Star Wars #54 Review

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The Rebellion makes hard sacrifices as it defends itself from Darth Vader and the Empire in Star Wars #54.

This article discusses plot details for Star Wars #54.

Star Wars #54

Writer: Kieron Gillen | Artist: Salvador Larroca | Colorist: Guru e-FX | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Cover: David Marquez & Paul Mounts | Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman | Editor: Mark Paniccia

In the last issue of Star Wars, Leia lead a desperate mission to Vader’s flagship, the Executor, hoping to recover the codes necessary to undue Queen Trios’s treachery, free the new Rebel fleet, and escape from the onslaught of the Empire. Her mission went well until Darth Vader returned to the very docking bay they arrived. Now, Leia and her team must escape Vader’s wrath if the Rebellion has any hope of survival. In Star Wars #54, the Rebellion makes more sacrifices and through luck and ingenuity get closer to surviving the Empire’s attack.

Solo: A True Rebel

As mentioned in the review of the prior issue, Han Solo truly devotes himself to the Rebel cause. He is no longer just a sympathizer looking for a quick buck. Upon discovering the Imperial trap when he entered the Mako-Ta system, he could have cut and run. The Rebellion’s problems aren’t necessarily his problems. However, he doesn’t do that. Instead, he takes it upon himself to complete the mission that frees the Rebellion’s fighters. Furthermore, when Darth Vader sets his sights on Solo and the Millennium Falcon, Han risks it all to complete the mission. The Falcon takes serious damage, and Solo just barely manages a crash landing on a Rebel cruiser. Despite all of this, Han gets right back in the fight. He finds an X-Wing and joins the battle. His only lament is that there isn’t a fighter suitable for Chewbacca.

Rebel Sacrifice

Leia’s mission is successful, but not without cost. She and her team recover the codes stored on the Executor, but Vader’s arrival threatens their capture and death. They quickly head for a hanger with the hope of finding a way off the ship. Unfortunately, all they find is a single TIE fighter. The princess suggests General Draven should take the codes back to the Rebellion. Draven refuses. He and his squad of Rebel soldiers will stay behind and slow Vader down.

There are a couple of interesting details revealed in these panels. First, Draven and his team developed a strategy to fight Vader. It fails. Second, although unspoken, Draven understands Leia’s importance to the Rebellion. He credits his choice to stay behind because he believes Leia will be better able to extract revenge against Trios. That claim is dubious given he is a spy master of the Rebellion. This leads to point three. He bears the burden of being wrong about Jyn Erso’s mission to get the plans for the Death Star during Rogue One. He credits her sacrifice and honors it with one of his own.

Predictably, Vader catches up to Draven and his men. The Dark Lord makes short work of them. Before having his windpipe crushed with the Force, Draven takes a final moment to gloat that they won simply by slowing Vader down.

The Ingenuity of a Princess

Leia’s escape on the TIE fighter creates a problem. Of course, she’ll look like a hostile to the Rebel pilots in the battle raging around the fleet. Complicating matters is that she has no helmet, and the communications for TIE fighters run through the head gear. She has no safe way of signaling to her fellow Rebels that she is an ally. Therefore, there is near tragic and ironic end to Leia’s story when Luke and Han begin a pursuit of her craft. However, Luke senses something is wrong. Han notes that the pilot isn’t shooting at them or flying like an academy trained pilot. It is Leia’s ingenuity that solves the problem though. She quickly shoots down another TIE fighter. That solves the issue. Han and Luke escort her to Ackbar’s cruiser, but not before Luke takes a near critical shot.

Concluding Thoughts on Star Wars #54

Star Wars #54 continues the frenetic pace of the prior issues in the “Hope Dies” story arc. The Rebels never get a moment to catch their breath from the Imperial onslaught. The death of General Draven was unexpected, but appropriate. Given how important a character he was to the Rebellion, an answer to his whereabouts, or lack thereof, in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was needed. One would figure Draven would have featured prominently in the planning of the attack on the second Death Star. It would have been an incredible moment of redemption for him.

Han’s turn in the cockpit of an X-Wing was fun. The only downside is that it wasn’t longer. Han doesn’t fire a single shot while at the controls of his fighter. Given his history in the Imperial academy (see the Solo: A Star Wars Story deleted scenes and Mur Lafferty’s novelization of the film), it would have been fun to get a little more connective tissue. One can hope this isn’t his final opportunity to get in the cockpit of an X-Wing.

Star Wars #54 concludes with Leia delivering the codes to override Trios’s sabotage to Ackbar’s cruiser. General Dodonna orders the ship to jump to hyperspace. He is reluctant to return to the fight and cites the need to protect even this one cruiser from destruction. However, Luke’s protests get through to him. The issue ends with Dodonna telling Luke, Leia, and his crew to prepare for war.

“Hope Dies” is a good story arc. The action fits into what would otherwise be one of three traditional acts of a Star Wars film. The consequences of this story are huge though. The Rebels have their fleet. They have to protect it at any cost. Their destiny in Return of the Jedi awaits.