– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #61 might not be the best issue of rather great “The Escape” arc, it wraps it all up with a nice little bow, pointing us towards writer Kieron Gillen’s conclusion later this year.
Escaping and returning to the Rebellion was a little easier than I expected once the Big Three, with Tula’s Clan Markona alongside them, leave the isolated moon of Hubin (I’m happy I ignore covers for the most part because this one definitely was misleading). Having them waltz into an Imperial Impound Yard, and walk up to Sana’s ship while Tula and her Clan find one of their own, with plenty of time for jokes and Tula letting Luke down gently, was almost a parody of the plot armor the Big Three currently wear. While the whole scenario just made it even more apparent they’re invincible, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun or funny sequence, as I was dying over the jokes at Doctor Aphra’s expense when it comes to terrible exes, with the funniest bit being how Luke really misjudged Aphra’s interests. However, Tula’s interests were real, but Luke’s connection to her father’s death, despite not directly causing it, means the unintended consequence is one she’ll always see when she looks at him, which is why she ends things with him before they even get started (bye bye theories from last issue’s review!). There’s even a funny moment or two for Threepio, who, unknowingly to the rest of the group, barters for some new leg casings while trying to get Admiral Ackbar’s current whereabouts. The issue ends with the Big Three reunited with a portion of the Rebellion, with Leia announcing her intentions to scourge Shu-Torun with a small crew as not to waste already limited Rebellion resources.
Leia mentions Cymoon-1’s disruption as the reason for Shu-Torun’s importance, an interesting point that feeds into this arc’s themes and also gives the upcoming arc, Gillen’s last, a feeling of coming full circle for the series as a whole. When Marvel took over for Star Wars comics in 2015, the first arc of the Star Wars series, “Skywalker Strikes,” dealt with the Big Three taking down the Empire’s operations on Cymoon-1, and now, 4 years later, we’re seeing the repercussions of those actions, but in actuality we have been seeing them this whole time, just not connecting the dots until now. While this arc has taught Luke about the unintended consequences of one’s actions at a micro level, simply mentioning the planet makes almost this whole series a macro scale look at the unintended consequences of the Rebellion’s actions. If they hadn’t destroyed Cymoon-1 in their follow up to the success of destroying the Death Star, a cog in a much larger Imperial war machine, a place like Shu-Torun wouldn’t have (at least this soon) been called on to increase its quotas to such levels that Vader himself had to stop by and ensure someone ruled the planet who would do whatever they could to meet such astronomical goals. The person who took over was Queen Trios, and because of the position Vader put her in, she goes along with his plan to insert herself within the Rebellion and tear them down when they least suspect it. In a way, the Rebellion brought this on themselves, creating the monster which struck them down, but by Leia going after the Empire’s next important cog, will she be creating even more unintended consequences, or will this scourging give the Rebellion its final win as we close into The Empire Strikes Back? By even mentioning Cymoon-1, I also wonder if the next arc will be the last of the series itself, as it would give the entire thing a nice full-circle ending, and I can imagine even having someone utter “Hoth” would be enough to tell us what happens next after the final issue.
What unfortunately doesn’t want to come to an end is Scar Squad, who looked to be finished or at least left open for a reappearance somewhere last issue, but it looks like we haven’t seen the last of them. I won’t go into the whole song and dance of why I’m not a giant fan of them, simply pointing out how ineffectual they’ve been will be enough, so to know their part in this story isn’t over made me let out one big sigh. While stuck on Hubin, they uncover Leia’s plans for Shu-Torun, so of course if they manage to get off the moon they’ll definitely come and throw a tauntaun into her Shu-Torun scourging. But given their track record, we shouldn’t be too worried, and if the next arc really is the series’ last, maybe Scar Squad’s end will come with it too. One can only hope.
As much as Han seemed to enjoy their time relaxing on Hubin, his reaction and caring for the Falcon was always sitting in the back of his head, as he finally reunites with his one true love (at the moment) and asks for a little alone time with the Falcon. I appreciated Han’s concern about the Falcon’s core, aka the droid brains including L3-37, as a nice little tie-in to Solo, as well as prominently showing the dice, used in both Solo and The Last Jedi. Combining the return of Meorti (which means hope, by the way) with Han’s reunion with the Falcon, we get a juxtaposition between Han in The Force Awakens and now, as currently he can’t think of having anyone else touch his beloved ship, but by TFA he’s willing to bring a young scavenger named Rey on to help them out.
With the true meat of “The Escape” over, Gillen does a great job having fun with these characters finally finding their way back to the Rebellion proper, their time resting on Hubin sinking into them as they approach their next task. On art, Andrea Broccardo (art) returns, as he started the arc but was replaced by Angel Unzueta for other issues, with Guru-eFX continuing on for colors. I’ve harped on Broccardo’s art before, but his work on issue #56 and now #61 is not to be harped against! While he doesn’t try to get to Unzueta’s photo-real take on faces, he does his own style, and while exaggerated at times, I really enjoy it, as it frees him from the burden of relying on previous faces seen in films and can do as he pleases with a variety of situations. I particularly enjoyed Tula’s new look, decked out in armor, as well as Chewie in repair mode, as he has a real fluffiness to his look, while Guru’s colors really fit Broccardo’s more comic-like style. Clayton Cowles was the letterer and Tom Groneman as Assistant Editor.
Here are a few other things:
- The ship Tula and her clan took is the same model as Dash Rendar’s from EU/Legends lore! Also seen in the shipyard was the same model ship as Jan Ors and Kyle Katarn’s from the Jedi Knight games!
- If the name of the nebula Ackbar is hiding out in sounds familiar, Kaliida, it was from The Clone Wars episode, “Shadow of Malevolence,” where Anakin navigates it with some Y-wings!
- I’m curious when and if we’ll ever get the details behind the mission Thane Markona and his crew undertook to gain Hubin.
“The Escape” comes to an end in Star Wars #61, wrapping up a generally great arc and pushing us towards an inescapable end.
+ Full circle feeling and unintended consequences
+ Good humor (even the stuff at Aphra’s expense)
+ Han’s reunion
– I guess it was premature to say goodbye to Scar Squad…
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 | #57 | #58 | #59 | #60
Jason Aaron — Skywalker Strikes (#1-6) | Old Ben’s Journals | Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon (#8-12) | Rebel Jail (#16-19) | The Last Flight of the Harbinger (#21-25) | Yoda’s Secret War (#26-30) | Out Among the Stars (#33-37)
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) | Annual: #2
Age of Republic (miniseries)
Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-10) | The Rule of Five (#11-12) | Burning Seas (#13-18) | Fortress Vader (#19-25) | Full Series Review (by Chris and Ryan)