Chewbacca #5 Review

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Chewbacca fights so you don’t have to.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Chewbacca #5.

Chewbacca #5

Writer: Gerry Duggan | Artist & Cover Artist: Phil Noto | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

When we last saw Chewbacca and his young sidekick, Zarro, they had been apprehended by the Empire and were being transported to an Imperial Star Destroyer orbiting Andelm IV. As if being taken prisoner to the Imperial battleship wasn’t bad enough, the pair must also contend with the fact that they had loaded up a droid with explosives and sent it to that same Star Destroyer in an attempt to defeat Jaum, the criminal that had enslaved Andelm IV and was bartering off its resources to the Empire.

Chewbacca and Zarro have done some quick thinking and have come up with a plan to escape their predicament. They have decided to turn the tables on Jaum by outing him as a Rebel to the Imperials. Their story is aided by the fact that Jaum blew up the very mine that was supplying resources to the Empire in an attempt to defeat Chewbacca and the enslaved miners. As Jaum arrives on the scene, the droid explodes and sells their lie. Chewbacca acts quickly and saves himself by swinging on cables to an unoccupied TIE Bomber. These panels reminded me of a specific scene in a certain movie that was released on December 18, 2015. While attempting to help start up the ship, Zarro inadvertently engages the ordinance on the bomber and drops a bomb in the hanger of the Star Destroyer. The pair barely manages to escape before the bomb explodes, damaging their new ship, which crashes on Andelm IV. Regardless, the heroes have escaped.

Ever wonder why Chewbacca didn’t get a medal after the Battle of Yavin? It turns out that he did. After he and Zarro escape from the Star Destroyer, Chewbacca bestows his prize upon Zarro. It turns out that Chewbacca isn’t very fond of combat decorations. Although these panels do not answer the question of why Chewbacca was not presented with a medal at the ceremony on Yavin IV after the Death Star was destroyed, it does answer the question of whether he ever received one and what happened to it.

Meanwhile, aboard the Star Destroyer, Commander Kai is giving Jaum what he deserves. Jaum never was a convincing mastermind in this series. He didn’t impress as the type of being that could successfully subjugate an entire world. His lack of vision costs him. Commander Kai isn’t impressed by Jaum or his intellect and refuses to believe Jaum’s story that Chewbacca and Zarro managed to destroy the mines and ambush the Star Destroyer. In an effort to get to the truth, Kai introduces Jaum to his new cellmate, an Imperial interrogation droid. While it is amusing that Jaum is getting exactly what he deserved for being a low-life scum, these panels do create an issue: won’t the Empire be forced to realize the truth after the droid does its work? After all, with the hyperdrive damaged, the Star Destroyer has a long journey before it can obtain repairs, and Jaum will be subjected to interrogation during the duration. It is unlikely that whatever deception the Empire believes Jaum is committing would hold up for that long under torture.

In the end, Zarro returns home, and while she is explaining to her father what it costs to be a member of the Rebellion, we, the readers, get to see exactly what Chewbacca was up to when he crashed on Andelm IV. As it turns out, his trip was not a happy occasion. Chewbacca was on his way to Kashyyyk to honor a fallen comrade. In perhaps the best part of this entire series. Zarro tells her father that she had considered joining the Rebellion, but her experience with Chewbacca had taught her the cost of going to war and just how lucky they were that a hero came to Andelm IV. It is a debt that cannot be repaid. Zarro’s use of the term “debt” is fitting given the Star Wars lore that surrounds wookiee life debts.

Overall, this was a fine series. It wasn’t spectacular. It felt like the story did not really need five issues to be told. The beginning was rather pedestrian, but the final two issues really shined. This series will make a better trade paperback than it will a monthly series. If there had been a better villain to engage and elicit more out of the heroes, it might have been elevated a bit, but Jaum just didn’t have the chops to go down as a classic villain. It appears that Zarro’s brief exposure in the galaxy far, far away is at an end, but one never can tell when trouble will return to Andelm IV.

Favorite Panel:

It was so easy to pick a favorite panel this week, and it is the final panel of this issue. However, that is something of a reveal, so I won’t leave it here and spoil it for you. I’ll go with another choice. Noto did great work during this series. His Chewbacca is incredible. This issue had some great panels featuring the interior of a Star Destroyer. I wish there had been more of that. I had expected more to the escape from the warship, but alas, it was rather brief. That said, Chewbacca pulling himself and Zarro to safety looked incredible, and I chose one of those panels as this week’s favorite.