Star Wars #20 Review

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In Star Wars #20, The Tatooine Adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi continue.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars #20. 

Star Wars #20

Writer: Jason Aaron | Artist: Mike Mayhew | Letterer: VC’s Chris Eliopoulous | Cover Artist: Mike Mayhew

After Obi-Wan rescued Luke in issue fifteen and prevented Jabba’s thugs from attacking the Lars homestead, the Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrsantan is dispatched to locate and handle the individual responsible. Krrsantan heads directly to the scene where Jabba’s henchmen were defeated. He draws Obi-Wan out by kidnapping Owen and hurting him until Obi-Wan Kenobi emerges to rescue Owen.

Things do not go well for Obi-Wan. Krrsantan gets the drop on him. Obi-Wan reluctantly utilizes the Force. He takes precautions not to let Krrsantan see what he is doing. As Owen is falling over the side of a cliff, a young Luke arrives in his Skyhopper to save his uncle from plummeting to his doom.

Without Owen to worry about any longer, Obi-Wan defeats Krrsantan, who flees Tatooine in order to lay low from Jabba’s displeasure. Owen and Luke return to their farm. A grudging respect emerges between the old farmer and the hermit Jedi as Star Wars #20 concludes.

Owen and Luke

One of the best parts of Star Wars #20 was Owen’s relationship with Luke. Prior to this issue, Owen has come off as an overprotective, always angry, cranky uncle. His interest in Luke largely seemed to be more about his usefulness on the moisture farm rather than familial affection. Of course, that reputation was earned in A New Hope when he denied Luke the opportunity to join the academy for the reason that he needed his help until he could hire more hands.

Recent issues of Marvel’s Star Wars comic have worked to change that reputation somewhat. Issue fifteen saw Owen rejecting Obi-Wan’s protection because he was genuinely concerned about Luke’s wellbeing. This issue saw Owen taking an interest in Luke’s hobby of flying and repairing the Skyhopper. He returns to the homestead with some used parts with the hopes that they can fix the Skyhopper together.

Of course, the biggest example of Owen’s affection for Luke came towards the end of the issue. After Luke rescued Owen with the Skyhopper, Luke was apologizing for flying it without permission. Owen wouldn’t have any of it. He just told Luke to get over there, and he embraced his nephew. This side of Owen is a welcome sight. His loss in A New Hope becomes that more mournful. Aaron did an excellent job writing the Luke and Owen relationship in Star Wars #20.

Another Side of Owen

In addition to Owen’s relationship with Luke, Owen’s actions with regards to Obi-Wan further illustrate his character. Obi-Wan reveals to Owen that Black Krrsantan was hurting him not in order to interrogate Owen for information, but instead to get him to scream and get Obi-Wan’s attention. This should have been reason enough for Owen to be furious with Obi-Wan. It is, in fact, the very thing Owen feared. Obi-Wan’s protection brings unwanted attention on Owen’s family and moisture farm.

However, Owen shows real concern for Obi-Wan once Black Krrsantan seizes the old Jedi by the neck and begins to strangle him. Owen summons the courage to attempt to physically stop Black Krrsantan from attacking Obi-Wan. The attempt fails, but Owen could have just run for it. At the end of Star Wars #20 when the dust has settled, Owen gives Obi-Wan a knowing look. It might have been one of gratitude and understanding or one of loathing. It is hard to say. Owen didn’t show up at Obi-Wan’s hut to tell him off like he did in issue fifteen. They simply never spoke of it. At least that is a change in their relationship.

Luke Skywalker—the Hero in the Making

Over the course of the original trilogy, the movies made a point to characterize Luke through many of the conversations about him. Usually, these conversations involved Obi-Wan. In A New Hope, Old Ben remarks that he understood that Luke had become quite a good pilot himself (after discussing Anakin). In The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda and Obi-Wan remark that Luke is not focused and a daydreamer. All his life, Yoda notes, Luke has looked away, and his mind was never on where he was and what he was doing. We see examples of this behavior in this issue.

