Comics Commentary: Star Wars #3

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Will our heroes get off Cymoon 1? Of course. Dennis breaks down how they did it.

Spoiler Alert: This article discusses plot details of issue #3 of Marvel’s new Star wars series and contains minor to major spoilers.

Star Wars #3

Writer: Jason Aaron / Artist: John Cassady / Colorist: Laura Martin / Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos / Cover Artists: Cassady & Martin

With Star Wars #3 we resume the story on Cymoon 1, where Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids have run into complications while attempting to destroy an Imperial weapons facility. Han, Leia, and a commandeered AT-AT full of escaped slaves fight their way to the Millennium Falcon with Darth Vader and a legion of stormtroopers in pursuit. Meanwhile, Luke races to catch up with his friends while Chewbacca works to rescue Threepio and the Falcon from Cymoon 1’s native scavengers.

Like the previous issues in this series, this issues features touchstones to moments from the saga.  As is usual, the Falcon is in disrepair. The scavengers have disassembled some key systems, which leads to a familiar sight: Chewbacca frantically trying to repair the ship while Threepio sits in a pile of parts nearby. Even after the Falcon is capable of lift off, the hyperdrive still doesn’t work. Han and Leia continue their trademark banter throughout the issue. However, that culminates in a touching moment between them when all appears lost. Finally, Luke’s escapades on a stolen speeder bike combine the nostalgia of the trench run from A New Hope, the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back, and the chase seen on Endor from Return of the Jedi.

This issue also highlights the difference between Vader and Luke by juxtaposing their tactics during the conflict. Vader flexes his muscles through the Force by destroying an AT-AT with his raw power. Like a true Sith, Vader sacrifices anything and everything that helps him achieve his goal. Slaves are butchered in his wake. Vader casually tosses stormtroopers to the side. And as seen in The Empire Strikes Back, those officers that fail him are no longer useful to him and swiftly and brutally disposed of.

In contrast, Luke is prepared to sacrifice himself in order to complete the mission and rescue his friends. Just when the mission appears to have failed, Luke resorts to a desperate attack on the base in a last ditch effort to complete the mission for the greater good of the Rebellion while Vader, desperate to realize his own goals, pursues him in a speeder. Even though his training had only just begun, Luke has already adopted the nobility and the ideal of self-sacrifice of the Jedi. One might argue that is who he always was, and what Anakin was before him before falling to the dark side.

Luke continues to agonize over the state of his training, or the lack thereof. This theme was also central to Kevin Hearne’s recent novel, Heir to the Jedi. As in the previous issues, Luke laments that he doesn’t really know what he is doing, and goes so far to apologize to the father he never knew that he would never be the Jedi his father was. Honestly, I find Luke’s brooding to be a bit tiresome. Not even Leia’s praise and encouragement could lift Luke from his melancholy and despair that he would never become a Jedi, now that Obi-wan has perished. However, the final panels of this issue tease what appears to be the next arc of the story, and that likely has something to do with Luke’s evolution and training as a Jedi. Brooding characters have become something of a trope or cliché in comics. I’m looking forward to the story moving on to the brash Luke Skywalker that boldly proclaims to Yoda that he is ready and not afraid to begin his training.

Overall, this was a fun comic to read. The pacing is what one would expect for a Star Wars story. The action moves crisply. I felt that Aaron’s writing and Cassady’s art conveyed the urgency with which our rebel heroes were attempting to escape and Vader’s fury as he pursued them. The previous two issues seemed to capture the tone of the movies a little better, and I felt the art in this issue lagged a little behind them. There were a few panels where it was not readily apparent exactly what was happening without further examination of the panel and the context of the panels around them. A certain amount of that is to be expected in a comic book. Cassady makes good use of close-ups, which are fine when they feature the characters, but sometimes this technique obscures the action when the characters aren’t in the panel. Panels featuring the blade of a slashing saber appear to be a regular theme of this series. It worked better in the first issue when Luke dismembered a slaver, but not as well in this issue when he was severing the end of a speeder bike.

This arc of Star Wars answers the questions of how and when Darth Vader took notice of Luke Skywalker. However, at this point, Luke’s exact identity is unknown to Vader. Luke is still just the unknown pilot that was strong with the Force that Vader pursued down the trench on the Death Star. The mystery of how Vader discovered Luke’s identity still remains. Readers of the companion series, Darth Vader, know that the Dark Lord paid a special visit to a notorious gangster in order to secure special services designed to answer that question. For now, all Vader knows is that Obi-Wan Kenobi sacrificed himself to protect this boy. Vader has truly forgotten what it meant to be a Jedi, because he discusses Luke as Obi-wan’s “weapon.”

Interestingly, Vader throws taunts to the wind directed to his old master that the only person left that can complete “this boy’s” training is Vader himself; and therefore, “this boy” will be Vader’s weapon–not Kenobi’s. Does this mean Vader knows Obi-wan’s spirit still lingers in the Force? Can he feel it? Has Obi-wan spied on Vader in the past or otherwise revealed himself to him? And what of Yoda? Do Vader and the Emperor believe the wizened, old master to be dead at this point, or do they no longer consider him to be any sort of a threat? Intentionally or not, Aaron has created so many new story possibilities that can fuel this series for issues to come.

But I’m dying to know, what is in that box?

Upcoming Star Wars Comic Releases:

• March 18, 2015–Princess Leia #2
• March 25, 2015–Darth Vader #3
• April 1, 2015–Kanan: The Last Padawan #1
• April 8, 2015–Darth Vader #4
• April 15, 2015–Princess Leia #3
• April 22, 2015–Star Wars #4