Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Lando Calrissian #1 Review

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Lando learns a hard lesson that running a profitable business doesn’t come without worry, hardship, and struggle in Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Lando Calrissian #1.

This article contains plot points for Star Wars: Age of Rebellion – Lando Calrissian #1.

Age of Rebellion: Lando Calrissian #1

Story: Greg Pak | Art: Matteo Buffagni | Color: Tamra Bonvillain | Lettering: VC’s Travis Lanham | Cover Artists: Terry and Rachel Dodson | Production Designer: Anthony Gambino | Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman | Editor: Mark Paniccia

Marvel has devoted considerable resources to Lando Calrissian. Through their tie-in series to Solo, readers learned of Lando’s early days when he was but a scoundrel roaming the galaxy in his beloved Millennium Falcon in search of profit and adventure. Later, Lando learned a lesson of leadership and responsibility in Charles Soule’s mini-series. When Lobot lost most of his free will to his implants in an effort to save Lando and their companions, Lando realized he was a man with charisma and had a responsibility to use his gifts wisely. In Age of Rebellion – Lando Calrissian #1, Lando is finally putting those lessons to work.

Making it Work

Lando Calrissian #1 begins with Lando in charge of Cloud City. Things are not operating smoothly though for the Baron Administrator. His workers are owed bonuses and they are prepared to riot to get them. At the last moment, Lando arrives and pays them what they are owed — out of his own personal stash. Shortly thereafter, Lobot informs Lando that they have both payroll and a loan payment to make after concluding a deal with a Gran. As Lando dips back into his personal funds and the proceeds from this deal, Lobot informs him that what he has is only enough to pay a fraction of their debts.

Running Cloud City isn’t easy. When Lando tells Han in The Empire Strikes Back that he is responsible and that he has multiple problems (labor, supply, etc.), he is speaking from experience. Lando Calrissian #1 sheds some light on his past as the administrator. However, Lando isn’t the respectable businessman quite yet. In an effort to fix Cloud City’s cash flow, he heads off world to a casino with his “get away” money in the hopes of winning enough to cover Cloud City’s obligations. Unfortunately, he can’t make it work.

Opportunity Knocks

All is not lost though. Magnate Imperium Roz Fantanine (a giant grasshopper looking alien) approaches Lando and offers him a job. The Magnate needs his nephew removed from a post at the Fantine mining colony. He needs Lando because it is taboo for the Fantanine to take up arms against each other and his nephew simply refuses to leave his post. If Lando can remove Roz’s nephew, then he will become the owner and operator of the mining colony. The colony would provide Lando with billions of credits and enough to operate Cloud City for hundreds of years according to Lobot. Lando Calrissian #1 then proceeds with what promises to be an adventure. Not so fast.

The Catch

Of course, nothing is as good as it seems. Lando Calrissain #1 proceeds with Lando flying to the colony and evicting Roz’s nephew. The task isn’t all that difficult as everyone surrenders once they discover Roz sent Lando. He then gains control of the mine only to discover the planet is strip mining the world of its native population. They are rounded up and sold into slavery and worse. Lando refuses to go along with this and frees all the people. However, Lando consoles himself with having done the right thing. He then returns to Cloud City and pays his workers out of his nest egg.

A Code of Ethics

Lando Calrissian #1 is a great compliment to Han Solo #1 and Boba Fett #1. Each of these stories handles the personal moral code of an iconic character from Star Wars. In Han Solo #1, Solo claimed he was all about looking out for number one, but when the going got tough, he sacrificed everything he had for the Rebellion and his friends. Boba Fett hunted murderers and thieves, but only when they had a bounty on them. Now, Greg Pak tells us a bit about Lando’s character in Lando Calrissian #1.

Lando doesn’t have a great head for business yet, but he has an instinct for making a profit. However, his profit motivation only goes so far. Lando won’t stand for anyone trying to cheat him, and he won’t profit at the expense of others. It was only just that his workers got paid, and he made sure they did even when creditors were breathing down his neck. The deal with the Fantanine would have made him millions, but it would have come at the cost of the lives and livelihoods of people. He couldn’t stand for that. Considering that Lando still owns Cloud City at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, it stands to reason he found a way to keep the creditors at bay.

Final Thoughts on Lando Calrissian #1

Lando Calrissian #1 is another excellent story in the Age of Rebellion series. If there is a criticism, it is that Lando or Lobot or both of them probably should have asked more questions about the mining facility they were set to take control of before agreeing to terms with Roz Fantanine. This is a common storytelling trope. However, Lando’s adventure would have stopped cold, and he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sacrifice everything for what is right. Before returning to Cloud City, he and Lobot do toast to doing the right thing. Lando has become one of the best characters for Marvel to tell stories through. Lando Calrissian #1 continues that tradition.