– Spoiler Review –
Star Wars #15 (Vol. 2) focuses on its own storyline with Starlight Squadron’s search for the hiding and lost Rebel Fleets and catches up to the rest of the War of the Bounty Hunters story.
The Rebel fleet is still lost and strewn across the galaxy, hunted by the Empire after their encryption codes were cracked and communication between Fleets has resulted in disastrous results. The idea of a small squadron of fighters scouring the galaxy for the remaining pieces of the Rebellion to bring them the new codes, so as not to risk the few fleets assembled, is a smart one, but the first missions out was a bust for the most part, as they lost Shara Bey for the time being. Their next mission sees Luke Skywalker join Starlight, itself consisting of Wedge Antilles, Mart Mattin, Evaan Verlaine, L’ulo L’ampar, and Freyta Smyth, but instead of Luke being the one who ends up saving the day, it’s the rest of the team, allowing them some time in the spotlight, and rightfully so. Arriving at Ab Dalis, a planet struck by the first Emergence during the High Republic era (as seen in Light of the Jedi), they find the resupply depot occupied by Rebels but a Star Destroyer hovers overhead, pounding its shields. We meet several new Rebels and Imperials, though they don’t make it past the issue, as the rebels on the ground reveal a way for the small squad to take out the Destroyer while the Imps go classic Empire and underestimate their foes. I liked how these rebels talked about Luke and Wedge as heroes, heroes of the Death Star, as it gave us some grunt POV on our recognizable characters, while the other pilots having their due showed it’s not just the heroes who make the lucky shots or save the day.
After the Squadron debates following the seemingly random orders from the ground troops, Luke decides to take the random shot, diving with the team under the Destroyer to shoot a part of the planets’ surface. During his attack run, he has some déjà vu of his run down the Death Star trench, only for the vision to zig, as Vader doesn’t fly out of control and shoots down the Falcon, which is distracting enough for Luke to miss the shot and need another member of Starlight to take it. When the shot hits, volcanic pressure underneath plumes up in a mesmerizing display of the art team’s skills, taking out the Destroyer and saving the day, even though a part of the ground troops perished shortly after sending the coordinates. Luke already wanted to join Leia, Lando, and Chewie on the quest to rescue Han Solo from the auction by Crimson Dawn, but now he knows Darth Vader is after Han too and is eager to rush there (and readers of Darth Vader #14 {Vol. 3} knows he’s after Han to get to Luke, so Luke’s playing right into his gloves). The issue ends caught up with the end of the latest issue of the eponymous miniseries of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, with Vader entering the auction and Boba running into Leia and Co, and now we wait for the next entry of the miniseries to push the story forward.
Some of the rebels might’ve been lost, but the team does rescue two major players: Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar!! With these two titans of the Rebellion back on board, I’ll be curious to see how the dynamics shift and the mission of Starlight changes or evolves…will Ackbar be more bold with gathering together the Fleet and will Mothma agree with this mission to get back Han? Will Leia get a bit of a break from leading? I’m eager to see them get back to the Rebellion and what they’ll bring to the story going forward.
As for the art team, which is Roman Rosanas, Rachelle Rosenberg on colors, and Clayton Cowles on lettering, the full page of the volcanic eruption destroying the Destroyer is almost more mesmerizing than I have words to describe it. It’s such an arresting visual, the giant plume of magma spewing up and through the Star Destroyer, explosions ripping the Destroyer apart elsewhere, our heroes fleeing from the scene. Rosenberg’s colors bring the heat and destructive power of the volcano’s eruption, while Cowles’ “Kthoom,” shaky, tall, and page-wide causes the resulting rumble when reading it. There were also some great layouts of panels, like when Starlight Squadron makes its attack run, as their dive is a full splash page with little panels following the skimming of the underside and Luke pulling up the computer, his flashbacks/Force vision taking over, giving the starfighting action a dynamic feel, especially as dialogue and SFX quiet down and let the art show off the action.
Here are a few other things:
- With July at its end, we’re done with the latest month of the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, so expect our Hunters’ Guides soon to round up all the events, from every issue involved, before the next months-worth of story arrives! If you want a glimpse at how it may end, the recent October solicitations promise it’ll change Star Wars comics forever. Quite the promise to make!
Star Wars #15 (Vol. 2) might get frozen by waiting for the main miniseries, but it has an engaging enough show for Starlight Squadron’s big mission.
+ Starlight Squadron back in action
+ Anyone can be the hero
+ Volcanic destruction
– Held back story-wise, a bit
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
July: Bounty Hunters #14 | Doctor Aphra #12 | War of the Bounty Hunters #2 | Darth Vader #14 | Jabba the Hutt #1
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13 | Star Wars #14 | Darth Vader #13 | Doctor Aphra #11 / Hunters’ Guide for June
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
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