Published: July 12, 2006
Rating: Rated T
Writer: John Ostrander & Jan Duursema
Penciler: Jan Duursema
Cover Artist: Adam Hughes
The synopsis;
Bounty hunters capture a prisoner whose presence will test their resolve, and the strength of their alliance! A Sith apprentice is given the honorific “Darth” and sent to hunt a quarry whose capture, or death, could shake an empire to its foundations. And a Princess finds herself alone in the galaxy, pursued by those she once counted as allies.
The review;
The first issue of this incredible series was the prequel to where the story would finally start. This issue sees another jump, of some seven years, to catch up with the characters that have only really been glimpsed. To have such a jump so quickly after introducing a whole new era was perhaps risky, and yet knowing the initial conflicts, the initial turmoil with the characters allows Ostrander and Duursema to delve even deeper into the emotions. Having reread issue one for the first time in a decade, I was very keen to get back to issue two…
Even before the actual comic begins, the reader is introduced to the idea (or reintroduced) that the Jedi are now scattered and are almost a myth amongst the galaxy. In my last review, I mentioned how Ostrander and Duursema (and JJ Abrams) needed to go back to the story we knew before moving forward with something new. Even though seven years have passed, the writers but us straight back into familiar territory, the Jedi are being hunted and are no longer seen around the galaxy. And just like every trilogy that has come, a Skywalker is seen as the only hope. It is very similar to how the sequel trilogy would be, having almost no Jedi and only one Skywalker could save everyone. However, the sequel trilogy puts an end to the Skywalker saga (or so we’ve been told), where in the old Legends, the line of Skywalker never vanishes.
The similarities with the sequels don’t end there. The main character in all of this, in the entire series is Cade Skywalker, and rightfully so. The sequel trilogy never focused in on a Skywalker, it was always told from someone else’s point of view. Legacy keeps true to the George Lucas films and has the view of the galaxy from a Skywalker. But just like the sequel trilogy, the Skywalker in question is not what everyone is expecting or hoping for. Rey goes to find Luke to save the galaxy and finds a broken man with no faith. In Legacy, although he is younger, Cade is that same broken man, who feels that the galaxy, the force and all those around him have let him down and furthermore, he doesn’t owe them anything. He has turned his back on the life he knew, just like Luke. Although not hiding on a lonely island, Cade has still managed to vanish by joining the underworld. This difference makes sense, Luke feels he has lived his life and has no more to give, so resorts back to the sort of life he knew on Tatooine. Cade on the other hand, is still young and still has a life to lead, even if it’s not the life he ever thought he’d have. Cade also goes one step further than Luke. Luke cuts himself completely off from everyone. Cade on the other hand, still looks out for Jedi when he comes across them. He won’t go too far, yet he’ll go far enough to save them. He may have left the life but he hasn’t completely shunned it as Luke had. For me, this makes Cade so intriguing. He’s not one end of the scale or the other of good or bad, he very much sits in the grey area, somewhere in between. Every situation we encounter him in, we never really know what he is going to do, which makes the stories so much more exciting and filled with tension.
Ostrander and Duursema also introduce us to Cade’s crew. Jariah Syn has a huge dislike for the jedi, the irony of the situation not lost on the reader nor on Cade. The other, is the very attractive Deliah Blue, a Zeltron. The colour palette of a Zeltron brings a lot of colour to the pages, which aside from Blue, are typically dark. Not only that, but the species harkens back to the original Marvel days when the species was first introduced. I remember fans being thrilled at this species having such a prominent role in the comics and says a lot about Ostrander and Duursema’s knowledge of the wider Star Wars universe. This crew is very unique, and this issue really only scrapes the surface to how they work together and their feelings. We are also introduced to the idea and person of Rav, who this group work for. It reminds me of Jabba in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the character who is always ‘there’ but never seen, like a shadow hanging over the characters.
From the very start, the reader also finds out that Fel and the Imperial Knights have become the freedom fighters, the Rebels in this part of history. Irony once again comes to mind. As Ostrander and Duursema go back, they also change the rules to fit into this new era, to make things not quite the same. Thee Imperials becoming Rebels is perhaps a lesson in power and government. The Empire and the Sith seem to want exactly the same thing, at least from issue one. They both want order in the galaxy. No surprise there as Palpatine (a Sith) formed the Empire to do precisely that. Yet they both want the order of their design. No matter that their goals are the same, they want to be the one overseeing it. In this way, the Empire isn’t quite like the Rebels, who wanted to see freedom returned, Fel just appears to want his power back. It is a power struggle and yet it is one that we, as the reader, don’t really know which side we should be sat on, if we should even be on one of these sides at all. Like Cade, this is an area of grey, very different to the original trilogy which was very black and white as to who were the heroes and who were the villains.
We see more of the Sith and perhaps one of the most popular creations, Darth Talon, is finally introduced. Talon, like Blue, is beautiful but in a very different way. Ostrander and Duursema decide to take the Sith down the road of everyone looking like Darth Maul, they are all covered in tattoos. It’s an interesting idea that never gets replicated in the sequel trilogy, yet visually it is so striking in this story. They are still ruthless, as evidenced by Talon killing her master, but with this same action, it seems that there must still be some semblance of the rule of two, that has been perverted by Darth Krayyt. Yet they are not few. The Sith are still left very much a mystery to us. Again, you can’t help but compare this to the sequels, where viewers were left wondering who Snoke was, where he had come from.
By the time I finish this series, I’m sure I will sound like a broken record when I’m talking about the artwork of Jan Duursema. Her work, no matter what she does, is gorgeous. The fight scenes, the talking, it all works so well and captivates the reader so much. It needs to, to go to a whole different era that has never been seen before, it’s exactly what is needed. But the real jaw dropping panels, are those of faces. They are scattered through this issue, where the face is central to the panel and is almost photographic in its quality. If you’ve seen her work in Star Wars Republic, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
I do want to mention the narration. There is a lot in this series of what I now consider old style narration. If you’ve read my reviews of Prelude to Rebellion, you’ll know I touched on it there. There is a narration for new scenes that seems to happen less and less in more modern comics. Yet there is a quality to them, that since writing Lockdown Legends, I’m realising I really miss. I like having this vocal guide through the story. In Prelude it seemed slightly dated, yet here, it fits so perfectly that you barely notice it (and I don’t know if I would have, if not for my other reviews).
Ostrander and Duursema do not put a letter out of place in this issue. It builds on from the last, even with a seven-year gap and I suppose could have been a first issue. Yet knowing the backstory, knowing where these characters have come from, adds something that would be sorely missing if it wasn’t there. For as much as we get to find out, there are still so many questions that need answering. The similarities to the sequel trilogy are numerous and may I remind you that this came out almost a decade before the Force Awakens! I’d be very intrigued to know if anything from here actually influenced the films, as the direction they both head seems a little too coincidental. Even after all this time, this comic still feels fresh and new. I might know where the story ultimately goes, but I like that I can now search for all those little clues that lead to the answers that get answered….
Availability;
Star Wars Legacy was an ongoing originally released by Dark Horse Comics that ran from 2006 until 2011. It is currently available in digital format via the Marvel App, comiXology or by subscribing to Marvel Unlimited. A physical copy can be found in one of the many trade paperback releases from Marvel. Please check with Amazon UK and US or your local comic bookstore for availability.
