– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader and Beilert Valance duke it out and T’onga and crew have to pick up the pieces, while a return to Vukorah offers more hopes for representation in another fine issue of Bounty Hunters.
With everything and everyone who ever mattered to him seemingly lost, Valance has no qualms, in fact he’s excited, to throw himself at Darth Vader. The brawl is epic in a way only the art team of Paolo Villanelli, Arif Prianto on colors, and Travis Lanham on lettering can produce, an overly kinetic brawl interspersed with Ethan Sacks’ one livers, humor, and pathos. We’ve had a range of Vader on display in Bounty Hunters, from tough boss, clothes-fixing comradery, and now the unfeeling monster, his most potent form. Even in full Sith mode, Vader and Valance’s battle isn’t as one-sided as you’d imagine, the non-armored cyborg holding his own for the most part, and while the Force flowing from Vader’s gloves tips the scales in the Sith Lord’s favor, his desire for drama prevents his ultimate triumph over Valance.
Instead of finishing him off on his own after getting him on his knees and destroying Valance’s spirit more by killing his V-Team members and all the innocents in the nearby village, Vader leaves Valance’s fate in Lt. Haydenn’s hands. He knows of their connection and is testing her loyalty, Valance already failing his test when he turned on the Empire after the ones he loved were killed. But Valance found those feelings again with Jyala, so he pleads with her to leave the Empire since he knows she cares for him too. As I’ve said in past reviews, beyond my overall lack of connection to Valance, this romance hasn’t clicked so far for me, so taking it to this dramatic level fell a little flat. It was still interesting to see Jyala’s choice, shooting Valance, but that he’s found barely harmed after falling off the convenient cliff behind him, it seemed clear this was a calculated decision. Sure enough, later in the issue as she’s contacting some familiar names to carry out Vader’s orders to hunt down Valance, we see she purposely threw off her aim to minimize damage to Valance. The guilt of her choice weighs on her, but she probably both felt she didn’t deserve to be with him, considering to she withheld information from him and because she knows, in that moment, they didn’t have a hope of killing Vader. Regardless of my feelings on their relationship, I’ll be curious to see if this is the end or more’s to come.
Lt. Haydenn’s decision might not leave Valance damaged much on the outside, but on the inside he’s broken as it gets. Bossk might feel differently itching for some pay back after their fight very early in the series, but thankfully T’onga’s there to help give the cyborg space to brood. I’m betting he’ll throw himself into whatever jobs the team takes next, though they might have some issues going forward, as Vader has requested quite the squad to hunt Valence down: Inferno Squad! The fan-favorite Battlefront II (and tie-in book) group of Iden Versio, Del Meeko, and Gideon Hask joining the series has been an open secret, from Revelations to Hidden Empire (and solicitations teasing they’ll make quite the impact) but it’s still cool to see them again and in their Imperial best, while I can’t wait to see the heartaches they bring to the Crew. As to why Inferno is necessary, Valance saw the Death Star II plans whether he realizes it or not, so killing and wiping his memory core are top priority…even though the Rebellion already knows it exists.
And now my favorite part of the issue. The series returns to Vukorah, holed up in the Unbroken Clan tower, watching and waiting to see who, if anyone, will be coming after her. As she waits, she contemplates, flashing us back to when she was much younger. This is such a great moment because, reading between the lines, seems to confirm fans’ hopes and theories regarding Vukorah behind trans. When I was first alerted to the theory, it was hard to not see it the more I read this series, from the more masculine way she’s drawn in any flashbacks before, especially in this issue’s flashback, then compounded by the dialogue exchange, where she says “Look at me, I’m a princess,” while putting on a necklace, to which a young Krynthia replies, “Hahaha. That means we can be sisters,” certain feels like an acknowledgement of the situation. Writer Ethan Sacks, who made Top Writers in my 2022 Star Wars comics year-in-review for how he not only turned me around on my series but put meaningful representation in the forefront in a series called Bounty Hunters, was on Twitter after reactions to the issue started pouring in, eager for confirmation this scene really meant what we all hoped it meant: giving Star Wars one of its first trans characters. I appreciate his responses, which he doesn’t even need to give (though he’s always very vocal and playful about the series and its characters online), as he doesn’t outright confirm it means what everyone hopes, admitting he’s making sure this amounts to positive representation, as her being a “villain,” which I agree with him she’s not at this point, and drawn/written by cis men could hinder this groundbreaking potential representation. Just taking the time to get this right and present it in the best way possible, if that’s truly where her story will go, means a ton to hear and makes this moment all the more special and this series all the more important to keep an eye on.
As I mentioned earlier, if there’s a team to drawn Vader and Valance brawling, look no further than the Bounty Hunters art team! It’s an aggressive clash where every single member of the art teams explodes their blows off the pages of the comic, and this is where Lanham’s SFX really make every hit land home. I love the SFXs for Valance throwing a giant boulder at Vader, the sudden “whump” of Vader stopping it, making it seem effortless for him, and then his aggressive crunch making it seem like this moment is a win for Vader, only for Valance to fly through the explosion, the boulder simply a distraction, one which lands to us as readers because the SFX. The resulting page of Valance blasting energy from his palm blasters, Vader’s saber rising to meet the barrage can barely be contained in the panels and page itself, from Lanham’s SFX disappearing at the edges, Villanelli’s energy blasts similarly unable to fit within the confines of the pages, Prianto nearly blinding us with the give splotches of white at the the connection, the swirling reds and blacks like a wave of impact no one can avoid. The pain on Lt. Haydenn’s face as she makes her decision was also quite impressive, as the battle inside is clearly waging, setting us up to know she might’ve hit him non-lethally on purpose, while the their twinning panels, brooding in front a transparisteel viewport, their reflection shrouded in shadows or more guilt, help define how hard this separation was for them.
Here’s one other thing:
- Quite fitting Lt. Haydenn is featured for this issue’s Black History Month variant cover (seen above)! Next month will see Nakano Lash on the Women’s History Month cover.
Bounty Hunters #31 breaks down Valance to push forward the series, all while providing some hopeful, yet only potential at this point, representation.
+ Potential representation with Vukorah
+ Big, quick fight for Valance and Vader
– Romance didn’t click for me, still
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Crimson Reign: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22 — The Raid on the Vermillion: #23 | #24 | #25 | #26 | #27 | #28 — Bedlam on Bestine: #29 | #30