– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #52 lets a little hope come back to life, despite it being part of the “Hope Dies” arc, with the formation of a legendary fighter squadron unit!
Han Solo and Darth Vader’s piloting rivalry consumes most of the issue, so thankfully it’s a fun bit of ship combat and wits. Han is doing his usual impressive flying, getting ever so close to the Rebellion ships to alert those inside they can work around Queen Trios’ sabotage by simply flying at the docking bay doors and they’d open due to a fail-safe. However, Darth Vader, a Sith Lord as well as Anakin Skywalker, is no slouch when it comes to flying, preventing Han from getting close enough to get the message across. Using the debris from an exploded Rebellion ship, simulating a bit of the maelstrom Han navigates in Solo: A Star Wars Story, he manages to get some distance from Vader, allowing him to implement a crazy, funny plan to get the message across. I’m a little surprised this was enough to trick Vader, as one would imagine he’d just use the Force to follow them through, but I digress, because as much as our heroes will end up losing, we know they make it out alive somehow anyways. Han and Chewie decide to shoot Threepio out in an escape pod at a rebel ship, much like Rey did to get to the Supremacy in The Last Jedi, and force him to crawl to an airlock to deliver the message. The banter and exciting pace really made these scenes pop and it was a great bit of action.
This whole fail-safe business, where flying at the bay doors with Rebellion transponders blaring will cause them to open, almost sounds too good to be true. Last issue, I was pretty sure Trios was evil, despite a fair bit of evidence in the previous issues she might at least regret her actions with the possibility she really is trying to help the Rebellion, but I’m beginning to wonder if leaving this fail-safe operational was intentional or not. Which would certainly take away some points in the evil category for her, but even if that’s not the case, once Vader realizes what happened, will he care if she meant it or not? As much as I hoped Trios’ actions would be enough to let her and Shu-Torun be free from Vader’s wrath until the Empire is defeated, giving Leia a potential villain to match wits and intrigue with, if Vader knows her sabotage didn’t prevent the fail-safes from working, then he might make good on the promise his gift of a chunk of Alderaan to her symbolizes.
When the title of the first standalone film was revealed as Rogue One back in March 2015, the speculation in regards to what the film would be about snapped instantly to it being about Rogue Squadron, the legendary fighter squad that had everything from a series of games, books, and comics devoted to their exploits. Instead it was about the group of people who stole the Death Star plans and delivered hope to the Rebellion, with the title being the call-sign they use when they disobey Rebellion High Command’s orders and go after the plans. Over the past two arcs, with the bulk of it being in “Ashes of Jedha” (specifically issue #42), Luke has learned about the sacrifices Jyn Erso and the rest of the Rogue One crew made to get him the plans and give him the chance to make the one-in-a-million shot, which he’s happy he didn’t know about beforehand because the pressure might’ve been too much. As he’s the first one to test Han’s message, disobeying orders, he feels he’s acting in the spirit of Jyn and her group, and when the plan works and fighters are free, Wedge asks Luke what their call-sign should be. His response? Rogue Squadron! In a way, the speculation about Rogue One was right, as the heroic actions of those who took the Rogue call-sign helps bring about the formation of the squadron, and I love that the comics were able to be the one that honored the actions of the film’s heroes and could be host to the start of one of the most recognizable fighter squadrons in the Saga.
Whether it was the action scenes or the banter, even Threepio’s complaints about Han’s plan were funny, writer Kieron Gillen really seems to be having some fun with this arc now that the set-up is all out of the way. Knowing our main heroes will survive this does take some wind out of the “Hope Dies” sails, as well as the deaths of all these relatively unknown characters, but he’s at least managed to make their predicament one which leaves lots of questions on how they’ll ever manage to survive, so my hope “Hope Dies” is a new era for the series hasn’t died yet. And then there’s the art, which if it doesn’t have a face, can be quite decent. But Salvadaor Larroca’s art has long been documented as some very egregious examples of tracing, and this issue is definitely no different, as there’s a panel where Han looks like he’s high and his eyes are about to roll into the back of his head, instead a look fitting for him sending Chewie to jettison Threepio with Vader is on their backs. Larroca uses the same Chewie face twice. And I’m pretty sure a trace of Luke from his trench run in A New Hope was a trace Larroca used back in the Yoda arc when he first joined the series, which is where his less than savory side, compared to his excellent work on the first Darth Vader series, was revealed. Guru-eFX joins on colors, but he can’t really right this ship by himself. “Hope Dies” in October with issue #55…could we finally get a new artist? My hopes aren’t too high, but it’s worth a prayer to the Force.
Star Wars #52 is another solid entry in the rejuvenating “Hope Dies” arc, as Rogue Squadron’s birth is a true Saga highlight…to bad the art is still such a problem.
+ ROGUE SQUADRON IS BORN (from the ashes of Rogue One)
+ Fun, action-packed, quick pace
– Han looks high and his eyes are rolling into the back of his head, so yeah, this art is a problem!
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 | #51 | #53 | #54 | #55 / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape (#56-61) / 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)