Canon Comic Review: War of the Bounty Hunters – IG-88 #1

– Spoiler Review –

The last of the one-shots for the big crossover, War of the Bounty Hunters – IG-88 #1 presents some intriguing ideas by writer Rodney Barnes for the titular droid and droid sentience in general, has some stellar, understated art by Guiu Vilanova, but some confusing elements prevent it from reaching the highs of the previous one-shots.

What threw me off a lot with IG-88 #1 was how it presented certain aspects of the story already covered elsewhere. For starters, while IG-88 was defeated by Darth Vader, who forced him to shoot his own head off via the Force, in that very same issue we see him put back together again, showing up at Sly Moore and her co-conspirators’ hideout to say he was unsuccessful and it was their fault, only for Vader to appear and cut IG-88 at the waist the following issue. According to this issue, IG-88 is found on the desert planet he originally battled Vader with and repaired by RB-919 after his decapitation and bisection there, but this takes place after the events of War of the Bounty Hunters #5, not before, so therefore he should’ve been at the hideout then the other planet (and be near his own ship). It’s revealed after his repairs he’s having droid ‘flashbacks’ of his death at Vader’s hands, so it continues to point out the first death, not the second. It’s not vital to the story since the same beats apply either way, though it does leave questions about why he’s not at the hideout and if he was dropped off back at the other planet, but I’m curious about the mix-up and how/why it happened, though I’m assuming it has something to do with the editing process and lead time on comics. There’s also another panel as RB-919 narrates about the war between the bounty hunters that doesn’t line up with anything that happens, but I’ll let that slide a lot more as a summary-like image/919 wasn’t there for these events so only knows what he’s heard from others. It’s not the first or last confusing thing from these last few WotBH issues, like the recent Vader issue ending with Qi’ra captured by some assassins though we have no hint this happened anywhere else and it’s not explained at all, so I’m going to chalk it all up to lead-time on the comic making process.

As for the issue beyond that, I really enjoyed its comments on droid sentience and importance in the galaxy, and while it doesn’t match the levels content like the C-3PO special or Last Shot did, it touches on some similar ideas in its own way. To start, RB-919 is a cyborg of sorts, eager to rebuild IG-88 because he feels the legendary droid deserves more, though it’s not all altruistic considering Deva Lompop, the glue to these one-shots, tasks him with bringing the hunter back online. He waxes poetic about droids and how easily forgotten they are, no matter their legend, but how all biological species have those who will remember them or sing their praises. It’s not something I’ve considered much when thinking about droids so it goes to show 919 is right about how they are easily forgotten, though Star Wars hasn’t been trying too hard to change the narrative about them just yet. His poetic feelings about droids misses one mark, they often aren’t as emotional as humans especially a Phlutdroid like IG-88, so his aspirations about making the droid invincible for his own glory is cut very short when IG-88 is reborn and kills 919.

At this point, narration switches to IG-88, a simple but effective change denoted by different colored thought boxes for the dialogue thanks to Ariana Maher, and I loved that was the cue as even Boba Fett’s thoughts mix into the story too. With IG-88, he contemplates what having the recursive error of the same memory fluctuating to the top of his processors means, but also what being considered one of the greatest bounty hunters means when he’s failed his latest two bounties. Having seen improvements in his skills thanks to 919, IG-88 decides he’ll continue to see if he can iterate on his work, making himself better, to finally succeed like his programming deems he should. He also realizes the advantage of droids and how time is truly on his side compared to organics, meaning we might not see the droid for some time now as he figures out how to improve, and I love the idea he’ll show up somewhere, in a nebulous future, to finally prove his greatness when everyone least suspects it. It’s true the galaxy might not care about droids after they’re gone, or no one is around to mourn them often, but all that’s unnecessary for IG-88 as he’s trying to meet his goal of perfection, and him embracing the forgetfulness to his advantage proves there’s a third answer to droid sentience or how the galaxy treats them: let them find their own way to be noticed or improve upon themselves. Forcing upgrades on them as others see fit takes away even more autonomy for droids, so IG-88 being self-aware enough of his failures to take it upon himself to fix his flaws, put in him by flawed individuals with their own goals and wants, could lead to a fascinating new level of droid, deadly or otherwise, that we’ve never seen before. I mean, at least I hope that’ll be the case, as he shows up later in canon as seen in Star Wars Adventures and he doesn’t seem much different or more successful then, so who knows. I think that’s another thing about this moment, as once you take it in context with his later appearances, it does make one wonder if he really does succeed in upgrading himself as he wants, though in the sequel-era set SWA appearance, he does mention his reputation keeps many away, words which could be construed as either meaning his rep hasn’t changed or it’s even more legendary then.

