– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #10 (Vol. 2) sees the titular mission of Operation Starlight begin, with a squad of familiar faces I was so delighted about, while bargains are made for the future of the Rebellion…but is the price too high?!
In last issue’s review I hoped we’d get to see the Talky droid, a rather ancient translator droid the Pathfinders stole from a Coruscant museum, be unprofessional, as Threepio warned he might, and it’s antics really lived up to expectations. As Artoo and Threepio try to get around the Talky’s corruption, it awakes, fiercely attacking them, making me realize why they likely switched to less…homicidal droids in later versions, hence the bumbling but yet endearing Threepio. In an interesting twist, it’s Lobot who manages to rewire the droid to bypass its corruption, enabling it to speak and that’s where it gets even more unprofessional. Talky is not an idiot and knows the Rebellion will likely put it back to sleep once its done with it but, ever the smooth negotiator, Lando manages to convince the droid it’s in both their interests to work together, as Lobot could as easily turn him back into a feral droid as he did make him whole again; Sentience and droid consciousness once again lightly touched on by canon, without going too deeply into it. Talky manages to get the Rebellion their new code, but as he waits around with Lobot, he decides to see if the connection runs both ways, and boy oh boy did things get real interesting. Lando reiterates the friendship between himself and Lobot during the negotiations, even going so far as to mention the events of when Lobot lost control to the implants (seen in the excellent Lando miniseries by Soule, and it’s the moment at the top of my comics’ Top 10 unforgettable moments), hence why he’s a seemingly emotionless mute, but for only a few seconds, Talky manages to rewire the implants invading Lobot and the man emerges, scared and confused, only to be silenced again because Talky doesn’t want anyone to know. Lando has been looking for a cure and here it is, hiding in plain sight, but what Talky reveals next might make Lando want to destroy the potential cure, which would add even more tragedy on top of this relationship. Turns out, Lobot isn’t looking too hot because keeping the corruption in Talky at bay is causing him severe strain, and while Lando is eager to save his friend and let the Rebellion deal with the consequences, thus needing to find a new code source, Kes Dameron won’t let it happen.
See, Operation Starlight takes some of the Rebellion’s best and brightest and throws them into the galaxy, sending them to the likely spots of the remaining Rebel Fleet to share the new code and begin the process of reorganizing. The pilots are a veritable list of who’s who: Wedge Antilles, who needs no introduction; L’ulo Lampar, a life-long friend to Shara Bey and her child, whom we met in Shattered Empire and saw on many missions with Poe in Soule’s Poe Dameron comic; Evaan Verlaine (!!!), a fellow Alderaanian who reluctantly joins Leia on a secret mission back in a 2015 comic but hasn’t really been seen since, besides in some post-Return of the Jedi content like Aftermath: Life Debt, so you can damn well bet I about threw my comic when I saw her; Mart Mattin, a Star Wars Rebels character (first seen in “Iron Squadron“) whose name references a Lucasfilm Story Group member, Matt Martin; Freyta Smyth, a new character; and last, but definitely not least, Shara Bey. She’s an excellent A-wing pilot, and the rest of Starlight Squadron are top pilots too, but their first stop is a devastating trap, as probe droids latch themselves onto each fighters’ astromech to steal the code within. Rather than attempt shooting them off, and potentially killing one another, they force their droids to self-destruct, taking the probe droids with them…along with navigational coordinates and all the other secrets packed within. To help them, Leia and her team back at the Fleet need more translations, but Lando won’t allow it due to Lobot’s health deteriorating, and that’s when Kes Dameron, Shara’s husband, steps in, telling Lando in no uncertain terms he’d rather Lobot die than his wife. It’s a tense standoff and it’s where the issue ends, Starlight Squadron in need of aid and Lando trying to protect his friend’s life.
Talky, and it’s violent awakening, was easily a highlight of the art team’s work, as is the brief starfighter action in the issue, but it did feel like the faces were a little off this issue. Jan Bazaldua, who’s facial expressions really helped some good humor land last issue, feels rushed here; I wonder if she wasn’t given as much time for this issue, felt the intense pacing of Soule’s writing, or has just been a little busy. It didn’t take me out of the comic like some artists have in the past, whom I’ll refrain from mentioning but I feel like most people might know, but Shara looked a bit like a child, Lando’s face was scrunched somehow, and I’m thankful Starlight Squadron members were named, otherwise I might’ve had a question on one or two of them. But she came through when really needed, like Lobot’s face when he awakens, only for a panel, or everything with Talky, who looks more menacing and frightening by the moment, from how Bazaldua frames him, to Rachelle Rosenberg’s deep, dark colors, adding lots of shadow to his appearance.
Here are a few other things:
- I had almost forgotten the thread about Lando cutting that deal with Jabba, and while I don’t think he’ll give up any secrets to the Hutt, I am curious if this will lead to him being one of the guards in the Palace during Han’s rescue.
- It’s another short arc, as “Operation Starlight” wraps up in February month with issue #11, and I really hope we get back to longer arcs. There’s nothing wrong with quick, high-intensity arcs, but like I said last issue, Needle’s death barely even registered, and I’m still not 100% convinced he did die, and in issue #10 it feels like we’re blasting through the whole Starlight operation to the point it’ll likely be resolved next issue and the Empire’s advantage will be gone. In fact, I’m worried most of Starlight Squadron is simply a cameo-fest, instead of anything substantial for all the returning faces. Plus, we have yet to see any resolution or follow-through on Zahra’s fear tactics against Leia, but if we keep at this pace, I feel like it’ll come and go too quick as well.
Star Wars #10 (Vol. 2) offers some fun cameos and a giant ethical dilemma ahead for the Rebellion as their work to save the entire fleet rests in the hands of only a few.
+ Lobot peaking through, if only for a moment
+ Lando’s desire to protect his friend
+ Talky’s very unprofessional demeanor
– Art stumbles a little this issue
– Shorter arcs are losing some spark
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
STAR WARS (Vol. 2)
The Destiny Path: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 / Arc Review — The Will of Tarkin: #7 | #8/Arc Review — Operation Starlight: #9