Comics Commentary: Princess Leia #3

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Leia finds support structures underground.

Spoiler Alert: This article discusses plot details of issue #4 of Marvel’s Princess Leia series and contains minor to major spoilers for this series and other Marvel Star Wars series.

Princess Leia #3

Writer: Mark Waid | Pencils: Terry Dodson | Inks: Rachel Dodson | Colorist: Jordie Bellaire | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga

Princess Leia resumes her quest to rescue and recruit surviving Alderaanians in issue three of her limited series. After escaping from the overprotective reach of General Dodonna and surviving and ambush on Naboo, Leia, her companion and bodyguard Evaan, and Artoo Detoo, along with their retinue of Alderaanians, arrive at the Sullust system to recruit additional refugees. However, paranoid members of the cell hiding in Sullust’s cave network are less than anxious to see them and suspicious of their motives. In addition, a member of Leia’s crew on the Lord Juun, the ship Leia and Evaan appropriated from from a traitor on Naboo, reveals the location of Leia to her sister – who just happens to be an intelligence agent of the Empire.

The Alderaanian enclave on Sullust is under the command of Preserver Jora Astane. Tall, dark skinned, and white haired, the Preserver is also rather paranoid. One can hardly blame her for the paranoia as the Alderaanians are without a home world, and the Empire is actively hunting and persecuting survivors. However, Astane has turned her paranoia up to ten. When informed that an invader has breached the enclave’s security, the Preserver dispatches a rifle squad to intercept them after seeing Leia’s picture on a datapad.

Through the context of this book, the role of the Preservers appears to be that of preserving the art and culture of Alderaan. Evaan and Leia challenge Astane on her success in that role. They find no evidence that the Preserver has taken any action to promote or preserve any memory of Alderaan on Sullust. Instead, Astane has devoted her attention to surviving rather than preserving, which has lead her to deal with the local smugglers rather than reach out to the local populace. At the invitation of Leia, Astane’s enclave begins to review the Lord Juun’s logs. Leia’s goal was to convince the Preserver of their intent. Unfortunately, Astane’s paranoia is sent into overload when her subordinates retrieve a message from an Imperial cruiser to a member of the Leia’s crew, which happens to be the sister of the Imperial agent. The results of this discovery are predictable. Astane panics on hearing the announcement of an incoming Imperial shuttle, and is convinced now more than ever that Leia is a traitor that has arrived on Sullust to distract and destroy the enclave.

Leia and Evaan escape as the Preserver declares them traitors and orders that the enclave “shoot to kill.” They escape into the mines only to run into what the members of the enclave are certain is impending doom. The mines are inhabited by creatures known as rockrenders, which are giant monsters that survive on a diet of dense minerals. Artoo, using his guile and wit, leads one such beast right into a battle between the enclave and a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers, thereby rescuing the enclave. Predictably, the rescue engineered by Leia, Evaan, and Artoo causes Astane to have a change of heart, and she concludes the issue by directing the enclave to kneel before Leia, the Princess of Alderaan.

As was to be expected of the course of the series, Evaan’s opinion of Leia begins to change in this issue. She openly admits to Leia that she isn’t her biggest fan, but counsels the Princess not to blame herself for the Imperial attack on the enclave. Later, as Astane directs the enclave to kneel before their Princess, Evaan’s demeanor visibly softens, and she joins her fellow Alderaanians in demonstrating their respect. Given Evaan’s harsh assessment of the Princess in the first issue of this series, and knowing Leia’s spirit, that Evaan would eventually start to warm up to her in not surprising. Evaan continues to be one of my favorite new characters introduced in the latest wave of Marvel comics. I hope that her absence from material that is subsequent in the chronology does not mean that she meets her demise in this series. Ideally, at the conclusion of this miniseries, Leia will hand off leadership of the Alderaanian rescue efforts to Evaan while Leia focuses on a leadership role with the Rebellion.

A minor complaint with this issue is that it didn’t feature Sullust enough. A Sullustan is seen guiding Leia and Evaan to the network of caves housing the Alderaanians, but they are otherwise absent from this issue. The caves themselves are not particularly unique, and could have been featured as caves on any number of worlds. The rockrender was perhaps the most notable feature of Sullust in the issue.

If the first issue in this series was about Leia looking for a larger purpose, and the second issue was the explanation of her motivations in taking on this quest, then the third issue was the payoff as Leia carries out her mission. The previous two issues foreshadowed the events of the subsequent issue. Assuming that the trend continues, then Leia and her crew will be challenged with discovering and dealing with the “traitor” aboard their ship. Overall, the series continues to chronicle the evolution of Leia from an Imperial Senator that lead through the use of a sharp tongue and wit into a Princess that inspires loyalty through her actions and embracing her rightful role as leader of a displaced culture. This series, along with recent issues of Star Wars, has afforded readers the chance to witness Leia demonstrate her leadership instead of just take it on faith that she is a great leader essential to the success of the Rebellion.

Favorite Panel:

Picking a favorite panel for this issue was challenging. There was no one panel that stuck out as having superior art or something that I would love to see blown up and turned into a poster. Absent that, I looked for a panel that had a great line or dialogue or some additional meaning. However, I did not find one that stood out. Therefore, I went with my favorite action panel which arrives as Leia and Evaan escape from the enclave after the Preserver’s order to shoot to kill. Apparently trapped, they take cover behind a console. With blasters raised and looks of determination on their faces, they remain cool under fire while they plot an escape. It isn’t terribly dramatic, but it is my favorite panel for this issue.

Upcoming:

• May 6, 2015–Kanan: The Last Padawan #2
• May 13, 2015–Darth Vader #5
• May 20, 2015–Star Wars #5
• May 27, 2015–Princess Leia #4