– Spoiler Review –
With the preludes over, Star Wars #14 (Vol. 2) fully embraces the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event but still carries its own story, balancing both well in a very packed and exciting issue.
As War of the Bounty Hunters takes over all of Marvel’s on-goings, it’s interesting to watch how the individual series merge with the events but still carry on with their own, as while the opening “Prelude” month of May was hit or miss, both Star Wars (Vol. 2) and Doctor Aphra (Vol. 2) made it rather seamless. For this series it does help a lot Charles Soule writes it, since he’s the architect of the crossover after all, but he’s always had a deft skill with connecting stories, eras, and more to engaging effect and he wields that ability like a master chef with a knife, slicing across all sorts sort of threads to masterful effect. Star Wars #14 finds Chewie and Lando talking about Crimson Dawn and their previous dealings with them; the Talky droid and its connection with Lobot is explored, bashing up against Lando’s deal with Jabba the Hutt from earlier in the series; Starlight Squadron isn’t totally forgotten; Imperial Commander Zahra’s trick to mess with Leia gains clarity; a group lots have been theorizing would show up finally does; and even a familiar face from the Sequels gets a small, fun cameo. It’s a truly packed issue but it manages to cover all these threads, continues to explore them, and naturally carries on the story of the crossover. And even if you decided to jump in now, it doesn’t leave new readers feeling left out, saying just enough to keep any reader on top of everything unfolding. As I feel like I’m saying more and more: It’s Soule, what else did you expect?!
Now, where to start?!?
At the end of this series’ previous issue, after Luke and Chewie’s efforts on Nar Shaddaa come up empty, they learn Leia received a message with the frozen Han’s location anyways. In issue #14, we find out who the message was from and it’s an awesome, Sequel-linked surprise: Amilyn Holdo!!! Outside of Leia: Princes of Alderaan, there haven’t been many stories with these two and their time in the Rebellion and not only does issue #14 finally offer us a moment, it helps explain her absence so far. Turns out Amilyn works with the Syndicates, trying to find supply chains through them for the Rebellion, covertly of course so maybe not even the syndicates know they are helping one side over the other, considering she has to use a dead drop to deliver the news regarding Crimson Dawn and their auction of Han Solo (revealed in War of the Bounty Hunters #1, the main miniseries of the crossover). Consider me dying for the tale of Amilyn’s dealings now, as she’s such a fun character and I’d love to see how she walks circles around these syndicates, gaining new resources for the Rebellion. This cameo was also a helpful way of cluing in readers on what they missed if they didn’t read the miniseries and/or are strictly reading this series, because as I mentioned above, there’s a lot to unravel from what’s come before in this issue.
Now the Crimson Dawn name is out there, I was curious how much of Chewie and Lando’s dealings with the group, primarily seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, would come to light. Chewie growls about them being a very dangerous group and how their previous interactions didn’t go well, which leaves it vague enough in case they make some sort of sequel to the film, but still covers the interactions in the film; while Lando reminiscences a bit on L3 and mentions Dryden Vos, though including an assumption he worked for someone worse (and we know he did!). Neither mentions Qi’ra, interestingly enough, and I wonder if they’ve both mostly forgotten about her or assume she’s dead, and I’ll be interested to learn if they ever find out she’s back (sorry, it’s a little hard to not talk about that BIG MOMENT in the miniseries anymore!) and how they’ll react to it…and if they’d ever tell Han.
My favorite, and the most heartbreaking part, of the issue deals with Lando and Lobot, because of course it does and of course Soule is a merciless human being who laughs as we cry. I’m kidding on that last part, but he’s responsible for adding the tragic backstory to Lobot’s descent into the mute, implant-controlled friend, and he continues to find ways to play with that tragedy to dramatic effect and oh Force, does he do it again here. A few issues back the Talky droid, spirited away from a museum on Coruscant because it held an ancient language to form new encryption for the Rebellion to use, didn’t quite like being used and put Lobot’s life in danger, as he was stabilizing the droids’ problems to help make the encryption work. But the Talky figured out the connection went both ways and he was able to rewire Lobot enough to let the man back through, if only a second, but no one was around to see it. The situation with Lobot’s health caused a fight between Lando and Leia, even though Threepio helped make the Talky obsolete, and it inspired Lando to finally give Jabba something on the Rebellion like he promised in their deal way back in issue #2: the Talky. Now one of the galaxy’s most powerful gangsters would have access to their new, secure communications, and in this issue we see Lando put the plan to give the Talky away in motion, jettisoning the droid into space for Jabba to pick him up. Angered still for how it messed with Lobot, Lando decides to wake it up before he shoots it out the Falcon’s airlock and tell it exactly what he’s doing to it. As it begins to float away, he helps Lobot again, allowing the man to make it through once more, giving Lando and Lobot a moment together for the first time in years. Lobot tells him it’s thanks to the Talky and just as Lando’s about to try and find a way to get Chewie to take the Falcon back, despite how they might react once they realize what he did, they jet off to try to sneak into the auction for Han, cutting off the connection to Lobot and leaving Talky behind. WE WERE SO CLOSE!! Look, I know it couldn’t happen here since Lobot’s still under the implant’s control even after Return of the Jedi, but a close call like this still hurts, the saga of Lobot and Lando’s friendship adding another tragic moment. Here’s hoping Lobot’s freedom happens sometime in my lifetime, but until then, damn you Soule for giving me hope and pulling it away again!! Otherwise, while it might seem like it took me a while to talk about the whole situation, Soule makes it clear what’s happened and why via the dialogue in the issue so you wouldn’t be left out if you hadn’t read the previous issues.
