The fight against SCAR squadron intensifies!
Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Jorge Molina
Colors: Matt Milla
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
Rebel crew vs. SCAR Troopers for the fate of the Harbinger! PLUS: An all-new Artoo-Deetoo adventure!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This current arc comes to a conclusion here and it’s certainly been an interesting ride. I’ve enjoyed it for Molina’s artwork, even if things are a touch more cartoonish and off-model than I care for in this franchise when it comes to the main characters, as there’s been some great layouts and a sense of chaos that’s worked nicely. Aaron’s script has left me a little cooler to the story, though the core idea of stealing a Star Destroyer and using that to run a blockade is definitely a fun one to see play out. It just ended up with some bad character material along the way before it hit this finale, which works the humor in a little more traditional movie-oriented kind of way.
The discovery of the SCAR troopers on the ship has certainly upped the ante from what we saw before and the split in them definitely makes for some fun and varied fight sequences that are underway. Each has their own quirk and lets the characters shine well, particularly useful for Sana as she goes up against one of them while not really viewing herself as a rebel proper. She does admit that the whole thing is getting kind of contagious as she’d doing these foolish things and you can see a similar kind of arc to how Han changed as it wasn’t something she ever thought of doing, but once you dabble in it you find it hard to walk away. Her segment is fun just for the action itself, especially when she stakes the guy in the backpack/jetpack thing, and his reaction is simple acceptance as he knows what’s coming and just has to figure out how to survive it.
The other two sequences are just as strong for different reasons, though I’ll admit that the time with Han and Leia frustrates me a bit simply because the whole quasi-romance thing that they have to play, so as to not off-balance from the films, just feels like too much as it’s all they ever get involved in. I rather liked the time with Luke fighting against Kreel, especially since Kreel is trying to bring him in and “educate” him along the way since he can’t kill him, and we get a good example of Luke’s inability to use the Force that goes very big, revealing just how powerful he truly is. Luke’s intensity is a good thing to see here since sometimes he comes across as a bit too wise for this period, more centered than he should be, and that reckless aspect as he tries to go up against Vader and off-mission is definitely very in character.
In Summary:
A new Kenobi installment the next time around has me excited and I’m largely glad to put this arc behind me. I like the idea and some of the execution but the characterization felt more like a summer camp excursion than something more serious. More so in some of the previous issues, especially with that whole awful race to the bridge thing. The SCAR squadron still has potential but they feel like they weren’t up to snuff here and that far too much luck saved the day when it came to our heroes, something that doesn’t always work well when there’s too much of it concentrated as it is here. Here’s hoping for a better arc after the Kenobi issue, something that should be fun based on the previous Kenobi stories we’ve had so far.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: All Ages
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 23rd, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
