– Spoiler Review –
With the opening of the Galaxy’s Edge park in Disneyland just over a week away, the second tie-in issue of the Galaxy’s Edge miniseries is here, deepening its mystery in the “present” and providing a fun, but somewhat disappointing tale about Greedo in the “past.”
As the First Order comes to investigate Dok-Ondar, the infamous Red Fury troopers, their leader plays with an ancient artifact: Ki-Adi Mundi’s lightsaber! Dok doesn’t take too kindly to their veiled threats and tells them a story to demonstrate his displeasure. Dok gained the lightsaber due to a botched job by none other than Greedo, whose original mission to procure an implant-enhanced Givin, a mathematically inclined species who could help Jabba the Hutt’s businesses, goes awry. It’s actually impressive for a bit, how well Greedo does, but seeing him come up short isn’t too much of a surprise. Dok happens to be at Jabba’s Palace when Greedo comes to offer the lightsaber to make up for his failure and because he buys it from Jabba, Greedo lives another day…to be sent after Han Solo and we all know how that ends. In fact, it’s not impossible to imagine any fan reading this issue, and maybe even those whom haven’t seen the movie, know about the whole “Han Shot First” debate that continues to persist for two decades, and thus Greedo’s fate. While I initially laughed, Greedo’s repeated phrase this issue of him never missing a shot ended up feeling like punching at low hanging fruit, as now Greedo is wholly defined by his most famous encounter, and even though he already had been, there was an opportunity here to make Greedo more than the guy who Han Solo kills. Sure, we got a little hint of something more due to his planning and skills in this mission, but now he’s the “I never miss” guy who’ll miss when it really counts, much like Lando had a cape in The Empire Strikes Back and in Solo: A Star Wars Story suddenly he’s the cape guy, having hundreds in his closet. Ethan Sacks’ story both fails and benefits Greedo as a character, but it fails more than anything else.
However, I did enjoy the “present” set story, as we learn a little more about the main crew and the artifact they are after. For the main crew of the story, Kendoh reveals she has a connection to Serenno, most famously known to fans as Count Dooku’s homeworld, and getting the ancient lightsaber from Dok-Ondar will help her reinvigorate her family’s fortunes. In Dooku: Jedi Lost (I’m working on a review and it should be out next week!), we learn Serenno was ruled by 7 families, one of which was House Serenno, Dooku’s family, so is Kendoh a relative of Dooku’s, daughter even, or a member of a different House, or just another person who lives on the planet? Seeing what happened to Serenno after Dooku sullies its reputation, or at least his House, could be quite interesting, though the other scenarios are just as compelling. And for the artifact, it’s revealed the crew already has one half of the ancient lightsaber, which still has only been mentioned as a lightsaber in the preview for this issue in issue #1, and Dok-Ondar thinks Kylo Ren having the Sith artifact would be too much power in the wrong hands. Two issues in, no matter how fun these stories in the past are, even with a Doctor Aphra focused one coming up, I’m kind of wishing we spent more time in the present and got to see more of Black Spire Outpost itself, aka the park.
Both artist Will Sliney and colorist Dono Sánchez-Almara (with Protobunker) return, and while they don’t get to show off more of the park like they did in the previous issue, we do get a glimpse at a toy shop, for what it’s worth. And while there’s no cute, but deadly baby sarlaccs, I did like the short but frantic Aqualish v Wookiee brawl, a heroic looking Greedo, and the simple but elegant looking design of the Sith artifact’s box.
Here are a few other things:
- I like the design of Kendoh and crews’ ship.
- A small tidbit could have interesting connotations: it seems the Mygeetoians created the cybernetic implants we see on Imperials and Lobot, so could Lando finally find a cure for Lobot by digging into their archives/reaching out to them?
- Seems this was Jabba Week, as he appears in his own self-titled one-shot, Age of Rebellion – Jabba the Hutt #1!
Galaxy’s Edge #2 adds more intrigue and delivers another short and fun tale in the past, but it fails Greedo by pegging him to one moment in his life.
+ Increasing the intrigue of Black Spire Outpost
+ Greedo’s ingenuity…
– …but he gets painted into a corner
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
GALAXY’S EDGE
#1
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-37) | Annual: #2
TIE Fighter (miniseries)
Age of Republic (miniseries)
Age of Rebellion (miniseries)
Star Wars
Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49) | Hope Dies (#50-55) | The Escape (#56-61) | The Scourging of Shu-Torun (#62-67) | Annual: #4
Vader – Dark Visions (miniseries)