Star Wars #34 Review

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Sana Starros takes center stage in an adventure with Lando as told in the pages of Star Wars #34.

This article discusses plot details for Star Wars #34.

Star Wars #34

 Writer: Jason Aaron | Artist: Salvador Larroca | Colorist: Edgar Delgado | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Cover: Mike Mayhew | Assistant Editor: Heather Antos | Editor: Jordan D. White

Sana’s Heist and Con

Star Wars #34 continues a developing trend of one off issues. In this issue, the story diverts from the usual tale centered on Han, Luke, and Leia to tell the story of another hero. Sana Starros recruits Lando’s assistance in conning the Krawg pirate gang, the Empire, and Jabba the Hutt into buying the same crates of blasters that she doesn’t even have. Furthermore, she convinces all three that someone else is responsible for the theft. In one of Jason Aaron’s best recent issues of Star Wars, Sana shines as a confident and cunning scoundrel whose motives are more noble than one might think.

The Confidence of a Scoundrel

Sana manages this incredible con with a stunning exhibition of confidence. She looks the pirates, the Empire, and Jabba the Hutt right in the eye and convinces them she has what they want. Her confidence even impresses Lando. Consider that for a moment. Lando is a legendary Sabacc player. Yet, Sana’s confidence in completing this job surprises him. Granted, Sana kept all the details of the con to herself and only parceled them out on a need to know basis.

Furthermore, Sana is cunning. She promised the Krawg additional blasters after a down payment. Then she promised the location of the stolen blasters to the Empire. After that, she convinced Jabba the Krawg took his missing crate of blasters. In each instance, she played on the expectations of her mark. She never faltered. Her confidence carried her through.

Compared to Han Solo and Lando, Sana always seemed more of an action oriented character. However, in this issue, her confidence proved she could scheme with the best of them.

Sana’s Growth

Star Wars #34 shines in a way that an issue such Cassian & K-2SO could not. Cassian & K-2SO is a fine action story. However, by the end of the book, Cassian is still the same Rebel agent. Although K-2SO may have changed from an Imperial security droid to a Rebel agent, his change was purely the result of reprogramming. He has no story arc that reveals any character growth.

By comparison, Star Wars #34 is all about character growth. Since her introduction, Sana professed her independence. In addition, she only hung around the Rebellion in the hopes that Han Solo would settle his debt to her. However, she protests too much. Over the previous twenty-plus issues, Sana routinely sided with the Rebellion. She joined missions not essential to her desire for payment.

This issue is the culmination of Sana’s growth as a character. Jason Aaron was very clever in writing this too. The majority of the issue focuses on Sana’s cleverness and will as she swindles pirates, the Empire, and gangsters out of money for the same blasters. Then, she reveals her motivation: charity. She isn’t the selfish smuggler she usually portrays herself as.

Quality of Cargo

After the adventure is over, Aaron reveals how Sana spent her new-found wealth by way of eavesdropping. Sana, and the reader, overhear some aliens on Nar Shadda discussing a windfall for a nearby hospital. “Someone” left them credits on their doorstep, and now the hospital can remain open. Clearly, this was Sana’s doing. She remarks to herself that she is a scoundrel and a smuggler through and through. However, even scoundrels need a code, and smugglers are only as good as the cargo they smuggle. She concludes these thoughts with the remark that these days she smuggles hope. She is a changed woman indeed.

Sana’s comments about the quality of a smuggler’s cargo strike a humorous note in the following panels. The scene shifts to the Millennium Falcon. Han, naturally, is piloting, and Grakkus the Hutt, in chains, appears behind him. This is clearly the tease for the next issue. Grakkus was apprehended by the Empire in Star Wars #12. Chronologically, He was last seen in a Marvel Star Wars comic in the Poe Dameron series on a prison planet. Therefore, his appearance is very surprising. Regardless, if Sana was smuggling hope, and that is a comment on her character, then what is the comment made about Han smuggling a Hutt?

Concluding Thoughts for Star Wars #34

Star Wars #34 is some of Aaron’s best work as of late. This story benefitted from focusing on Sana Starros and Lando. Although Sana appears in many issues of Star Wars, Han, Luke, and Leia remain the core focus of the series. Like Doctor Aphra, Sana is a Marvel creation. Unlike Han, Luke, and Leia, her destiny and fate are an open issue. As mentioned previously, Sana’s character expanded in this issue through her impressive display of confidence and cunning. Furthermore, this story blended known Star Wars elements (such as Lando, Jabba, and the Empire) with relatively new additions (such as Sana and the Krawg) in creating a story that was pure Star Wars but fresh at the same time. Star Wars #34 ranks among the best issues of Star Wars to date.