– Spoiler Review –
T’onga and crew have their target and his location, but will brewing sentiments bring this last-ditch attempt to save Beilert Valance’s soul crashing down? And who’s that returning face and what hope do they have in store? Find out in our review of Bounty Hunters #40!
The friction between Khel Tanna and T’onga has been a major sticking point since the former joined the series, something each issue has revisited a little more fiercely throughout this Dark Droids arc. I felt like after last issue, where T’onga stomps on Khel’s problems with their quest, it would be done long enough for them to get to Valance, but writer Ethan Sacks knows there are only two issues left after this one and doesn’t plan to spare us any emotional distress. And he’s not subtle about it either, as the issue starts with T’onga recording a message for her wife Losha, on why she did what she did and how much she loves her, so you know when a character does that things aren’t looking good for their prospects. There’s even a little misdirection as well, T’onga giving Khel the encryption key fob for the funds she’s using after another outburst from her old partner, though she withholds the passcode to open it and staves off an attack from Deathstick. They make it Epikonia, planet that’s a relay center for galactic communication at the center of this month’s issues of Dark Droids crossover content, but right as they hit the ground, the backstabbers make their intentions clear, Durge shooting Zuckuss, who is just seconds too late with his six-sense warning to dodge it, and then Khel and Deathstick toss T’onga out when it’s revealed Bossk was monitoring her and got the passcode. It doesn’t come as a total shock, but the thoroughness of the betrayal and the coldness of it is quite the turn of events, though it seems like Bossk might be slightly regretting his choice. In a series about bounty hunters, it’s not been often we’ve seen them betray one another and I’m glad, even as the series approaches its end, we got such a big example of it finally, as the found-family T’onga was sort of fostering couldn’t last forever with such personalities.
The issue ends with T’onga and Zuckuss taken by the Scourged droids dominating the city, only for her to wake up in their clutches, Scourge controlled Valance there to rub it in as they tell her she’s about to join their team! We found out in Doctor Aphra #38 (Vol. 2) this month the Scourge finally figured out how to jump into completely organic bodies, so T’onga’s situation is more than quite fraught. If we didn’t know she survives past Return of the Jedi, as seen in Sacks’ Halcyon Legacy (the Galactic Starcruiser is dead; long live the Galactic Starcruiser!) miniseries, I’d be almost sure she’d be a goner next issue, but add in the scene from last issue with what looks like a team-up is set to happen between Vukorah and Losha to come save her, especially after Losha likely hears the message she sent to Syphacc for her, I might not be worried for T’onga’s fate but I’m damn excited to see how it all goes. Even more so due to the late issue surprise…
After T’onga’s betrayed and left for dead with Zuckuss, the issue takes a turn and finds us with Imperial Lieutenant Jyala Haydenn, who was beginning to fall for Valance up until he found out about her hiding the truth from about his ex’s death and she was forced to shoot him to save him from Darth Vader. Her actions and her feelings haven’t abated it seems, as we find her downloading the Imperial databanks’ back-up of Valance’s memories, making it clear the long-game plans Sacks has been laying for readers for how Valance might be restored despite his Scourged condition. We aren’t the only ones who see her doing this, as some fellow Imperials find her and attempt to arrest her, but she cares too much about Valance and making things right, she fights back, escaping from her ship to come help him! I wasn’t really big on their burgeoning relationship, just didn’t quite buy it, but I’m glad it’s set the stage for something like this.
Bringing the betrayal of the season to life is artist Davide Tinto, Arif Prianto for colors, and Travis Lanham for lettering. They really start off strong, emotionally, with T’onga preparing to send a message to Losha. I like how much time was spent on her building up to it and the way Tinto delivers these little moments, with her hunched over the console, almost looking like she’s sick or ready to cry, while Prianto’s colors give the scene a green glow, which adds to the feeling of being sick. Then there’s a few small panels of her hesitation to press the button, to start the recording, to start the message, and these feel relatable…we’ve all had to make a phone call we didn’t want to and the battle inside before we actually do it feels very similar to her hesitating fingers here. The next page T’onga dominates the right hand side, her hand clutching her heart, pained look to her face and eyes closed, visualizing what we see in the panels next to her, scenes of her betraying Losha, her brother’s death, and Valance being Scourged, as Lanham pulls us down through these terrible moments with the lines of her message, each new panel like a punctuation to what she’s saying. Khel Tanna’s face even after T’onga gives her the encryption key, without the passcode, should’ve been hint enough the backstabbing was about to happen, as she is just steaming in every panel during and after, but as tough as it was to watch, there were some great panels portraying the betrayal. The full page of Durge holding up Zuckuss, whom he just shot in the back, is quite the start, with Lanham’s placement of T’onga’s shout of “no!” makes it hard to look away from what’s happening and what’s about to come, while Prianto’s colors leave Zuckuss and T’onga looking similar enough to gives the impression they are in the same situation and on a different side than Durge’s, who Tinto brings to his full, intimidating size with help from shifting the perspective so we’re looking up at him. The panel where Bossk reveals his role in the betrayal, watching her enter the passcode, he and Khel look thick as thieves, literally, sort of leaning towards one another, taking up the center of the panel, as if we’re seeing it from T’onga’s POV (which the next panel sort of suggests we were), while Bossk looks particularly reptilian, almost snake-like in this panel (and following ones), as his actions fit with how most people think about snakes. Lastly, the double page of Haydenn beating up on her former Imperial co-workers to steal away with Valance’s memories was a delight, the amount of panels, an almost cadence to the amount and size, matched up with her methodical take down of her attackers.
Here are a few other things:
- Anyone want to place bets T’onga suspected this to happen and when they go to enter the passcode Bossk saw, it doesn’t work?
- In case you somehow missed it, Bounty Hunters ends with issue #42, out in January. The end is VERY nigh at this point, so to have the entire series wrapped up in two issue seems almost impossible, though #41 being the finale to the Dark Droids arc and #42 to have a larger page count, I’m sure the team will do fans and the characters justice.
- In what feels like the ending to a James Bond film…Ethan Sacks will return! March sees his Jango Fett miniseries launch, with its announcement solicitation reading: “A bounty to find! A mystery to solve! A treaty at risk! All this plus Aurra Sing in the mix!” Sounds like it could be fun!
- Also, as a general PSA for Dark Droids crossover readers: Star Wars #41 (Vol. 2), also out December 6, will feature spoilers for the main miniseries’ finale, Dark Droids #5, which isn’t out until the end of December. It’s been suggested to hold off reading SW #41 until DD #5 is out, so it’s all up to you; we’ll have a review of SW #41 when it’s out!
- Lastly, don’t forget to check out Ethan and his daughter’s miniseries, A Haunted Girl! The first two issues are already out and the third hits in December, followed by the finale in February of 2024.
Bounty Hunters #40 doesn’t go lightly on its fans’ emotional states but does offer a glimmer of hope as things are at their worst.
+ Betrayal coming at the worst of times
+ Haydenn and her little ray of hope
+ From the emotional opening to the two betrayals, art team shines again
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.
BOUNTY HUNTERS REVIEWS
Galaxy’s Deadliest: #1-4 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12-17 — Crimson Reign: #18-22 — The Raid on the Vermillion: #23-28 — Bedlam on Bestine: #29 | #30 | #31 | #32 | #33 | #34 — #35 | #36 — Dark Droids: #37 | #38 | #39