– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars issue #57 finds our heroes adjusting to their new situation…as guests on an isolated space farm? There’s more to it than meets the eye, giving “The Escape” a fresh, exciting new feel for the series.
Issue #56 ended with Leia, Luke, and Han, plus Threepio and Artoo, stranded on the small planet/moon of Hubin, taken in by locals and living a luxury life of drinks in a big, beautiful mansion. Han was the only one who looked happy about it, leaving plenty of questions about this new living arrangement. Issue #57 spares no time diving into what exactly is happening on Hubin, but it leaves just as many questions, though far more intriguing and pointed ones than at the end of the previous issue. The Big Three’s benevolent new friend, Thane Markona, is the leader of Clan Markona, a non-blood related group of people living in a settlement on Hubin, which is basically a space farm; Thane shares his home giant Manor with his daughter, Tula, and their droid Emkay-One. Thane insists they aren’t isolationists, despite not having any shuttles to go off-planet, thus leaving the Big Three stranded 5 months for the next trader visit or until Sana picks them up, and that the Empire leaves them alone because they pay their dues, and instead calls this a life he chose for retirement. And when Luke gets inquisitive, Thane avoids any direct answers about whom and what he was a fighter for, a job which earned him the rights for Hubin. The last time we saw someone gifted/giving the rights to a world was Darth Vader from his Sith Master, Emperor Palpatine himself, which makes this little bit of information quite ominous. What exactly does someone fight, and fight well enough, to be granted a world? At the same time, it could’ve been a deal where Thane and his family’s survival depended on taking an offer of isolation over death, but we’ll see as this mystery unfolds this arc. I’d bet that wasn’t the case however, considering the amazing tech Thane has hidden under his sleeves (literally), some type of futuristic Assassin’s Creed-looking hidden blades, as that’s the sign of a very deadly, accomplished fighter and letting him keep those doesn’t seem like part of a deal he didn’t have the upper hand during.
Having “The Escape” focus on new characters and a mystery surrounding them, and how it affects our heroes, is already far more intriguing than past storylines and a much better direction for this series. Instead of a recognizable problem, like say the Empire, getting in Leia, Luke, and Han’s way, unknown threats and unknown allegiances offer more tension and drama to the proceedings, as we don’t know the outcome of this interaction, because while the heroes will leave Hubin at some point, how, why, and what about the experience changes them remains to be seen. If it was against the Empire, ultimately they’ll prevail, and most of the drama is contrived then, so this is a welcomed and exciting change of pace.
And as Kieron Gillen mentions in this issue’s notes section, this arc is more about giving the heroes an “escape” aka a vacation, and less about “escaping” the Empire’s big operation which bust their forces apart, and such an idea is an interesting one to contemplate. We got a little taste of this in Star Wars #33, where Luke and Leia are stranded for a few weeks together, and she basically said she’ll always be part of the fight. Obviously Han is the first to embrace their new living situation, from the great drinks from Thane’s droid, to doing a little hard work to get food/drink at the local watering hole. He hasn’t quite committed to the Rebel cause yet, so an idyllic spot to relax with his new friends and obvious love interest is hard to pass up for a simple man trying to make his way in the galaxy. This leads to an incredibly funny, and sexy moment where a shirtless Han Solo is chopping wood and Leia happens to see him, blushing. It’s a scene you could only get in an environment/storyline like this, and I’m happy they went and did it. It’s led to some funny comments and memes, like one from Star Wars meme-master Heath Williams, putting Ben and Han Solo next to one another to show like father, like son, while Story Group Member Matt Martin replying to Gillen saying he marked this day on his calendar.
There’s other potential romance in the air, as while Luke might mistrust Thane, it doesn’t stop him from being interested in his daughter, Tula. A solicitation for December teases this might go further, and I hope to the mother of moons this girlfriend story doesn’t end like every girlfriend from Luke’s past, Legends or Canon, ever; I’m trying not to worry about it yet, but it’s hard not to with the history there. Anyways, Luke is the most inquisitive of the group, trying his best to uncover what exactly Thane isn’t telling them, no matter how open and honest he’s being. Luke gets a chance to chat to Tula about everything going on, and her question about the Death Star either shows how removed from the rest of the galaxy they are or how much Thane is telling them, but Thane happens to show up when Luke starts asking the right questions.
Unfortunately Leia doesn’t get as much to do this issue, other than catch Han shirtless, as she inquires about a terminal for her room and exits stage left. I’m curious to learn what she was doing with the terminal, and if it was checking up on their hospitable captors/calling for Sana/etc. I’m hoping she’ll get a little more to do this arc.
As I mentioned above, Gillen’s new direction really shines in Star Wars #57, especially since this is more of what I was hoping he could bring to the series instead of his previous arcs. Andrea Broccardo steps out for an issue or two and Angel Unzueta takes his place, recently free from the Poe Dameron series after its great finale. Unzueta’s style is something close to tracing but never managed to feel quite like it, as all of his Poe Dameron work can attest to, but it didn’t all work in Star Wars #57 as some it felt more like tracing than his normal work, especially when the heads didn’t quite fit the clothing or other little oddities, plus at times Guru-eFX’s colors didn’t help the situation; It’s nowhere near as bad as the series’ previous longtime artist, but it was noticeable. Of course, the excellent panel of Han Solo shirtless, and the thirst it created around the galaxy, basically makes up for it. I’m happy to see more of Unzueta’s work and I hope it gets a little back towards his Poe quality, but otherwise a good start to drawing slightly more recognizable characters.
Here are a few other things:
- I thought Threepio and Artoo got separated from the Big Three last issue, but I guess Thane and his people scooped them up too, undoing my prediction about their role for the arc. They still could play a part in saving the day, but they would be doing it from the inside of the settlement, not working from the outside.
- So far no Mynocks in Thane’s Manor…though I’m sure there are more metaphorical ones than literal!
- As I mentioned in November’s solicitations, if the cover for #57 looks familiar, it should: it’s a riff on American Gothic by Grant Wood.
- UPDATED: Alex of Star Wars Explained has a fun speculation about Clan Markona: he theorizes they could be a Mandalorian tribe and whatever events befall their group due to Leia, Luke, and Han’s presence will form the backstory for the titular character of the upcoming live-action TV on Disney+, The Mandalorian. I see lot of where he’s coming from, but I doubt it just as much as he admits to doing so, especially if the title character does turn out to be a male, thus meaning Thane and Tula have probably been killed for his tragic backstory, once again leaving a woman behind instead of putting her in the main role. Regardless, it’s a fun theory and that’d be pretty impressive if Lucasfilm decided on giving backstory to the show via a comic, without announcing it.
“The Escape” gets even more promising thanks to the heightened sense of mystery in Star Wars #57.
+ New, more pointed questions I can’t wait to see answered
+ SOLO SHIRTLESS PROVES LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
+ Proving to be a fun change of pace
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 (#50-55) / Arc Review by Chris | The Escape: #56 | #58 | #59 | #60 | #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)