What a princess won’t do.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Terry Dodson
What They Say:
The Empire is rounding up fugitive Alderaanians! That doesn’t sit well with their Princess. But what can one woman do against an Empire?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Though the Sullust adventure didn’t do too much for me, and I’m no fan of Jora here, bringing what it did into the larger storyline of what Alderaan and its survivors are like spread across the galaxy is certainly interesting. Each has had such different and varied lives, especially those that had been basically expats for some time, that seeing Leia trying to reunify them under a single banner once again and find a way to retain what made them who they are is definitely a story worth following. Events played out decent in terms of advancing the bigger picture and giving us time with Leia and Evaan in action, while also nudging things along a bit more with Tace and her sister, the Imperial.
The penultimate installment of this miniseries is one that capitalizes on all that’s happened so far and is ready to move forward into the finale. Tace’s storyline becomes front and center, with Jora and Covis bringing to Leia after discovering her communications. But in what should be a prideful moment for Jora, Leia instead wants to just talk with Tace about it and understand what happened. She wants context, whereas Jora simply wants punishment. This just reinforces the schism between the two, and while it may be a bit blunt at times, you can tell that it’s very much Jora’s personality and most of us know people like that. With a plan in motion, Leia does set things on the path to helping Tace and her sister, though it comes with a significant cost. One that fits into Leia’s personality well where she’ll sacrifice herself easily for anyone else, particularly due to her very heightened sense of survivor’s guilt over Alderaan.
This also plays well into the storyline that has Leia sending Jora and Uwa off to represent her Espirion for the meeting there with this very isolated group. It’s a world that has a lot of potential for her people for reunification, especially since it’s focused on micro-ecologies and accepts a lot of wanderers and refugees. The problem though is that with those that are there of Alderaanian descent already, Jora’s highly dismissive of them right out of the gate, which doesn’t go over well. This puts Uwa in a difficult position since she’s trying to represent Leia well, but Jora’s such a divisive person because of her views and the way life has gone for her and her people that it’s understandable. Not something you agree with, but for those that prefer a bit more purity, you can understand why they’d be like this, especially at a time when the race as a whole may be lost. It doesn’t cast Jora in a sympathetic light in the slightest and you do want to shake some sense into her about the stakes and the importance of being a part of a diplomatic mission with what diplomatic really means.
In Summary:
The Princess Leia series continues to be a really fun and engaging work as we get a better look at the character and her form of diplomacy and interaction with other people. This is one of those humanized, compassionate and understanding leaders that routinely get mocked for what they do, because she strives to be the best person she can, even with all her failings that happen. The survivor’s guilt is an interesting angle to play, since it was lost in the films to be sure, and providing a contrasting personality with Evaan certainly helped. Showing more diverse characters and survivors only expands it overall, and this installment pushes us well towards the finale of the arc as positions change and we’re going to see Leia set things right as best as she can. Here’s hoping for a good conclusion – and another series being announced, as there’s so much to explore here.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: June 3rd, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
