– Spoiler Review –
Age of Resistance – Rey #1 provides so many great moments, even though it takes place just before Rey arrives on Ahch-To, it’s easily my favorite issue of the entire “Age of Star Wars” maxiseries.
Age of Resistance – Rey #1 conveys so many different aspects to what makes Rey such a great character, and it does so within these few pages, it’s rather astonishing. We see Rey the Scavenger Queen, we see her boundless compassion despite every reason to be anything but to others, and the new Jedi in all but training, and the issue still has time to finally give Leia and Chewie the hug they deserved after Han’s death and have Rey free slaves. There haven’t been many stories starring Rey outside the films and some Forces of Destiny shorts, though the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker program will start to change that, this might be my favorite appearance from her at the moment (besides The Last Jedi), as it shows both what is so great about her now and what potential she has regardless of the ending to the sequel trilogy.
After the issue starts off highlighting how alone Rey has been since her abandonment on Jakku, it dives right into an absolutely tender moment: Leia hugging and crying into Chewbacca’s arms after Han’s death, which Leia tells Rey will last as long as a Wookiee wants and had me almost happy crying when reading it and typing about it now; this is a scene J.J. Abrams has said he regrets not having on film because the scene he did shoot has them walking past one another, so it’s pretty amazing we finally get that here, in this comic. Even more substantial is the following scene, where Leia sits Rey down and asks her to walk her through Han’s death, which is when I finally cried. Artist Ramon Rosanas draws the sequence beautifully, as each panel that recounts the events is framed by Rey and Leia’s faces, which grow heavy, weary, and teary as Rey conveys Han’s tender exchange with his son despite the lightsaber in his gut. Leia even imparts more important wisdom than what’s in their exchange in The Force Awakens, telling Rey she isn’t alone anymore and how there’s both a time to run and a time to stay and fight. If we didn’t already know Leia and Rey would have a few scenes together in The Rise of Skywalker, these additions to their friendship alone would’ve been a worthy way to carry on Carrie Fisher’s legacy of the role; She even gets a similarly inspiring scene in today’s other Age of Resistance issue, Rose Tico #1! Also, having Leia use Yoda’s words from The Empire Strikes Back, where he refers to Leia as another hope beyond Luke, to talk about Rey is a pure stroke of genius. The amazing thing is, these opening pages would’ve been an excellent issue of their own, but there’s still a whole half of an issue left and it’s just as judicious in giving us excellent Rey content this feels like you get two issues for the price of one!
It turns out Rey, Chewie, and Artoo’s trip to Ahch-To wasn’t a smooth, easy jump through hyperspace. Being pulled out of hyperspace seemingly due to issues with the Falcon is par for the course when piloting the iconic ship, but the chances the only nearby stop is a scavenging yard which could possibly have the repair part are far less slim, but hey, this is Star Wars isn’t it…crazier things have happened. Once they land, they meet the scavenging yard’s owner, who requests 500 credits to go searching though everyone but Rey must remain on the ship as collateral. Rey sees the junk yard as a sea of gold, the scavenger queen coming out loud and proud, easily finding their part and many more worth thousands of portions back on Jakku…leaving her baffled right until the giant worm screeches out of the junk to feast on her, and suddenly it all clicks for her. Rey decides this is a time to run and not fight, as the worm’s being a hungry worm, so she dives into a nearby working ship to escape, but it’s not just any ship, it looks to be…the Slave 1, decked in Jango Fett’s colors for it!*. Once out, she confronts the owner about luring all the previous visitors to the planet as worm food, and then does the most Jedi thing without a lick of Jedi training: frees the slaves and gets the owner to turn itself in…with a helpful Jedi mind trick, of course. In one fell swoop, this diversion not only allows Rey to feel exactly what Leia told her regarding not being alone, but it also shows the potential she has as a great leader for a new order of Jedi and highlights the strength and power of her compassion. Tom Taylor fills this issue to the brim with insightful, important, and fantastic moments for Rey, and Leia, resulting in easily the best issue of the entire “Age of Star Wars” maxiseries.
Beyond the heart-string tugging work on the scene between Leia and Rey regarding Han’s confrontation with his son, Rosanas art, with Guru-eFX on colors and Travis Lanham lettering, there are panels both big and small from the best Hero artist in all of the “Age of Star Wars” maxiseries that both impresses as much as the script does and helps the script impress. From Rey’s smile when Chewie is covered in foam (and the foamed Chewie panel too), her brandishing the lightsaber while wearing her scavenging googles, the purple/dark eerie glow of the junk yard, Rey busting open the Slave 1‘s* window to leap out, the creepy new alien running the junkyard, and Leia and Chewie’s cathartic hug, the panels are full of vibrant, depth-filled scenes pleasing to the eyes.
Here are a few other things:
- There’s only a single issue left in Age of Resistance (and the entire maxiseries), out next week, and it’s Kylo Ren #1! If it can even be an ounce as good as this one about Rey, we’re going to be in for an epic treat. As for if it can unseat Rey #1 as the reigning champ the maxiseries remains to be seen, and while I imagine it won’t, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.
- After reading this issue, I’d say the recent “Dark Rey” footage in D23’s teaser is even more likely a vision of some sort.
- *If it would be Slave 1, then Rey would be two for two in piloting iconic ships in the franchise. The coloring scheme, the more I look at it and compare it to Jango’s, doesn’t look as similar anymore, so potentially this is just a random Firespray she found laying around, but a neat visual cameo nonetheless. UPDATE: In fact, seeing one of these again makes me really want to play Bounty Hunter, the Jango Fett starring video game where he steals the ship from a prison he’s raiding.
Age of Resistance – Rey #1 amazes with monumental, important moments for Rey, as well as Leia, resulting in the entire maxiseries’ best issue to date.
+ Rey the Scavenger Queen/Jedi in all but training
+ Leia and Rey bonding
+ Leia and Chewie finally get the hug we all deserve
+ Glimpses at more of Rey’s potential
+ Art excels just as well
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
AGE OF STAR WARS Maxiseries Review
AGE OF RESISTANCE
Finn | Phasma | Special | General Hux | Poe Dameron | Supreme Leader Snoke | Rose Tico | Kylo Ren | Miniseries Review
AGE OF REBELLION
Princess Leia | Grand Moff Tarkin | Special | Han Solo | Boba Fett | Lando Calrissian | Jabba the Hutt | Luke Skywalker | Darth Vader | Miniseries Review
AGE OF REPUBLIC
Qui-Gon Jinn | Darth Maul | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Jango Fett | Special | Anakin Skywalker | Count Dooku | Padmé Amidala | General Grievous | Miniseries Review