– Spoiler Review –
Allegiance #4 brings this particular Mon Cala-themed Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker entry to a swift, somewhat surprising, but not neatly wrapped up end.
From the start, it seemed like Allegiance was going to play the age-old game of the Quarren being the bad amphibians on Mon Cala, but I liked how Allegiance #4 took a different path: Leia lets the bomber from last issue go (after Rey and Rose pull of a fun chase to apprehend him), pleading for both sides of Mon Cala to put differences aside and join the fight against the true, ultimate evil. Leia makes an epic emotional plea, made so by Luke Ross and Lee Loughridge’s work by bringing the ghosts of her past to life behind her as she makes her big speech. The plea even motivates Nossor Ri to make up for the sins of his past and act as a sacrificial distraction for Mon Cala’s fleet to flee the First Order armada to fight another day alongside the Resistance and it’s growing allies. And while this all feels like a nice, wrapped up bow, the final panel undoes that feeling by pointing out those left behind. The opinions and feelings of rulers might not always reflect the general populace’s viewpoints, as a Mon Cala family laments about the King dragging them into the war brings the First Order to their doorstep, but the issue ends before this intriguing can ever be explored. And want to know what happened to Mon Cala in the fleet’s absence, as it looks like they didn’t leave anything behind to protect their planet? The answer won’t come in this series, supposedly in The Rise of Skywalker instead, though regardless it feels like this series ended on the most intriguing and impactful issue, as most of what came before was set dressing we’ve already seen.
As I guessed in last issue’s review, Stormpilot ‘shippers would be happy with the fun of Poe and BB-8 rescuing Finn, as the former stormie puts all his faith in Poe to rescue him from a plummeting ejector seat. It’s funny scene, where the art really carries the action and hijinks, and of course the two make it out alive, even if it’s at the cost of some of the weapons. As for Kendoh gang, minus a member now thanks to Finn, the group basically shrugs off the failure and moves onto the next gig, the Sword of Khashyun, as seen in the Galaxy’s Edge comic miniseries earlier this year. For all their scrupulous accolades, the gang does seem to come up empty often, and this expansion of the appearance doesn’t endure me to them anymore than GE tried.
From the opening crawl to the end of this issue, it was really hard to shake the feeling that simply reading Allegiance #4 would be more than enough to understand and be caught up on what transpires throughout the series. It’s very rarely I feel this way, and I really try not advocate it even if I might feel that way sometimes, but it was hard to ignore with Allegiance and rushing story in only four issues. The previous “Journey to” comics for the other sequel films were also 4-issues and have all suffered a tad for it.
As I said earlier, the art from Luke Ross and colors by Lee Loughridge, with Clayton Cowles on lettering, is still an absolute bright spot in Allegiance, from the big explosion at the beginning and how Rey holds it back, Poe’s rescue of Finn, the emotional close-ups, to that wallop of a panel where Leia sees again not only the destruction of her planet, but the death of husband, Han Solo, by her son’s own hands.
Here are a few other things:
- With the review embargo lifting on Tuesday, it looks like the upcoming Journey to The Rise of Skywalker novel, Resistance Reborn, will be well worth the read so make sure to check it out next week (and we’ll have a review out shortly after)!
- And if you’re looking for an impactful, 4-issue movie prequel comic dealing with the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Kylo Ren miniseries sure sounds like one NOT to miss, as the solicitation for the second issue reveals some surprising information about the Knights of Ren!
Allegiance #4 contains some fun and little surprises, but it ends too quickly to deal with some real fallout.
+ Everyone banding together after a common enemy
+ Art really excels in final issue
– Could read the final issue and not miss terribly much
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
ALLEGIANCE
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