– Spoiler Review –
With The Battle of Jakku: Last Stand #4, the maxiseries comes to a heartfelt yet unessential end.
I’ve had my problems with how this series has treated continuity, as it often confuses me by switching things up or not trying to line up better, but in the end it’s something a reference book can smooth over in the years to come so it’s not what has totally felt like a big miss to the maxiseries. My real problem is, after 12 issues, this didn’t add anything meaningful to story we already knew and, in a way, having all those problems with continuity or characters not acting like themselves (more on Luke in a moment…), what it did try to add feels lesser, bringing down the tales which already told this story, rather than prop them up. I get there was no way to change the outcome of what happens but that this all slots into the ending we already knew, without trying to add some new or unseen repercussion, or give it more meaning to the era and its characters, the series only seems impactful for teasing the upcoming Star Wars (2025) that was just announced, but even then, it’s just a single page. I think something more akin to Empire Ascendant would’ve worked better for a handoff between eras again, as it allowed certain stories to wrap up or be teased in the shortest, most effective ways, but it seems like that’s what the Free Comic Book Day issue is going to be about this year, with teases of Star Wars (2025) and the upcoming Jedi Knights. In the end, Last Stand #4 has some good sentiments about the cost of war and the excitement of victory and what it means for the New Republic and our heroes, but better stories have already told this tale in far more interesting ways with just as meaningful messages about the impact of this battle, so this too, feels lost in the sands of Jakku.
In my review of the previous issue, I was once again disappointed with Luke Skywalker’s demeanor, as he had to be scolded about thinking in only black and whites when he, not even a year ago, knew there was good in Darth Vader and helped him see the light. Luke feels far more like himself this issue, as he comes for Adelhard and hopes to save him too, not defeat him, but when Rynn Zenat kills Adelhard before he can reveal anything useful, Luke decides he needs to scold her about black and white thinking when she reveals why she did it, making the Luke whiplash sting real hard between these two most recent issues. Given Alex Segura is writing Star Wars (2025) and it has stories for Luke, Han, and Leia, I hope the Luke of this issue appears more often than not in the new series, while it’d be nice to have less whiplash with the character overall. I enjoyed seeing some of the big moments from the Battle of Jakku, like how Commodore Agate takes down the Super Star Destroyer and it was cute to see baby Ben Solo (that’s the “historic” character they teased in the solicit, by the way). I’ll be interested in Rynn and Preeti return for the upcoming series as well, as while Rynn development came too little too late, the on-going format would be a great place to give her, and Preeti, who has been stuck in starfighter limbo with Lando Calrissian, some room to shine finally.
As for how Last Stand #4 connects to the upcoming Star Wars (2025) {Vol. 3, per how I’ve been numbering on the site before}, the final page takes us to a new sector and new planet, Fenril and Pirros respectively, where two cloaked figures are meeting at a bar. One of them is Pirros’ Prime Minister and the other is someone identified as Praetor, whom is offering the Prime Minister freedom from the oppressive New Republic rule, alongside military might. It’s an intriguing interaction and is so vague, though it does leave me curious who Praetor is and who/what are behind the resources they can offer, as well as why they’d already see the New Republic rule as oppressive. We’ll find out in May, but at this point I’ll only be reviewing the opening issue of the series and then check in with reviews at the end of story arcs, but this isn’t about the series itself, just how I’m approaching writing for the Manor in 2025 and beyond, as I discussed in my 2024 Star Wars comics Year-in-Review.
On art we have the glorious return of Jethro Morales, with Jim Campbell on colors and Joe Caramagna lettering. One the earliest pages of the battle over Jakku is such a visually chaotic delight, as Morales, with Caramagna’s help with the word bubbles and sound FX, pull you right towards the big collision happening in the top middle of the page, where a Star Destroyer is ramming into a Starhawk ship and they are exploding together. All around, Morales has the page packed with ships flying around, shooting at one another, little explosion everywhere, which Campbell’s colors not differentiating the ships involved much showing how the destruction comes for them all, and it felt like one could see the Battle of Endor on a larger scale in this image alone. The Super Star Destoryer Ravager’s death plummet into the sands of Jakku receiving the sole double-splash of the issue is fitting, as well as how the team underscores it as the figurative end of the battle and the Empire, as it is. For starters, Caramagna’s descending narration boxes, going left to right, with the final one almost touching the double-page expansive SFX of the ship’s explosion, points to the finality of the image, while Morales’ smokey trails, big fires, and massive explosive range, which Campbell gives the brightest of yellows with lots of white to highlight the range, makes the titan falling to the ground seem as hefty as you’d imagine. Really looks like the end of the battle and Empire itself, driven to destruction. The second to last page has two great images, one of Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewie, Threepio, Artoo, and Baby Ben, gathered around and all happy, that looks like a visual sequel to the final image of Return of the Jedi, while the next panel is a great rip from The Force Awakens, the image of the Star Destroyer buried in Jakku, to show us the happiness does have an end.
Here are a few other things:
- We know Luke gets wrapped up with the Acolytes of the Beyond even after the events of this comic, per Shadow of the Sith, so I’ll be curious if that’s part of his story in the upcoming comic or not!
- I am still not sure who or what Reyna Oskure actually stands for, as it seems she’s really out for herself at the most, but playing all sides without knowing what she actually wanted left all her actions nebulous at best. Maybe we’ll see more of her since she survived?
The Battle of Jakku: Last Stand #4 provides what we already knew from a different, though not wholly important feeling, view.
+ Art and story celebrate the overall positive end of the battle
– In the end, doesn’t add anything new or meaningful to the story we already know
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BATTLE OF JAKKU MAXISERIES REVIEWS
Insurgency Rising: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 – Republic Under Siege: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 – Last Stand: #1 | #2 | #3