Star Wars #18 Review

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The fight on Sunspot Prison intensifies…

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars #18.

Star Wars #18

Writer: Jason Aaron | Penciler: Leinil Francis Yu | Inker: Gerry Alanguilan | Colorist: Sunny Gho | Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos | Cover Artists: Yu & Gho

Star Wars #18 provides little in the way of reveals for the Rebel Jail story arc, but it does raise the stakes while moving the story towards its conclusion. While it might not provide any dramatic twists, it does well in another crucial area of Star Wars storytelling: swashbuckling action. Most importantly, it gets all the key characters into the same area for the story’s conclusion.

Han and Luke have completed smuggling the nerfs to a planet called Ibaar. Luke blackmails Han into letting him fly the Millennium Falcon for a few parsecs. The resolution of this story arc was better than the introduction of the arc. For one, the story loses some of the slapstick tone. Humor has always been a part of Star Wars, but it needs to be handled correctly and in the right dosage. More precisely, the manner in which Han lost the Rebellion’s credits was more the issue. It was almost a little too silly. What followed has increasingly gotten better. Luke’s attempt to blackmail Han into letting him pilot the Falcon was a good payoff.

On Sunspot Prison, Princess Leia, Sana Starros, and Dr. Aphra continue to fight the mysterious stranger’s droids as they attempt to survive on the liberated prison. As the three ladies bicker about what they need to do, the stranger now in control of the prison releases a prisoner that had been kept in maximum security for killing Jedi. The stranger reveals to the prisoner that Emperor Palpatine is a Sith Lord before killing him. He then moves on to another cell. As in the previous issue, the stranger continues to taunt Leia that she made him, whoever he is, into what he is. He claims to be a true soldier of the Alliance and continues to execute the prisoners. It is possible that Aaron has left some clues regarding the invader’s identity that build on what was offered in previous issues; however, to avoid potential spoilers, I’ll address that later. This man (or possibly woman) believes the Rebellion is misguided and he is here to teach Leia the error of their ways. This issue focuses more on Leia, Sana, and Aphra’s survival and the fight. Leia’s ability to lead is subtly highlighted throughout the issue. Sana and Aphra have a personal vendetta with each other. More accurately, Aphra implies that Sana is angry with her over a previous crush. The context is not given.

As the fight to the control room of the prison continues, Leia, Sana, and Aphra fight their way through droids that have overrun the prison. One of the droids was rewired by Aphra and proves most helpful as they make their way to the control room. Once inside the control room, they find that Threepio and Artoo (whom I forgot were even on the prison prior to this issue), had already subdued the droids there. Threepio believes he had acquitted himself rather well (nice touch). Threepio was handled well in this issue. His fussiness shined through and some of his trademark lines were well utilized. In short, Aaron did well in writing the protocol droid in issue eighteen.

In the last part of Star Wars #18, Luke and Han arrive on the station. Earlier Sana had attempted to send out a message, but it appeared that one of the invader’s droids intercepted the message and terminated it. In the end, Han and Luke’s wild adventure with the lost credits and smuggling nerfs was really about getting them in a position to come to the assistance, and hopefully not the rescue, of Leia, Sana, and Aphra on Sunspot Prison. The issue closes with the mysterious stranger standing on top of the Falcon, looking down over Luke and Han.

If I may engage in a little speculation, I’m going to take a guess at the identity of the invader of Sunspot Prison. I’m not privy to any spoilers for this series, but I’m prepared to make an educated guess. However, if you are spoiler averse, I’d advise you skip to the favorite panel section. You’ve been warned. My prediction is that the invader may be Eneb Ray. This character was introduced in Star Wars Annual #1. He was a Rebel spy serving on Coruscant. He invaded an Imperial prison in an attempt to rescue a number of senators from execution. However, it was a trap. The prison was bombed by the Empire, the Emperor revealed himself to be a Sith Lord to Eneb, and the Rebellion was framed for the execution of the senators. The story has a nice symmetry to this story arc. Both occur in prisons for one. More importantly, Leia sent Eneb on the failed mission to rescue the senators. This invader has stated that Leia sent him on the mission into the enemy and he saw who they were there. In addition, the Emperor revealed himself to be a Sith to Eneb during that story and the invader makes reference to that secret in this issue. Eneb saw the atrocities that the Empire was capable of, and now he is in position to exact revenge. This theory may not be correct, but at least the pieces seem to fit.

Star Wars #18 Favorite Panel:

The best panels of this issue focused on Leia’s half of the story. Aaron’s writing and Yu’s art did a great job capturing what makes Leia Leia. She, Sana, and Dr. Aphra find themselves in a very dangerous trap. The droids are trying to kill them. The prisoners they are trying to rescue are also trying to kill them. There is a madman on board the station trying to teach Leia a lesson that she doesn’t get. Yet, through it all, Leia takes charge and the others follow. One might argue that it is Leia already has a position in command in the Alliance and the others know they need to follow her lead or suffer the consequences. I would argue that it is more than that. Aphra and Sana are at odds with each other, but despite that, they have a common goal: get off the station. They outnumber Leia. They could enforce their will. So, why don’t they? Leia tells them they have a mission to finish. They follow. There are a number of panels that illustrate this point very well. I chose as this issue’s favorite panel a panel featuring Leia at her most determined. She issues orders. Others obey.