from the imprisoned Mon Calamari. Months prior, Admiral Raddus helped Rogue One complete a mission to Scarif in securing the plans to the Death Star. Currently, Admiral Gial Ackbar and Mon Mothma personally coach Princess Leia into becoming a better leader.

Unfortunately, despite the support of Ackbar and Raddus, the Rebellion is hard-pressed to find the support they desperately need. Grand Admiral Urtya of the Mon Cala fleet meets Leia’s delegation to turn them away, letting her know that the Mon Cala would not support the Rebellion. The Empire has the planet in a stranglehold: due to the bombardment suffered decades ago, the Empire has captured King Lee-Char (of The Clone Wars fame!). The Mon Cala are reticent to do anything while the Empire has the king in their grasp.

This arc paired beautifully with the ongoing Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith arc, “Burning Seas.” A few months after Order 66, Darth Vader and Moff Tarkin are sent to pacify the planet. The King is harboring fugitive Jedi Ferren Barr and his so-called “army,” so he is taken into Imperial custody. We are seeing the effects of this occupation at the same time in the Star Wars series. I like this bit of synergy a bit more than the previous crossovers, Vader Down and The Screaming Citadel. Both of those wove between the series which were crossing over. This “crossover” happens in full arcs across the two series, letting both series tell a full story.

Leia has already cooked up a daring plan: if the Mon Cala are afraid to act while the Empire held Lee-Char, why not rescue the king? Leia has hired Clawdite shape-shifter Tunga Arpagion to impersonate Imperial Moff Tan Hubi during a Mon Cala ceremony. With Moff Hubi’s fingerprints, the rebels believe they can break into the Imperial holding facility and free Lee-Char from prison and elicit his support in bringing the entirety of Mon Cala into the Rebellion.

When we are first introduced to Tunga Arpagion, he pulls a cheap trick on Leia: he morphs into recently deceased Bail Organa. The shock overcomes Leia, who strikes at Tunga in response. He has a flair for the dramatic, always looking for an entrance or a way to make an impression. Sure to say that he made an impression on Leia, who brings this trickery up later. Tunga-turned-Moff-Hubi joins C-3PO and Queen Trios (we will return to her shortly!) to a Mon Calamari performance (similar to the one performed for the Chancellor in Revenge of the Sith when he tells Anakin a tale we’ve probably never heard).

Leia mentions, in the previous arc, that she constantly thinks about her final conversation with Bail. Bail charged her with the fate of the Alliance before the Battle of Scarif, which placed the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders. Seeing this final conversation between Bail and Leia makes this scene a bit of a gut punch to us, as well. Leia is still trying to grieve, but focus on the mission. Cheap tricks like this hurt her, so I’d be really intrigued to get deeper into her psyche. I’ve thought that Gillen has been unfair to Leia before, so I’d love to see her get a bit longer in the spotlight.

On this side mission, C-3PO has the time of his life: he actually serves as a protocol droid! For one, he feeds Tunga information on Imperial dealings to help him better fit the role of Moff. He also translates the Mon Cala language to Basic for the enjoyment of the guests, taking advantage of his ability to understand over 6,000,000 languages. Later, he even accesses his incredible memory banks in order to recite an entire play! Tunga eats this opportunity up, and the two put on a stunning performance for the Imperials.

While Tunga and 3PO have fun, the rest of our rebels are in danger. The crew, with the real Moff Hubi in hand, head to Strokill Prime, the water world where the Empire is holding Lee-Char. The Empire didn’t set up a defense system because the planet had plenty of its own: giant sea creatures attack the submersed ship as it goes toward the watery prison. Here, we see a nice balance of Luke’s Jedi training and his continued naivety. As a giant sea monster emerges to chase the light source from their ship, Luke swims away with his lightsaber ignited, trying to bring the sea creature away from the ship in an act of self-sacrifice. Thanks to the quick thinking of Chewbacca, Luke is saved. Luke may be growing, but he’s still got a bit of that farm-boy spirit in him.

After fighting through a few stormtroopers, the rebels are shocked to discover that Lee-Char is literally on his death bed. Leia talks to him, figuring that he has just enough strength to record a message. He calls the Mon Cala to band behind the Rebellion, but everything falls apart. The performance on Mon Cala is interrupted, forcing the droids and Tunga to make a quick escape. Urtya is hesitant to face the Empire after hearing Lee-Char’s message. The rest of the Mon Calamari are ready and rearing to go, so when Urtya finally comes around, the revolt happens quickly. The Mon Calamari take over a wealth of ships and begin to press back against the Imperial blockade. Leia points out that they turned too quickly, though, leaving them in danger of being decimated at the beginning of their rebellion. Thankfully, the Rebellion comes through in time with X-Wings and Y-Wings to save the fleet. After being spared from the onslaught, the Mon Cala fleet retreats to the temporary Alliance base. Things are looking up for the Rebel Alliance….which is great, since “Hope Dies” soon…

One of the great things about this arc was how much life it breathed back into the series. The series wasn’t dead or anything, but it was getting a little dry. Thankfully, Gillen brings in a bit of his sardonic, dry humor into the series. It just doesn’t work the same way as it does in Doctor Aphra. That could be simply because the books are completely different genres, so something is lost in translation.

I also said we would return to Queen Trios. After the “Shu-Torun War” arc in the Darth Vader series, I think every comic reader was excited by the prospect of the return of Queen Trios. Gillen delivered on this by bringing her back in the “Ashes of Jedha” arc, where she supposedly allies herself with the Alliance. Leia asks Trios for her help recruiting the Mon Calamari people, which she happily obliges. Turns out, she may have obliged for ulterior reasons. At the end of the arc, after a few months’ time jump, Trios contacts Vader to let him know that she has the rebels’ location. We’re not told her motivations entirely, so I am curious why she turned on Leia. Did Vader’s lesson, featuring the chunk of Alderaan, sink into her mind, preventing her from committing her own mutiny?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the team. Kieron Gillen, the writer, has been an asset to the title, bringing it to new heights that we haven’t seen since the beginning of the title. The arcs have been a bit slow compared to Jason Aaron’s work, but this slow burn pays off at the climax of each arc. It looks like “Hopes Dies” is a bit truncated (5 issues rather than 6), so I’m curious to see how Gillen works on a shorter timetable. The art is handled by Salvador Larroca, with colors by Guru-eFX. I hate beating this dead horse, but the art is getting so distracting, this completist has considered dropping the title. Not only are so many faces traced, the coloring draws special attention to the traced faces. It isn’t as if traced faces are bad, but a discerning reader can frequently pick out the exact scene that was traced. The art did get a bit better as the arc continued. I loved seeing variant species of Mon Calamari, such a different coloration or variant head shapes, and the ship work was mostly fantastic. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, and it feels like the damage is done. I’d love to see a new artist on the series. I will be curious to see how new editors help the title, as Heather Antos and Jordan White were credited as editors until issue 48; starting at 49, we have Tom Groneman as Assistant Editor and Mark Paniccia for Editor.

“Mutiny on Mon Cala” is a fun arc. Despite some pacing and art issues, Gillen tells a solid story of the birth of the Rebellion’s fleet as they shore up new allies. (Pun completely intended!) It was hard to keep my mind on the present, though, knowing that the climactic “Hope Dies” is to follow.

You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor!

Star Wars Comic Reviews
Ashes of Jedha | Mutiny at Mon Cala (individual reviews of Ryan): #44 | #45 | #46 | #47 | #48 | #49 | Hope Dies | The Escape | The Scourging of Shu-Torun | Kieron Gillen Retrospective