As the Rebellion gets ready to face down a new Death Star, Mon Mothma faces a new threat.
Creative Staff:
Story: Alex Segura
Art: Matt Horak, Brent Peeples, Rafael Pimental
Colorist: Jim Campbell
Letterer: VCs Travis Lanham
What They Say:
MON MOTHMA MUST DIE! ADMIRAL ACKBAR is the only one with the knowledge of THE EMPIRE’s plans to kill Mon Mothma. Enter POE DAMERON’s parents, SHARA BEY and KES DAMERON, to thwart the threat! But do they have what it takes to take down the unknown assassin in time?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With some one-shots being released as we close in on the Return of the Jedi period of storytelling, this new one-shot gives us a little time the final assault on the second Death Star before things get serious in terms of what the film covers. It’s written by Alex Segura as it covers a pretty good tale that deals with some last-minute threats before the events that we all know so well. It has an interesting flavor to it in a post-Andor world as well. On the art side, we get a solid team that’s working on it since it’s a bit longer of a tale and all three of them work well to produce a cohesive work that Jim Campbell takes the extra step further with in binding it all together. There may be a few panels here and there were things are just a bit weaker but by and large there’s a lot to like here overall.
The premise is one that takes us a few days out from the attack on the Death Star where it steps back a bit further in order to show how it’s done. It’s basically Golgo 13 in Star Wars, albeit with a mission that goes badly for the assassin. A complicated plot has been put in motion to kill Mon Mothma as that would through the Rebellion into chaos just at the moment that the Empire feels like they have the upper hand in destroying them. We see how the Empire has brought on a talent assassin to do the job and how the situation has been massaged along the way with other players not realizing what they’ve been connected to and the threats that come from revealing anything that they do know. It’s nicely tense even if we do step backward to tell parts of it at times until we get to the actual even attempt itself.
What works is that we get Mon making it clear that she will perform her duties as normal even if they know or believe that something may be a trap. But Ackbar knows he has to put some extra protections in play and that has him bringing in Kes and Shara to figure out what the assassination attempt will play out like and try to stop it. Both have roles within the actual story to come in the film that I’m hoping we’ll see in some sort of new adaptation and expansion, but it’s just fun to see them again since it’s been a bit after their other recent adventures in the main books. Bringing it all together has me hopeful that we’ll see more stories with this particular trio if we get some good time to tell tales after the film and explore the post-ROTJ era with them.
In Summary:
This is a pretty solid standalone tale that fits into the period it wants to work well. I like the range of supporting characters and aliens that we get and it’s all presented in a good way so that the story flows well but never feels like it’s rushed. It knows when to focus on the action and when to spend its time on exposition and character material. I’m definitely enjoying the way Mon Mothma is getting a new look from writers with how to utilize her in stories and the scale they can play with, big and small. This isn’t a story that will change anyone’s view on things but it fits in well with how so much happens in the days before a decisive battle and how many ways it can spiral out of control.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: July 19th, 2023
MSRP: $4.99