For one, Obi-Wan didn’t have to “understand” that Luke had become quite a good pilot. He witnessed Luke’s piloting skills in this issue. He saw Luke fly to Owen’s rescue. Although, it is unclear whether Luke saw or knew of Obi-Wan’s involvement. Luke repaired the Skyhopper and got to the cliff just in time to save his Uncle. Quite the decent piloting skills indeed.

Second, the first time that Luke appears in this issue, he is running away from home. He is determined to leave Tatooine and go anywhere else in the galaxy. He is a dreamer. However, it is noteworthy that something stopped him from going through with it. This issue does not explicitly state the he had a feeling through the Force, but he knew something was wrong with Owen. After getting that feeling, he ran back to the farm.

This issue did well to illustrate the child that Luke was while hinting at the young Jedi he would one day become.

Black Krrsantan—The Rudest Wookiee in the Galaxy

Bounty hunters have received uneven treatment though out the Star Wars canon. Boba Fett has a reputation as the galaxy’s baddest bounty hunter. Despite that, he frequently is portrayed as failing to capture his quarry. That said, he appeared to be more formidable in earlier issues of this series until an adult Luke Skywalker, blinded by a flash grenade, still managed to escape from him. Dengar, another classic bounty hunter, fared better in his portrayal in later issues. Granted, he was defeated as well, but he had Chewbacca down for the count until Han Solo showed up to rescue him (see Star Wars #11).

So, how does Black Krrsantan fare? He has appeared in earlier issues of Star Wars and Darth Vader as well as the pages of Vader Down. In some issues, he has been an antagonist to the Rebels. He fought Chewbacca to a standstill. In other issues, he has been an ally to Darth Vader and Dr. Aphra. In those issues of Darth Vader, he has been instrumental in the success of Vader’s plans.

All of that pales in comparison to his ferocity in this issue. Krrsantan was brutal. He put together that the Lars family had something to do with Kenobi’s involvement in Hutt affairs. Therefore, he knew he could get Kenobi to appear by going after Owen. It worked. Krrsantan had no issues with torturing Owen until Kenobi showed up. Once Kenobi arrived, Krrsantan manipulated the situation to get the upper hand on Obi-Wan, and it took Kenobi risking using the Force to defeat Krrsantan. If anyone wondered how Krrsantan got the vicious scar over his left eye, this issue answers that question.

Obi-Wan the Hermit

When Luke wondered if Obi-Wan Kenobi and “Old Ben” were one and the same in A New Hope, Owen remarked that Ben was just a crazy old hermit. In part, Owen was trying to dissuade Luke from seeking Obi-Wan out. He knew who Ben really was and why he was on Tatooine. As Obi-Wan would explain to Luke, Owen didn’t want him getting involved.

So, how did “Ben” get the reputation for being a crazy old hermit? Perhaps it had something to do with the company he kept with Banthas. After Owen returned to his family, Obi-Wan returned to his. It just happens that his family was the herd of Banthas on the Dune Sea. It was a nice touch that he named them and looked after them.

This issue was a welcome diversion from the core story of the Star Wars title focusing on Leia, Luke, Han, and the rest of the Rebels. This issue fills in much of Luke’s backstory as a child with details on how he developed his piloting skills and why Yoda thought of him as a distracted dreamer. Plus, it is just good to see that Obi-Wan had adventures after his self-imposed exile on Tatooine. The only real criticism of this issue is that Black Krrsantan seemed to beat on Obi-Wan just enough while sufficiently blinded so that Obi-Wan could both use the Force and save Owen while Krrsantan didn’t notice. It is a minor gripe. Here is to more adventures with Obi-Wan.

Star Wars #20 Favorite Panel

Mayhew’s art is quite good. For some, it is an acquired taste. His take on Black Krrsantan is especially impressive. The favorite panel for this issue is the one that made me laugh. After Obi-Wan finally is freed to handle Black Krrsantan, he remarks, “You are without a doubt the rudest wookiee I have ever met.” I could just hear Ewan McGreggor reciting that line in my head, and it sounded exactly like something Obi-Wan would say. That is this issue’s favorite panel.