– Spoiler Review –
Luke Skywalker’s attempt to cleanse a red kyber crystal tests not only the Sith he faces, but himself as well…will he rise to the challenge or fall further down the crystal’s rabbit hole? Find out in Star Wars #43 (Vol. 2), where writer Charles Soule once again strikes gold with Luke’s journeys in the Force with a stellar conclusion to this storyline.
Thanks to Charles Soule, we seen the moment both Darth Vader and Kylo Ren bled their kyber crystals red, so we know the painstaking process and power it takes to do so. Luke Skywalker, as trained as he is, still is nowhere near where either Vader or Kylo were when they bled kyber, so to have him attempt to cleanse a kyber, is he really up for the task? Or since we know his intentions are more about seeing how to reach the light inside someone seeped in the darkness, will these simple ideas be what’s required to combat the anger, pain, and fury put into a bled crystal? The process ends up being more complicated than taking care of the darkness of the person before him, but the journey to the answer is far more thrilling for it.
Finding himself quickly overwhelmed by the crystal’s resident Sith Lord last issue, Luke wound up in the Sith’s prison and beaten for his troubles. Luke came here to help the Sith Lord, but instead the Sith believes he’s helping Luke, pointing out how he’ll never forget this moment because no one leaves behind pain, as it’s what we remember more than the good in our lives. In a way, the Sith isn’t wrong, Luke will never forget this moment, but not for the reasons he’d hope the young Jedi would, as we’ll see by the end of the issue. Luke reiterates he’s here to help, to ease the pain, but the Sith declines again because it’s through his past pain he’s been able to build power, to avoid being hurt ever again, and he leaves Luke with the threat he’ll take all the time he needs to make Luke realize it. I love the visual of the prison Luke’s left in, as while it’s Luke behind the bars, the infinite feeling of the hallway slyly points out this is really the Sith’s prison, as much as he thinks others are trapped in it, he’s the one who is truly. Luke manages to make it out of prison easily, acknowledging the pain of his missing hand (which isn’t healed with a prosthetic while in the kyber), and approaches a baby filled crib in the next cell, one the Sith looked at while talking about pain starting when people are very young. Upon approaching it, Luke’s suddenly outside, the baby now in a dead person’s arms, crying, and he soothes it, only to find himself back in the prison hallway and it’s bright and restored.
Luke sees this as a sign he’s making progress and he starts to work his way through the young Sith’s life and all his painful moments, reassuring him and being at his side through it all. It doesn’t take long before the Sith interrupts, angry at how Luke is making him weak, but the young Jedi counters that healing doesn’t make one weak…as he pulls out his new green lightsaber and his hand’s restored! Issue #35 is the first time Luke tried to cleanse the crystal, but he also connected with a blank one, which turned green after he got to speak with Yoda to help him through his waxing and waning connection to the Force, a moment which hit my Top 5 of 2023, and it’s very cool to see that moment paid off. I’m still hoping we’ll get to see him build the saber before this series ends, which might be awhile if Soule has anything to say about it, but I loved seeing it already here, exactly as he builds it, a signifier of the way the Force connects everything, even time. The Sith relishes a chance to fight Luke but the young Jedi disarms him quickly, and while this seems to be a win, he reveals to Luke he can’t expect to cleanse the Sith’s pain without confronting his own (something I felt was hinted at in last issue’s art with the dark mirror of Luke being the first time we see him).
What follows is one of the best sequences of the issue and an early nomination for 2024’s Top 5 moments, though really the whole issue is a masterclass. Luke’s own pain, his own issues, manifest first in Darth Vader, the revelation of their familial connection still haunting him…is it the ancient Sith Lord’s impression on the crystal doing this, the crystal/Force itself, or what Luke brought with him, much like Yoda cautioned him before heading into the cave on Dagobah? Regardless, he’s unwilling to face Vader at first, even as he’s transported back to the bowels of Cloud City, flipping away from Vader, from his famous revelation to his son, and fleeing again. But as he runs, Luke passes all the pain and loss he carries with him, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death, Biggs Darklighter, Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, and even being carried away as a baby by Obi-Wan from his mother. Sounding much like Vader, this Vader vision claims there is no escape from the loss, the pain, sort of what the ancient Sith Lord was trying to tell him, you’ll carry it with you, and Luke can’t deny it any longer. They’re right, there is no escape, but unlike these two, Luke doesn’t let pain rule him or be something he tries to ignore anymore, he accepts it. As Luke puts away his blade (the foreshadowing here is DELICIOUS), he also realizes Vader must have a place like the one he’s dealing with, the good and bad intermixed within his mind, deep down, so the good is still in there, somehow, and it gives Luke hope no one is beyond saving. Before him as he says this is no longer Darth Vader and no longer are they on Cloud City, but rather there’s a spectral white form, clearly Anakin to us, glowing brighter and brighter until he reaches out to connect with the specter. Can you talk about more foreshadowing, given he touches the other person on the heart?! I mean, holy moly, this is some great stuff, delving into how Luke could end up believing there’s still good in Vader, worth trying to reach out to, even in the presence of pure evil like Emperor Palpatine. Not fighting, but reaching out to the heart of that person, the one deep inside, all comes to vivid life here, further confirmed to him as he finds himself floating above the ancient Sith’s castle afterwards, but instead of the burning red and an oppressive sky, it’s white blue, sunny, and friendly looking, which is when we return to the real world and Aunt Fee and Gretta notice the crystal has been cleansed!
