– Spoiler Review –
Alliances are strained, built, and reconsidered in Alex Segura’s windy, and as always, fast paced The Battle of Jakku: Republic Under Siege #3.
I’m going to revisit this well again, but after The Battle of Jakku: Republic Under Siege #3, I am even more confused as to why Luke Skywalker saw Reyna Oskure in Insurgency Rising #4 and immediately thought, “Adelhard’s Counselor and Blade.” When we first meet her, she seems to be an ally or friend to the Acolytes of the Beyond, not directly affiliated with them, yet over the course of the maxiseries she seems to be their main spokesperson and a believer. She’s summoned by Grand Moff Adelhard to represent the Acolytes and their entire time together since feels like two people who have barely ever met, let alone a situation where he’d consider her his blade or counselor, as she’s definitely her own person with her own goals. And yet she seems to throw it all away this issue, kissing Adelhard and maybe even referencing they’ve slept together before this, sort of building on their almost kiss last issue, but without enough context, this also feels like it doesn’t track. There’s a hint she’s actually on Gallius Rax’s side in all this, as Grand Moff Randd contacts an unseen operative in Adelhard’s circle to activate them to move against the Moff, so her seemingly throwing away her other priorities and trying to get under Adelhard’s skin is either part of her plan or somehow Adelhard winning against her assassination attempt, as she did come at him with a knife before they kiss here. It all feels too convoluted for its own good, especially without more time with these characters to better understand their past, if any, and present.
Republic Under Siege #3 returns us to the world of the Spice Runners, run by Zeva Bliss, who got into bed with Adelhard after he came to them in the backup story of Republic Under Siege #1. Tomasso, her right-hand man, brings forward an informant who claims to have intel which could help the Spice Runners with their choice, stick with Adelhard as he makes increasingly aggressive moves or leave him behind. The contact is Weazel, a character who first appeared in The Phantom Menace, played by Warwick Davis, and later in Solo: A Star Wars Story as part of Enfys Nest’s group, which is a surprising but fun little cameo. His information allows Zeva to know Adlehard is working with the Acolytes of the Beyond and…the Underworld, which, I mean, this seemed like less of a revelation given the Spice Runners are part of the underworld and a vague statement, maybe implying it’s more than just them, doesn’t do a whole lot. The only other bit Weazel reveals, which he thinks is the coup de grâce, is there’s a contract out on Luke Skywalker, but it’s revealed Zeva and the Spice Runners are the ones who put it out there, though this seems a little odd given they are debating staying with Adelhard or not. Either way, it turns out Tomasso, and even Weazel, are part of New Republic Intelligence Calder Behren’s spies, though it seemed like Tomasso was only framed as a spy in Poe Dameron: Free Fall, not actually one, but I guess, really he was.
The Spice Runner’s contract out on Luke Skywalker of course doesn’t go well for the assassin, of course. The giant Trandoshan who killed the Senator last issue jumps into a room with Luke, Princess Leia, and Mon Mothma, and of course Luke is already swinging his lightsaber in defense, even getting some assistance from his sister, who is now clearly pregnant. They think they have him defeated, trying to ask who hired him, but he manages to launch himself at Mon and get off a solid punch on her before Leia and Luke beat him back again. Before he cuts and runs, jumping back out the window into the Chandrilan skies, he warns Luke it’s less about who he works for and more about how no one is safe. I was assuming this was more of the point of Adelhard’s plan, make no one feel safe to join the New Republic if they can’t protect even their most important people, including Senators, and the Trandoshan hunter confirms it. It also brings up an interesting question: last issue, Luke was sure Adelhard was trying to keep them all apart…but having him believe he needed to be with his friends actually almost made it so a killer could get three birds with one stone, so was this a plan within a plan or just happy accident since Luke decided to come back?
The issue ends with Mon talking to Behrens over holo comm, him revealing another Senator is killed, only for him to be killed by Lan-Drus, who arrived in the previous issue’s final page as well. Before his death, an earlier scene had Behrens tracking down and talking to the one, the only, Beilert Valance, who is still with ex-Imperial Jyala Haydenn, which should be a soothing sight for the #ValanceNation since the Bounty Hunters comic series ended in January. Tomasso suggested Valance to Behrens to help protect Luke, but the cyborg isn’t around when Luke and company get attacked, so I’m curious if he’ll make his presence and help known going forward. He did protect Luke against Darth Vader, and even Domina Tagge, back in Legends, leading to his death, so are we building to something similar, sans Vader of course?
Continuing on art is Stefano Raffaele, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Joe Caramagna. The sequence when the unnamed Trandoshan assassin shatters the window and invades the room with Luke, Mon, and Leia is my favorite from the issue, as the full page of him breaking the window, thousands of little shards blasting everywhere, the bright light of Chandrila’s sun casting him in shadows, Caramagna’s glass exploding sound FX basically looking like more of the glass, is such a sudden, loud looking page it gives us the surprise they must be feeling despite us seeing someone watching the window and giving the assassin the call to go in. The flying glass remains in frame for the next few panels on the following page, kinetic backgrounds taking over the scene, while Raffaele uses the framing to show us how hard this fight might actually be for Luke, as while initially he’s the focus on the first panel, lightsaber valiantly lighting up, a defiant look to his face, the assassin is still towering over him, taking up more of the panel than Luke is, while his big, electro-blade simmers in the middle. The next panel, the Trandoshan towers over Luke, centered now, his blade striking Luke’s defensive saber, the big blue swing taking up most of the panel. The background shifts to a greyish-blue, closer to the assassin’s blade, as Luke is taken off his feet to avoid the next slash, showing he has the advantage, as this follows on the next page/panel, where Luke clearly doesn’t have the high ground, the Trandoshan towering over him, all seemingly lost. The change of color for the next panel, with the shifting of a explosive center to varied lines in the background instead, with a chunky and shortened SFX for a blaster shot, helps zap us back into the reality it wasn’t just Luke and the assassin in the room. There’s something about the visual, only a few panels later, where Luke on the right side, the Trandoshan in the middle, and a pregnant Leia in front of a regal Mon Mothma that is something I never suspected we’d get and I absolutely love seeing such characters, at such a timeframe, all together.
Here are a few other things:
- Valance will return in the upcoming A New Legacy one-shot as well, due in January!
- Here’s the current release schedule for the remaining Battle of Jakku story: 12/11 Republic Under Siege #4; 12/25 Last Stand #1; 1/8/2025 Last Stand #2; 1/15/2025 Last Stand #3; 1/22/2025 Last Stand #4.
The Battle of Jakku: Republic Under Siege #3 might be getting too convoluted than necessary, but it remains entertaining along the way.
+ Spy stuff and seeing Luke and Leia, and Mon, all together
– Convolution comes without much context
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