A few issues before the whole Talky mess began, Commander Zahra, hunting down the Rebellion after cracking their secure communications, tried a unique approach to dealing with Leia, instilling fear in her in an attempt to poison her hope, but Leia hasn’t really seemed to change much since. Luke confronts Leia here, claiming he’s noticed her decisions and words stopped coming from her heart and instead her head, and while this felt a little sudden/I felt like I didn’t notice anything strange from Leia, I do recall feeling surprised about her actions regarding Lobot and the Talky droid when reviewing the issue. I rationalized it as Leia’s usual preference for the Rebellion over personal things, but going by Luke’s logic, it was a decision from the head, and not the heart like she does honestly make often too, so it seems Zahra’s tactic was already working before our very eyes. The mission to rescue Han, even just knowing it’s a possibility they can get him back, is helping Leia feel like herself again, especially since she seems to have dreams of Han thawing out of carbonite, though not in the most pleasant way. Either way, despite knowing it won’t work out since they have to get into Jabba’s Palace anyways, I have to believe she’ll get over this feeling Zahra helped sink into her regardless since she seems more from her heart by RotJ.
Luke doesn’t go along with Leia and the group, instead fulfilling a promise to Wedge to fly a patrol with Starlight Squadron, a combination of elite pilots scrambling to unite the fleet again, spreading the new encryption code as they go. I’ll be curious to see what Luke goes through with Starlight, as some solicits have teased he goes missing for a bit. Another interesting, but small moment is the issue’s introduction of the Black Sun syndicate to the proceedings! They’ve been mentioned and involved with events in canon here and there, though not as widely as they were back in Legends, and at one point they were quickly taken over by Maul back during the Clone Wars as part of his Shadow Collective but regained controlled when they fell apart. When this series was first introduced, I theorized, as I imagine many others did, this could all lead up into something like canon’s own Shadows of the Empire moment or it would tie into the upcoming The Book of Boba Fett show this December. I’m feeling more and more likely aspects of the story here might connect to some stuff in the show, and with Black Sun introduced to this crossover’s events now, maybe this means something along SotE again, or maybe it doesn’t. It might be too early at this point to know either way, but the amount of possibilities is invigorating.
Another issue where I’m so glad Ramon Rosanas is here for the art, with Rachelle Rosenberg on colors, and Clayton Cowles on lettering, because while it isn’t the most action packed issue, this is a team that can do both action and the quiet stuff too right. I have to start out with the action scene at the end, with Chewie piloting the Falcon away from the Black Sun ships in a rather daring, as Rosanas’ art and Cowles lettering really made it feel like the scene of Han and Chewie popping out of hyperspace inside Starkiller Bases’ shields: Chewie plummeting the Falcon to the ground, pulling up at the last possible moment, crashing through a tall natural formation, and skidding to a screeching halt, the large, crackly, and nearly boundary breaking SFX from Cowles practically mimicking the Falcon‘s skid on Starkiller, while Rosenberg’s colors, despite dealing with the icy/snow of the planet against the Falcon’s grey coloring, makes everything distinct and really pop; it’s a fun moment that the art sells like nobody’s business. With Lando, it felt like Rosanas drew more from Donald Glover than Billy Dee Williams and I wasn’t mad about it, as it fit with all the reminiscing regarding the timeframe of Solo. Luke wearing a black version of Han’s Solo jacket was an interesting and stylish choice, I just wish he kept it longer since he’s now in pilot garb again. Also, I loved the utilitarian look they gave Holdo, as she seemed stylist and aloof, but yet very fitting for such a mission. And lastly, Lando’s pained face as he realizes what he’s done, throwing away Lobot’s cure, is another layer of icing on that emotional cake.
Here are a few other things:
- Soule’s already hyping up the finale to the crossover, teasing it has pages containing something even bigger than Qi’ra’s reveal in WotBH #1!
- Don’t forget, the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover lasts through October, and we’ll be covering the whole thing here. Each month we’ll have our Hunters’ Guide, an article that rounds up the month’s issues about the event, detailing what happened and what it might mean for the rest of the event, which is a handy way to keep on top of the large story in case you’re not reading all of the content. The crossover was made modular in design, so you could read just the eponymous miniseries, but reading these tie-in issues expands and adds context to the larger story!
- While having Pride covers is a nice, bare-minimum effort idea that I love seeing regardless, especially since all artists involved are LGBTQ+, having Lando on one is a bit of a stretch since it’s only in an interview we heard he was pansexual, never on screen or in the pages. I discuss that and more with the covers here.
Star Wars #14 (Vol. 2) is stacked with fun connections and continuing story threads, managing to stand on its own and get involved with War of the Bounty Hunters.
+ Lobot and Lando drama hitting all the feels
+ Past, present, and future connections rule
+ Keeping series threads and weaving them through the crossover
+ Killer final scene by the art team, as well as pulling effectively on my heartstrings
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.
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CROSSOVER
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13
STAR WARS (Vol. 2)
The Destiny Path: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 / Arc Review — The Will of Tarkin: #7 | #8/Arc Review — Operation Starlight: #9 | #10 | #11 | #12