– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #63 keeps the momentum and humor going from the start of “The Scourging of Shu-Torun” arc, Kieron Gillen’s last, but it ends with the reality sinking in that this won’t be all fun and games (in the best way possible).
As Leia goes over the details of their plans to scourge Shu-Torun, like stealing eyeballs and infiltrating numerous heavily protected facilities, the slicer/mechanic Meorti rephrases the plan to reveal how insane it all sounds. For a long time, this was Han’s job to be the skeptic, but for the moment he’s united in this cause with the rest of the group, and Meorti very hilariously takes his place. She’s not only a skeptic, she’s not really excited about anything that puts in her the middle of the action, so each new moment of the mission is full of dread, even if she performs exceptionally. I like how Meorti has gone from a background character used to joke how hope didn’t die in the “Hope Dies” arc, as her name translate to “Hope,” to a fully fleshed out character…one that lives up to her name “Hope” ironically, considering she’s the doubter of the group. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have Benthic, ready to be put in the middle of the action and looking for everything to go wrong. And in-between we have the Big Three, Leia, Luke, and Han, united in their purpose and all going along with the mission, even if each one has their little doubts, something we don’t get to see very often, as Luke had his Jedi priorities, Han his own skin priorities, and Leia laser focused on the Rebellion. Gillen spent some time these last few arcs to get them away from their various focuses and all on the same page, so it’s natural for them to be united here after the previous events, thus in steps Meorti for comic relief and the always needed doubter of the group, and she steps in big time this issue.
I’ve had my suspicions Queen Trios regrets her betrayal of Leia and the Rebellion, but the opening of the issue finds her telling Commander Kanchar, last seen defeated by Luke in the finale of the “Ashes of Jedha” arc, she’s wholly committed to her planet and doing what she must to see it continue on safely. Her not taking pride in what she did, betraying those she purposefully befriended, definitely gels with some of the glimpses of doubt about her actions seen towards the end of “Mutiny at Mon Cala” and the beginning of “Hope Dies.” And some of the wording of her responses to Kanchar’s challenges are extremely careful, as they sound like she’s talking about supporting the Empire, but she says it under the guise of helping her planet, giving me some hope she could see the error of her ways and team up with the Rebellion, though her rhetoric about her being what holds Shu-Torun together means she won’t take too kindly to the Rebellion’s efforts to destabilize the planet. However, the fact the plans to the most integral part of her home planet, the Spike, were so conveniently left in her override files when she locked down the Rebellion ships feels like she did it on purpose, almost like she wants out of the Empire’s grasp by having someone else destroy her…and her planet’s importance. Queen Trios’ story has been quite the tale since her introduction in Gillen’s Darth Vader series and I’m intrigued as all hell to see where Gillen will end it this arc.
Despite Meorti’s fears, the plan to steal an Ore Baron’s speeder, have Tunga impersonate them, and Threepio, with a special device strapped to his head, scan Trios’ eyeballs so they can unlock one of the systems they need to crash, goes off without a hitch. Unfortunately, the issue ends with things looking to go terribly wrong because despite Leia’s continued insistence this mission isn’t really focused on revenge, she has Tunga deliver a not so subtle message to Trios. The message contains a paraphrase of what Trios said to Leia moments before enacting her plan to ensnare the Rebellion in Vader’s trap: “I did this.” Trios first raises an eyebrow, then does a double take, feeling like she knows where that line comes from, and suddenly their invisible presence so far looks to be uncovered, though the issue ends on that cliffhanger so we’ll have to wait to see if she puts it together. What will that simple moment cost this mission, what destruction will it produce? Leia is a Skywalker after all, so she can be…passionate about fulfilling her missions, and unfortunately a silly little comment might undo all her carefully laid plans. As fun and enjoyable as Gillen has made this arc so far, it looks like that’s all about to end, though I’m sure it’ll still be fun to read!
Andrea Broccardo kicked things off for “The Scourging of Shu-Torun” on art, but now it falls back to Angel Unzueta, with Guru-eFX still on colors, who will be sticking with the arc until the bitter end in issue #67. I enjoy Broccardo’s stylized takes on the characters, and Unzueta is great with his more photo-realistic approach, so either way we have a win this arc, though I wish they didn’t need to jump between them. Unzueta’s work is excellent this issue, as expected from the previous arc/Poe Dameron series, as I love the expressions he pulls off with the detailed faces, which helps sell that final moment, the line Leia had Tunga deliver to Trios, as the realization of what was said crawls over Trios’ face; on top of that, these faces are proportionate to their bodies, something a previous artist on this series had trouble with that made his tracing hard to swallow. But it’s not only facial expressions that impress, the glitz and glamour of the Shu-Torun’s interior rooms juxtaposed with the sharp, rugged, and devilish exterior is a sight to behold, like when Trios reaches out to the Spike/Leia is looking at the Spike in the next page, and it brings to life the concept that the inhabitants of Shu-Torun tamed the wild magma-filled world.
Here are a few other things:
- It made me laugh when Threepio and Tunga said they were glad to be working with one another again after their opera house performance in “Mutiny at Mon Cala.”
- There’s a fun little theory on Reddit that says the Cult of the Central Isopter, who were revealed to have traveled from Jedha to Shu-Torun because they could sense destruction last issue, might actually be Scar Squad in disguise, as the end of “The Escape” arc showed they figured out Leia’s plans for Shu-Torun. If you’ve been following along with my reviews, then you should know I am not a fan of Scar Squad and they’ve continued not to prove themselves a good enemy for the Big Three, so I really hope the theory isn’t true, but part of me wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Figured it was an interesting one regardless so I’d bring it to your attention, dear reader.
- The June solicitations just dropped and now we have the cover and solicit for the final issue of Kieron Gillen’s run, but no news on what’s next for the Star Wars series. We could get something soon, but I imagine they’ll wait to reveal what’s coming next at Star Wars Celebration Chicago in mid-April, especially since it would be a few days before July’s solicitations hit the interwebs.
Star Wars #63 is another excellent entry in what is shaping up to be a rather epic conclusion to Gillen’s time with the series.
+ Meorti’s moping
+ Keeps fast pace and humor
+ Trios’ suspicions about Leia’s message
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 (#56-61) | The Scourging of Shu-Torun: #62 | #64 | #65 | #66 | #67 / Arc Review by Chris | Kieron Gillen Retrospective
Jason Aaron — Jason Aaron Retrospective (#1-37)
Greg Pak — Rebels and Rogues (#68-72)