– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars issue #55 caps off the seminal arc, “Hope Dies,” and it’s a grand ending which sets up a fresh new set of storytelling opportunities.
From the moment writer Kieron Gillen took over for the series from Jason Aaron, he’s been building towards the “Hope Dies” arc, starting with the milestone issue #50, with the promise it’d be the biggest story for the comic yet. As issue #55 brings “Hopes Dies” to an end, I can’t say I’d agree this was the biggest arc, mainly because the scope of the arc focused on our core heroes’ efforts against Vader and Queen Trios’ trap, meaning a lot of the death and destruction of the Rebellion’s fleet was background noise. But in the sense of it being the biggest shake up to the series, then I’d agree, as the Rebellion has largely been on a victory march since the destruction of the Death Star, across the first 49 issues, and now their hubris of amassing their armies has come to bite them in the bantha rear (even if it was orchestrated by Vader): this arc ends with the Rebellion scattered to the wind, back to being separated cells across the galaxy, clinging to the idea of hope, and trying to find their way back to one another to fight the Empire another day.
But we’re at the end of “Hope Dies” so you have to be asking, does hope actually die? Did Vader’s “master stroke” plan actually work, snuffing out hope like the bad guys have been trying to since all before we were born? I can, with firm purpose, say hope does not die, either literally or figuratively. Literally it doesn’t because the kindly mechanic, who takes a moment during all the chaos in the previous issue to help Threepio after his outer space ordeal, is named Meorti, which Threepio reveals means “hope,” so since she doesn’t die, hope literally didn’t die this issue. As for figuratively, well only if you can forget about some little movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and actually believe Emperor Palpatine could be happy with these results, then hope dies, otherwise a galaxy-wide hope still survives because our heroes live another day to be the hope that sparks the fire that will burn the Empire down. It’s hard not to compare the “total” destruction of the Rebellion here to that of the Resistance in The Last Jedi, as I’d argue while a big hit here for the Rebellion, they have more leaders, more morale, and more supporters in the galaxy than the Resistance seems to by TLJ’s end, meaning hope just gets knocked down for a little bit after the events here.
While the majority of the Rebellion’s destruction feels like background noise, as I mentioned earlier, both this issue and the last do include sacrifices from notable characters in the films. In issue #54, General Draven decides to join the rest of Rogue One in heroic sacrificial endings, and in issue #55 it’s General Dodonna, who serves as bait for the other ships to flee after they deliver the information necessary to override Queen Trios’ sabotage. Looking back at his hesitance to return to the fray at Mako-Ta last issue, his quiet acceptance of his coming death this issue must of meant he knew what the decision would cost him, putting a different spin on his words at the end of the last issue. Dodonna had a much longer life and career in Legends, dying in peace before the events of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, but I much prefer his heroic death in canon instead, as it seems Legends had a hard time letting go of movie characters and canon hasn’t been afraid to make them stardust, especially for a grand purpose.
Kieron Gillen’s move to serialized storytelling instead of loosely connected stories has been a refreshing change for the Star Wars series and “Hope Dies” really opens up the possibilities of where he can go next with the story. Sure, Hoth is the next big step we all know about, but what about everything else along the way, especially between this defeat and the re-amassing of portions of the Rebellion at Hoth? The mission of “Hope Dies” was successful and I’m excited to see where he’ll take the story after this, with the rebels on the run, just trying to get by again. We get a hint of what comes next here, with Han, Leia, and Luke meeting up with Sana Starros, her first appearance in the SW series since Gillen took over, fresh off her cathartic confrontation with her ex, Doctor Aphra, while the solicitations for November/December have hinted at some very fun escapades in the next arc, “The Escape,” including a shirt-less Han Solo and Luke having a girlfriend (please don’t die this time!). As for the art team, once again the ship and space battle stuff from Salvador Larroca (art) and Guru-eFX (colors) is really great, but the facial tracing is still a bane for the experience. Towards the end of the issue Larroca seems to stop tracing, but his free-form faces almost made me wish he just kept tracing. For the big, epic battle stuff, this team was great, but its failures and reliance on techniques that can pull readers out of the comic have been unavoidable and a stain on the great new direction Gillen’s taken the series. Thankfully, new artists will be arriving with the next arc, a refreshing change that’s long overdue! Since we’ll no doubt see Larroca again, whether I’d like it or not, I hope he’s able to do more work like he did on the first Vader series, where his tracing was at a minimum.
Here are a few other things:
- Leia receives her first General-ship this issue from Mon Mothma herself, while Luke becomes Commander, and Han is given the title of Colonel and of course isn’t interested in it (because he hasn’t allowed himself to accept his new normal just quite yet).
- Han and Chewie, who is with the damaged Falcon, get separated at the end of this arc. Next time Han sees the Falcon, and it’s in pristine condition, he better do whatever Chewie wants immediately.
- While brief, it was great to see Hera Syndulla again in this arc, though she’s had a bit more to do in the Doctor Aphra series lately. Also Rebels related, the cruiser Han, Leia, and Luke are in at the end is similar to the one the Ghost crew stole above Ryloth in the show’s season 2 episode, “Homecoming.”
Star Wars issue #55 finishes off an action-heavy arc that leaves our heroes in a tight spot with exciting possibilities.
+ Exciting new direction ahead
+ Dodonna’s exit to stage left
– Maybe the next negative won’t have to be about the art soon!
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 | #51 | #52 | #53 | #54 / 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)