– Spoiler Review –
In TIE Fighter #3, Shadow Wing attempts to bring some traitorous Imperials in line to finish their mission, but the true enemy is never too far away.
By having Shadow Wing’s mission bring them into conflict with an opportunistic Imperial Admiral, it’s been easy to root for the bad guys because in a way their mission is just. The Admiral is trying to turn a profit before the Empire likely falls, and that makes him an extra bad bad guy, so a compliment of TIEs doing the right thing for the cause they believe is understandable. Writer Jody Houser uses this to make us like these characters, care for them, and lull us into a false sense of security, with issue #3 finally revealing the depth of her work. As Shadow Wing begins an uprising against the traitorous Admiral, they take to the skies to retake the Star Destroyer, their original mission. While their insurrection is going well, a surprise arrives: the Rebellion, the true enemy. And because of Houser’s writer, when they strike and kill one of Shadow Wing, Lyttan of all people (!!), for a moment I felt anger towards them and hurt for the loss. Part of it might be that I’m attached to Lyttan due how much I enjoyed him and his brother Tamu’s characters in Han Solo – Imperial Cadet, but with issue #2’s back-up story introducing TIE Fighter readers to their funny, enjoyable sibling-ship, even new readers could feel the sting of his loss. But it’s Houser’s work of making us favorable to these characters which brings about the anger I felt about the Rebellion’s kill, and I found myself surprised by the feeling at first, then as it dawned on me how it happened, appreciative of Houser’s writing.
Lyttan is not the only loss Shadow Wing suffers, as Zin is shot down as well protecting Ganem, the man she loves. Her death is even more tragic, as it is potentially her own fault. Issue #1’s back-up story showed she was working for the Rebellion, no longer loyal to the Empire, and had called the rebels before their latest mission, but considering the Admiral’s buyers were incoming, could it have been coincidence or was someone else the buyers? Did Zin actually bring the Rebellion down on them? If so, her sacrifice isn’t just about love, it’s also due to not wanting her actions to hurt her friends and wingmates anymore. This squadron of Shadow Wing has dwindled, leaving us with Broosh, Jeela, and Ganem, and I’m curious to see where this series goes now that their mission is technically complete, having secured the Star Destroyer and headed back to their Grandmother aka Commander Nuress. According to the solicits for July, it looks like they’ll have a new mission…and it seems to be Endor (says the solicits for August).
The latest back-up story reveals the moment Broosh was given command of this squadron of Shadow Wing by Major Keize. It lays to rest the rumors about Broosh’s conduct, something Lyttan confronted him about, and shows they are exactly that and he does care about his people. Considering this is a TIE-in to Alphabet Squadron, the first novel in a trilogy which released only last week, Keize is also a character we meet in the novel. I’m only about 40% done, but there’s a moment Keize and Alphabet’s main character Yrica Quell, glimpsed in issue #1 here, has a talk with Keize and he gives her similar advice he imparts to Broosh here, that their main concern isn’t the Empire, but their brother and sisters flying alongside them. It’s a great mindset to have, especially once the Empire begins to crumble after Endor, and simplifies things for those sitting in the cockpits.
The core team of Rogê Antônio (art) and Arif Prianto (colors) continues to deliver solid issue after solid issue, with their dogfighting scenes looking more coherent and exciting than the previous ones, while the return of their effect where the helmet becomes see-through so we can actually get an image of the pilots’ faces is a true highlight. Geraldo Borges (art) and Lee Loughridge (colors) provide the work on the backup story and it’s good enough, though since it’s mainly a conversation between two people, there’s just some close-ups that I wasn’t a giant fan of while everything else was alright.
Here are a few other things:
- I’m really enjoying the unique and grounded Alphabet Squadron, especially its interesting team members. I should have a review up within a week or so!
TIE Fighter #3 provides a few surprise feelings and sets us up for a wide open final two issues.
+ Feeling the sting of Imperial losses
+ Tragedy of Zin’s passing
+ Surprising end to one thread with only two issues left
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
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