– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars issue #60 assuages most of my fears from the previous issue (and solicits) by going in directions I didn’t predict/expect, making for an excellent penultimate issue for “The Escape” arc.
Last issue, it was revealed that Thane and Tula knew everything the Big Three were doing as a way to test their newest guests, but Star Wars #60 gives us Thane’s reason. As Kreel and Luke are about to start their duel, Tula pulls Luke in for a kiss, giving him a device and tells him advice totally not to follow. Luke figures it out and makes for the graveyard where he once spoke with her, and even though Thane seems to be excited to hunt Luke now that he broke the rules, he shows up to hold back Scar Squad long enough for the Big Three and Clan Markona to escape. Thane wasn’t trying to only get a judge of his guests, he really wanted to know if the Rebellion was any better than the Empire. As a man who didn’t ask many questions during his time as a mercenary, after he won Hubin for his people, he heard about the Death Star and finally started to question his employer and the blood on his hands because of them. Being so isolated, he couldn’t gain too much information on the Rebellion, but what better way to understand the organization than getting to know Luke, Leia, and Han? They pass his test and now he believes they are a cause worth joining, so he sacrifices his life to hold back Scar Squad so Tula can lead Clan Markona into the Rebellion!
It’s a fantastic way to end the Big Three’s time on Hubin, as a good chunk of the mystery surrounding Thane and his people is dealt with, Thane himself gets to make a worthy exit, and Tula isn’t fridged as I feared and instead becomes the new leader of their Clan! This might be the best part of the arc, as having Tula take up command is a pleasant surprise, but she’s showed she has the smarts to lead considering her keeping up their deception of the Big Three with her father, but now she’ll have to prove she’s a warrior too (which I imagine she won’t have much trouble with). Considering the kiss, I’m also wondering where the romantic subplot between Luke and Tula will go, or if it’s already over. I wouldn’t be too surprised if this doesn’t continue between the two, as they don’t need to get into a relationship and Tula might not be able to trust Luke after he activated the communicator against her wishes, plus he’s ancey about getting back into battle and she’s more measured and calm about her next step. But if they would continue the relationship, it’d be kind of neat if, instead of all the guesses Naomie Ackie is playing a child of Lando in Ep. IX, she’s actually Luke and Tula’s daughter!? It seems unlikely Luke had kids, but hey, nothing wrong with guessing! I honestly still would prefer to have Ackie be playing a new character, but those two scenarios wouldn’t be bad either.
There’s still a bit of mystery left though with Thane and the Markona: the mission which allowed Thane to claim Hubin, his birthplace, as his own. Before Luke leaves Thane in the graveyard, he asks the man what he did to earn Hubin. Thane doesn’t dive into too much detail, perhaps on purpose, but at least tells Luke he and his crew were asked to steal information from a secure location, and once it was completed, he was granted Hubin. What information was important enough to the Emperor/Empire they’d give a moon away to someone if they got it? What “secure location,” exactly?!?! I wonder if, when the Big Three brings Clan Markona to the Rebellion, someone knows the Markona name and knows what they stole/where they stole it from? It might be something else entirely, like some old arcane Sith stuff Sheev was looking for, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn what it was and where it was from sometime soon. I definitely want to know, as what was truly worth a moon?!?
As I covered in last issue’s review, I’m not the biggest fan of Scar Squad, but I think Gillen handled them well, essentially leaving them to be someone else’s problem and/or a clean way to end their story. Thane holds them off long enough for Clan Markona and the Big Three to escape in Scar’s shuttle, stranding the troopers on Hubin with no hope of getting off-world until the traders come in four months. But they aren’t alone, as the big, scary thanrax are still there, and while these creatures feared the Markona, they don’t fear Scar Squad, moving in for the attack as the issue ends. Mayhaps issue #61 will show if they survive or not, but I’d be happy to have it left where it is, their fate unknown and forgotten on a little out of the way moon. Certainly seems like a great way to end their part in the saga, though it does leave it open for another writer, if they so wish, to revive them.
Sana Starros returned to the story last issue, and I had some problems with it, but things are looking up as she’s freed and back into action in #60, getting to let out her anger by blowing up the interrogation droid which forced her to give up the Big Three’s location. I imagine the next step for the group will be to get Sana’s ship back, which I presume is on the Star Destroyer parked nearby Hubin, as I can’t imagine she’ll let it go/nor will the group want to keep the Imperial shuttle. Either way, the solicitations for the next issue tease Han finally being reunited with the Falcon, and therefore Chewie, but it also ends on a less than savory thought something might be left behind…
Here’s one other thing:
- Kieron Gillen will be exiting the Star Wars series later this year when the next arc, “The Scourging of Shu-Torun,” comes to an end. I originally thought it would be in May, but since only one issue of Star Wars drops in April, I suspect #65 and #66 could be in May, meaning Gillen’s final issue, #67, should likely be in June.
The best arc in a while for the series, and Gillen’s best so far, “The Escape” makes it past a bump (aka last issue) with the excellent Star Wars #60.
+ Tula takes over Clan Markona!
+ Thane sacrifices himself
+ Bye-bye, Scar Squad!
+ One mystery thread still left hanging…
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 (#50-55) / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape: #56 | #57 | #58 | #59 | #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)