Gretta asks Luke what he learned about the Sith, and while he admits he didn’t learn much, he learned enough about himself, the pain he carries and what it takes to let it go, that he feels it’ll be enough for his destiny ahead to face Vader again. I really hope we’ll get more Luke Force Journeys from Soule, but if this is the last one until he builds his lightsaber (if we see that in this series), I’d be happy for this as the finale to Soule’s work with the character, as it’s the best journey yet. Either way, if they finally let someone start exploring Luke Skywalker after Return of the Jedi, Soule seems best suited for the job after what he’s managed to pull off so far.
Compared to last issue, the artist team is mostly the same, though Jethro Morales joins Steven Cummings on pencils, with Wayne Faucher back on inks but Morales inking his own sections, while Rachelle Rosenberg continues as colorist and Clayton Cowles remains as letterer. Morales’ work is complimentary to the Cummings/Faucher stylings, as while it is different, it’s not very noticeable when we switch, which means a nicer transition than last issue from the different inkers working on Cummings pencils. After Luke disarms the ancient Sith in their quick lightsaber battle, a great double page spread where whenever Luke does something very Jedi-like, the panels are lit mostly green by Rosenberg, matching his new saber, and we can see the detail of the surrounding area, the final panel on the page covers him in the red we see mostly around the ancient Sith Lord, an apprehensive look coming over his face as he’s told he can’t do this without confront his own pain. The next page is awash in deep reds and blacks, the green of his saber snuffed out as he embraces the fear of seeing Darth Vader, and the truth of his words, before him again. What I love about this page is how the main panel, before the inserts give us close-ups on Luke and Vader, reminds me a ton of Star Wars Rebels‘ “Shroud of Darkness,” where Ahsoka faces the truth her master is now Vader, as it has a similar redness to it and framing of Ahsoka facing the viewer, not looking back, much like Luke is doing here as he confronts the truth of what Vader told him. I’m not sure if this was on purpose, but it feels thematically connected enough, and visual a very iconic one from Rebels, I wouldn’t be surprised if inspiration arose from that moment. In the pages and panels that follow, first a page of Luke and Vader in the bowels of Cloud City at the end of their familiar duel, the oppressive red is gone but Rosenberg keeps things darker, as fear grips Luke and he tries running away from Vader and what he has to say about pain, while Cowles keeps the words bubbles small, often tight to the character speaking them, letting the images do more of the talking but also giving this all a more introspective/vision-like feel to the proceeding events. When Luke accepts he has this pain and knows the same is for Vader, for his father, that page is already lighter from Rosenberg, less shadows and blacks, more white creeping in everywhere, and it goes almost supernova bright when Anakin’s spectral form appears. The smile on Luke’s face, as he floats above the cleansed castle, is contagious, and while he’s a bit more serious in Return of the Jedi throughout, it feels fitting for him to smile like this, with this victory and knowledge in hand.
Here are a few other things:
- I’ll update this space once Soule reveals the Sith name, which he promised to do after this issue came out.
- Out of curiosity, with Soule having written Darth Momin’s backstory before and now us meeting this Sith Lord, I had to ask him if he planned out when these things were taking place on the timeline or was it something he’d wasn’t too concerned with as he’s just writing stories (and hey, I wouldn’t worry much either, someone at Lucasfilm can make it work later!). His answer was simple and to the point (and Han Solo would be proud), he knows when they take place, and I hope one day we’ll know too!
- Adorning this series’ Black History Month cover is Kawlan Roken, as seen above!! Next month, Mon Mothma will feature on the Women’s History Month variant!
Star Wars #43 (Vol. 2) reiterates what years of storytelling from Soule has shown us, he fundamentally understands the heartbeat of the franchise and finds expert ways to expand the lore and characters because of it (he made Top 3 Writers in my 2023 comics review), and he’s really shown this prowess through Luke Skywalker’s journeys in this series.
+ Luke confronting his own inner turmoil
+ THE FORESHADOWING
+ Art teams build on a familiar moment and play with brightness is a fantastic way
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.
STAR WARS (Vol. 2)
The Destiny Path: #1-6 — Operation Starlight: #7-11 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12-18 — Crimson Reign: #19-24 — Special Issue: #25 — The Path to Victory: #26-30 — Quests of the Force: #31 | #32 | #33 | #34 | #35 | #36 — Dark Droids: #37 | #38 | #39 | #40 | #41 — #42