– Spoiler Review –
In Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Allegiance miniseries, Mon Cala is at the focal point once again in turning the tide of a galaxy-wide conflict, but having only 4-issues limits the story and characters in noticeable ways.
Allegiance finds Leia leading the Resistance to Mon Cala to make a plea for help from their oldest, most important ally. Much like previous stories dealing with Mon Cala’s role in the larger galactic conflicts, The Clone Wars 4th season Mon Cala set episodes, Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith’s “Burning Seas” and Star Wars’ “Mutiny at Mon Cala,” something gets in the way from the Mon Cala offering their assistance outright. For Allegiance, like before, it’s the Quarren, the other race inhabiting the planet that has a habit of aligning with the bad guys. With only 4 issues to convey all this, there’s not a lot of nuance to what transpires and the Quarren as a whole are once again left looking like a whole race of bad guys, but Leia’s decision in the final issue was a nice way to beat expectations. With as much compassion as we’ve seen Rey display for others, which Rey lacks throughout the miniseries for some reason, General Leia Organa lets a would-be Quarren assassin go and pleads to both sides to let their rivalries and slights wash away and focus on the much larger, more frightening, and most important enemy: the First Order. The gambit works and both sides agree to band together with the Resistance and whatever other allies they’ve been recruiting since the Battle of Crait, with even Nossor Ri from TCW making a sacrifice so the fleet may flee a FO armada. The shorter issue counts means this moment lacks a proper build-up, as the journey doesn’t hold many surprises or excitement on the way to the predictable ending (already written on the walls*) beyond Leia’s mending of two worlds to bring one whole one to their side. As the fleet leaves, the FO moves in to take over the planet, shown via one of the final panels where a family laments the situation since they had wanted to stay neutral; it asks a much bigger question, “what about the little people, while the rulers make the decisions for them?” but it never answers such a compelling subject, instead leaving Mon Cala’s overall fate in the dark until The Rise of Skywalker in December. And even then, I imagine Mon Cala will be but a mention in the epic scope of the film, with this family’s fate, and the interesting question, lost to the tides.
Since the most notable moments happen in the final issue, and thanks to its info heavy opening crawl, you won’t miss much by only reading issue #4, further making the lack of a compelling or nuanced journey all the more glaring. Rey is restless in Allegiance, unsure if she can live up to expectations and what to do next, but she seems far less compassionate than normal, and overall doesn’t quite feel like Rey, especially considering how Spark of the Resistance portrays her as part of the “Journey to…” program. There are bright spots here and there, like the Finn and Poe mission full of fun and shenanigans being far more fitting for the length and depth the comic is willing to plunge, Rose getting brief chances to shine, and the little chase through Mon Cala after the bomber, but they don’t shine bright enough to combat the overall rushed and truncated story. Ethan Sacks’ characterizations work rather well, beyond Rey’s, with Leia as the true standout, from her emotional plea to overcome years of animosity and see the bigger fish (not sorry about all these aquatic puns) to her snappy dialogue with everyone she encounters, it’s fantastic stuff despite its brevity. Kylo Ren and General Hux make cameo appearances throughout and it’s interesting to see how judicious Kylo has become as Supreme Leader, believing himself judge, jury, and executioner (literally, in one epic page from artist Luke Ross), but there’s not much for them to do besides be evil.
Throughout Allegiance, we were blessed with art from Luke Ross, with Lee Loughridge on colors and Clayton Cowles for lettering. Ross became one of my favorite artists after both his work on Darth Maul and the Villains in Age of Republic, and he doesn’t disappoint here. Some of the best panels are ones that appeal to reader’s emotions, from the otherworldly Mourning Shrines Mon Cala has made for Gail Ackbar or Leia remembering the losses suffered due to the evil she’s opposed, there are some real stunners here. Ross’ style also lends itself well for action, and dynamic action at that, be it the off-scene bar fight as Poe and Finn discuss what to do next, Finn’s short brawl with the shapeshifter Remex, or even Rose and Rey’s chase through Dac City to capture a bomber (where a funny ending to the chase lands thanks to the art). More Luke Ross across the comics-verse, please.
Here are a few other things:
- *Spark of the Resistance, a middle-grade novel that released the week before Allegiance’s first issue, contained a reference about the outcome of this miniseries considering it takes place afterwards, so like I said earlier, the ending was already written on the walls. Not everyone who read the comic read Spark first and vice versa, so it’s not something everyone will encounter, and knowing a story’s destination doesn’t prevent entertainment, but the journey here just didn’t make it exciting. Regardless, please go read Spark of the Resistance, it’s excellent!
- The Kendoh gang was first seen in Galaxy’s Edge miniseries, also from Sacks, but this takes place prior to, so there are some references regarding what’s next. While I appreciated the synergy, there hasn’t been enough to make me care for the Kendoh gang, making them feel similar to a SCAR Squadron situation, a neat, elite stormtrooper squad that basically introduced just so the Original Trilogy heroes could win against someone who wasn’t Vader. However, there was one real highlight from the group: Remex shapeshifting in his brawl against Fin.
- IDW still has some issues left in its “Journey to…” entry, which sees Chewie fighting back the First Order on Kashyyyk, and Del Rey’s Resistance Reborn just came out on 11/5, and we’ll have a review of that next week!
Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Allegiance miniseries is like a sand castle washed away by the tide, there’s a glimpse of something great just before the water washes its soft structure away.
+ Finding a new way to end a Mon Cala joining the good guys story
+ Art was a blast throughout
– Characters hindered by short issue count
– Leaving questions and nuance on the table
– Ending is the only part that feels like it matters
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER REVIEWS:
Spark of the Resistance (novel)