– Spoiler Review –
T’onga conquers her past and recruits Boba Fett to help with Beilert Valance’s deteriorating situation, but first they must help the deadly hunter with his own problems, resulting in a fun, fitting Bounty Hunters #36!
T’onga’s new crew, plus Boba Fett, set out to Quantxi, the junk moon of Ord Mantell to track down Fett’s current target, a self-important member of Black Sun. This Xomit Grunseit (I get why his name is close to vomit…) clings to a family name for his power, as he’s the “great nephew” of some revered Black Sun leader and cousin to the crime syndicate’s current leader, while believes the throne is his right in some convoluted way only crime lords think makes sense. Fett’s plan, which Khel Tanna calls stupid several times, involves them bringing in the famed hunter as if they captured him for Xomit, but the crime lord has a scheme of his own, turning on the hunters so he can claim Fett’s life for himself and earn a big reputation bump. Fett prepared for this outcome, slinging some poison, deadly to Falleen, into Xomit’s face, and the new crew bands together to throw back the dead crime lord’s many goons. It’s a decent little showcase for T’onga’s new team, with Deathstick pulling off some acrobatic kills and Durge using his imposing size and regenerative abilities to knock out and reuse some heavy artillery, while another chance for the new series artist, Lan Medina, to show his bona fides for taking over. T’onga’s obviously pissed at Fett he used them like that and nearly got them all killed, as this was exactly why she sent her wife Losha away as she was worried about the dangers of their job, but he still coughs up what he promised, a contact to potentially help reverse what’s happening to Valance. The name he drops is someone his father Jango knew, Tarr Kligson, a name pulled from Legends,* though since he’s similarly cybernetically enhanced as Valance, this all might be coming at the wrong time, as a Scourge is set to sweep through machines everywhere in Dark Droids, the crossover set to take over the comics starting next month.
I was hoping Losha wouldn’t be dropped so suddenly from the series despite T’onga leaving her behind and writer Ethan Sacks didn’t disappoint, as we get a glimpse at what she’s been up to: cage fighting! I didn’t think she’d be sitting idle at home, not after her experiences with the crew changed her for better or worse, but I didn’t quite expect this, though it certainly makes sense. Fighting in Syphaac’s secret backroom, he cautions Losha about her actions here, saying he doesn’t think T’onga would approve of her fighting for credits, which she slyly responds her wife isn’t there to complain, claiming she isn’t doing it for the credits. After losing her pet nexu to Vukorah, Losha had been rather obsessed with becoming stronger and tougher so a loss like that could be prevented. And while Losha and T’onga seemed to work out the loss, and the feelings afterwards, T’onga still was too afraid of Losha being hurt, of not being strong enough, and now she’s out here, trying to prove her wife wrong (and maybe buy back the Edgehawk if she keeps winning fights like she does here). I can’t wait to see when Losha catches up with T’onga and how the two will react.
The opening with Catak, sitting by themselves in Tanna’s ship, mimicking others in the crew with their shapeshifting abilities, was a funny little moment! I’ll be curious what Sacks has up his sleeves for the Clawdite in coming issues, as so far I liked what the art team did with the shifting. Lan Medina, who just took over the series last issue, joining colorist Arif Prianto and letterer Travis Lanham, strikes a curious balance of horror and humor as Catak shifts, making over exaggerated expressions with the faces of Khel Tanna and T’onga, while their take on Valance is haunting, a melting mess of flesh that shows on the outside what’s happening on the inside. As T’onga and crew walk into the trap by Xomit, I liked the shift from the wide-open views and brighter colors for the air around them to the confined feeling of the compound he takes them too and the darker coloring scheme, Lanham’s SFX for the door opening giving me a very nails-on-chalkboard, this likely won’t open again vibes, as it shows how deeply they walked into it. All the goons’ guns clicking when Xomit reveals the ruse is up brought me right to every action movie ever where this happens, pulling me across the little panel as if I could hear each click happen at a time. A page widely shared in the Valance Nation on what remains of Star Wars Twitter, since it was part of the issue’s preview, was a big highlight for how the team will be treating Valance’s fading memories: it all starts with Valance, facing away from readers but looking over his shoulder, only his mechanical face visible, moody lighting from Prianto queueing us in on sadness in his voice and how human he really is despite the visual. The next bit, as he’s talking about something he thought was a friend, is of Han Solo, doing his little goodbye hand gesture and smiling, a stark contrast to the flames engulfing him and the overall fuzzy nature of his look, like images of him are being burnt out of Valance’s mind in an aggressive, dark way. There are other glimpses of memories, from Valance and Boba fighting together to fighting against one another, and I’m glad Boba gets over himself when Valance asks if they were friends and simply says they were acquaintances.
Here is one other thing:
- Tarr Kligson was first mentioned in the Revelations one-shot, as Luke, Leia, and Lando visit Kligson’s Moon and run into Ajax Sigma, a figure at the center of the Dark Droids crossover. Tarr’s originally from Legends, where he built a space station filled with droids, though it seems some of that will carry over, which, like I mentioned above, will be a tricky thing with the Scourge messing with droids across the galaxy soon…
Bounty Hunters #36 has some fun with Boba Fett’s time with the crew, setting readers up for what could be quite the ride as the next crossover comes to bear.
+ Fett’s game and checking in with Losha
+ Medina and team give us chaotic fun in the fight
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.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
Galaxy’s Deadliest: #1-4 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12-17 — Crimson Reign: #18-22 — The Raid on the Vermillion: #23-28 — Bedlam on Bestine: #29 | #30 | #31 | #32 | #33 | #34 — #35