I overall found this one-shot to be a more enjoyable experience from writer Rodney Barnes than his Lando – Double or Nothing miniseries, as the questions on sentience and what others and droids think about it were genuinely intriguing and thought-provoking, even if they weren’t reaching beyond other materials’ strides. On art there’s Guiu Vilanova, joined by colorist Antonio Fabela (welcome back to Star Wars comics after the early Doctor Aphra {Vol. 1} work!), with Ariana Maher lettering/production, and as I mentioned earlier I loved how understated the art tends to be. Vilanova’s panels aren’t terribly fancy, often are small and compact, or contain similar images to the previous one, but when he wants to go big or memorable or hit a certain note, the whole team makes those moments pop. For starters, I loved the suddenness of the switch to a bright palette, as there’s several panels of plain, dull colors and empty spaces, and then bam, there’s a colorful panel of IG-88’s legendary abilities, a split second that almost jolts the reader due to Fabela’s choice of neon-like vibes to Maher’s giant slicing SFX. All the panels of 919 repairing IG-88, as he mulls over the droid’s skills and his own wants/desires for helping with repairs, centers on the cyborg and adds to his likeable, workmanship persona, which only adds to the surprise, even though it shouldn’t be, when the phultdroid repays the courtesy with a blaster to the heart. I always enjoyed Fabela’s gritter, darker toned color choices and those are just as fitting here as they were for the Aphra series, as it accentuates the brighter moments while adding a cool sense of time of day, the Tatooine suns settling on the sands and dimming into night in a progressively beautiful way. Maher’s lettering has been missed on The High Republic recently, which is where she got her start on Star Wars comics and we interviewed her mainly on, as her work here is, as always, stellar to enjoy. The “thom” of IG-88 murdering 919 gives the panel its shocking feel, as it looks like the dust from the blast is already settling, IG-88’s decision to kill 919 predetermined before readers even got to the page, while the different colored thought bubbles as I mentioned earlier were a nice touch, while their placements never got in the way of all the mini-panels or wide/open vista shots.

Here are a few other things:

Having finished Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Last Call , the VR game for ~~Oculus~~ Meta Quest 2, prior to reading this (my review is coming, I was just on my honeymoon and am catching up!), I couldn’t help but read IG-88’s dialogue in Rhys Darby’s accent, which added a little humor to the proceedings. It also made me wonder if he’d ever consider going back to Nar Shaddaa, as the mission he takes there ends with an intriguing offer to him to do good…until a certain individual calls on him for a entirely different mission to pursue an infamous YT freighter.
As brief as it was, I enjoyed the little battle between IG-88 and Boba Fett, as it was both inventive by Fett and a catalyst for the phultdroid’s soul-searching.
RB-919. RB. Rodney Barnes. I see what you did there!
Can’t wait for Deva Lompop to make her presence known in The High Republic-era content and hopefully she has a bigger role going forward, especially with the upcoming Crimson Reign considering she’s part of the group, as otherwise she’s been underused ever since the first one-shot.

War of the Bounty Hunters – IG-88 #1 attempt to tackle some interesting issues with its own answers, even if it’s not too far off what we’ve already covered, while the art adds a sense of isolation to the plight of droids everywhere for some memorable panels.

+ Droid sentience/IG-88’s self-imposed retirement

+ Art that pops when needed

– Mis-confusing past events

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.

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