– Spoiler Review –
Queen Trios’ betrayal is laid bare and the Rebellion’s only hope is a smuggler flying a piece of junk, what could go wrong? Starts with Darth, ends with Vader of course. Find out how in Star Wars issue #51!
In my review of issue #50, I felt like Trios could find redemption despite for her actions here, as I sensed regret for how her desire to save her own planet meant the death of the Rebellion and all those who fight for it. By the end of issue #51, I’m actually looking forward to her committing to her choice to keep Shu-Torun protected at the cost of the lives of others, as giving Leia such an antagonist opens up some exciting avenues, while Vader potentially still destroying her planet despite her actions for the Empire would teach her a very valuable lesson. Leia and Trios’ confrontation, with Trios on the other side of a bulkhead inside an escape pod, was my favorite scene of the issue, as while it’s short and sweet, the tension between these two powerful women was palpable. Their fight, with Leia feeling scorned for putting her trust into Trios, and Trios’ righteousness for protecting her people, is an exciting thread to continue exploring for the time being.
As issue #50 was setting up, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Threepio return to the Rebellion’s base after the Empire has struck, finding themselves in the precarious and dangerous position of being the last bastion of hope for the Rebellion. Han accepts the role in his typical fashion, pretending he’s only doing it to impress Leia, but we all know he’s in it for more than her heart or money already. It speaks volumes for how much Han wants to help save his friends that he allows Threepio to sit in the co-pilot seat to watch over the Falcon‘s shields while Chewie covers them in the gun turret, and takes on the entire Imperial fleet by himself. Leia manages to tell him the only way to save them is to fly at their fighter bay doors to bypass Trios’ treachery and force the doors to open for a friendly ship, so he takes on some fancy flying to weave through the Star Destroyers and unlock the first set of doors to help buy the Rebellion some time. But just as he’s getting ready to open the first bay door, a missile knocks the Falcon into an uncontrolled spin.
I guess I never thought about it, but it makes sense that Vader has quite the grudge against Han for swinging in at the last second above the Death Star, sending Vader on a tailspin of his own and back to a pissed off Emperor Palpatine (as shown in the first Darth Vader series). One could say Vader’s hate for Han Solo and his ship is now another thing Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, emulates from his grandfather! Sure, we know Vader won’t kill Han or destroy the Falcon, but seeing this rivalry play out in the skies above the Rebellion’s biggest defeat to date and learning how Han manages to survive is going to be very exciting!
Star Wars issue #51 is heavy on the action, from Leia and the rebels boarding Trios’ ship, Han’s maneuvers, and Vader swooping in for the kill, and it’s over before you know it, which I mean in the best way possible. “Hope Dies” started off a little slow to build up to the big reveal last issue, but if the rest of the arc keeps up this pace, we’re going to be a in a real treat; Even more so if this defeat will be a hard pill to swallow for us and our heroes. If there’s one man who can really hit those emotional notes, after these action-packed moments of desperation for our heroes, it’s going to be Kieron Gillen and these first two issues of “Hope Dies” finally, truly made me happy he took over for the series. It’s unfortunate, as I say like a broken record these days, that it’s alongside Salvador Larroca (artist) and Guru-eFX (colors) on art. I’d say Guru has been doing his job of helping make the tracings not look out of place due to coloration issues, and the panels with close ups of Leia and Trios were actually good ones, it’s still hard to deal with the faces so I skip over looking at them more often than not. The ship action, especially the page of the Falcon spinning out of control, were some great pieces of work, but it’s all still too little, too late to redeem what Larroca’s been doing.
Here are a few other things:
- The death of Bandwin highlights one problem with this crushing attack by the Empire against the Rebellion: no matter if they win or lose, our heroes will live to fight another day and the tension subsides quite a bit at that thought. If you’re asking who Bandwin is, say hello to the Star Wars version of a red shirt. Had this series spent more time building up new characters besides only Sana Starros (who’s been absent in the series for nearly a year, but I’m happy she’s back in the pages of Doctor Aphra), a little more dramatic tension could be brought to bear in big moments like this. However, this is still a fun and exciting arc, just something I wish had been done differently.
Star Wars #51 spares no time getting straight into the action after the Empire began to strike back last issue.
+ Vader’s grudge against Han
+ Leia and Trios confrontation
– Yes, my problem is still with the art
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 | #52 | #53 | #54 | #55 / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape (#56-61) / Arc Review by Chris | The Scourging of Shu-Torun (#62-67) / Arc Review by Chris | Kieron Gillen Retrospective
Jason Aaron — Jason Aaron Retrospective (#1-37)
Greg Pak — Rebels and Rogues (#68-72)