On the brink of a battle with the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator, Princess Leia returned to the Rebel fleet from a personal sojourn. Before Leia could rally Stealth Squadron, Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker returned as well, piloting stolen TIE Interceptors directly into Home One’s main hangar.
Aboard the Devastator, Darth Vader’s agent Birra Seah abandoned her post after failing to detain Luke Skywalker. And Imperial Colonel Bircher surprised both the Empire and the Rebels by defecting to the Rebellion while jamming Devastator’s shields and weapons.
The battle ended as a success for the Rebels, gaining them a fleet of TIE Interceptors and revealing that Colonel Bircher was working for the Rebellion from day one, under Mon Mothma’s direction . . .
Writer Brian Wood, artist Carlos D’Anda, colourist Gabe Eltaeb, letterer Michael Heisler and cover artist Hugh Fleming bring us the twelfth issue of Star Wars.
The Story
We open on-board the Devastator – crippled by the Rebels assault. The Rebellion prepare for some fast repairs so they can evacuate the area, fearing Imperial retribution.
There is great levels of tension between Leia Organa and Kell Bircher, she requests a meeting with Luke, Wedge, Mon Monthma and Bircher to explain what has been happening the past few weeks.
Mon Mothma explains that Bircher was planted into the Empire pre Yavin, with a Bothan having created an elaborate ID for him in Civilian and Military databases.
Wedge believes Bircher when he says that he had the ability to override his TIE Squadron when needed. Wedge explaining that as a pilot he is used to falling orders without the full detail.
Wedge then requests the formation of a new Squadron to replace Stealth – calling it Rogue Squadron with the door open to Bircher to join. Approval is granted by Mon Mothma, but Bircher declines – he will instead return to the Chandrila System.
Prithi talks with Luke about her abandonment of him and leading the Imperials back to the Rebel fleet. She feels alienated in the Rebellion now, by her “shaky reputation.” She embraces Luke as she tells him that she plans to return to Chalacta and use her force sensitivity for spiritual and noble things.
Han is back with the fleet, with Perla in tow. Perla exchanges her arm cache for a place in the Rebellion. Taking a transport pilot job on a five year commitment from the Rebels. Leia watching Han with Perla gets the jealousy bug storming away from Han as he tries to get her attention. Getting a slap in the face for his flirtatious attempts with her.
Fast forward to Leia’s presentation of the proposed Rebel new home world. She has found the planet Arrochar. But against Rebel practice it has a small population that may suffer from Imperial retribution when discovered. Leia’s justification is that she has received an invite to take the Rebels there by the local monarchy – with whom Leia intends to marry!
Across the galaxy at Endor, Vader prepares to leave on his personal shuttle as the Rebels arrive on Arrochar.
The Review
Issue 12 is quite unlike any other issue in the series. The series started as a mirror of A New Hope, the same snappy lyrics and sharp fast paced screening, but it has changed subtly over the twelve issues to date as it found its own mark in the Star Wars Universe. Issue 12 takes the furthest jump away from how the series started, and the change up in this issue is dramatic and noticeable. I am not sure if I like the change or not, but I get the feeling Wood is doing the change deliberately to tee the series up for the future. One thing for sure is that I REALLY want to see where he is taking us, and perhaps that is the greatest compliment you can give a writer – the desire to read more.
Hugh Fleming returned once more to the series, delivering once more an epic poster quality cover issue. It is not quite reflective of the storyline of the issue, but he once more captures the perfect image of A New Hope Luke, and really captures the beauty of Leia whilst emphasising the fragility of the mind following the destruction of Alderaan in her eyes.
Wood really attacks with the script from panel one. He pushes the story quickly straight away tackling the Bircher switcheroo angle, and reflecting Leia’s anger over the deception. But with the desire to push the plot once more in the series, a strong and intriguing plot point is passed over too quickly. In this instance it is resolved and discussed so fast that if you blink Bircher is gone The scope and depth of the deception is ignored, as well as the collateral damage to the Rebellion. Did Birther kill or was he responsible for the deaths of Rebels? He is not challenged on this, and it would have been fascinating to see that fallout.
The creation of the Rogues just does not feel write, and continuity experts in the EU will once more cry out in horror as this Star Wars moment in history is again written over in the series.
Pritha’s scenes with Luke are scripted well, but again the reaction to her from other Rebels is glossed over, and should have been explored. Sadly a potentially good character who did not get the development she deserved appears to depart the series. The same can be said for Perla. Why not push the jealousy angle with Leia further? There seems to be so many wrapped up plot lines in the series that should have been explored or left open for further development further down the line. It has been a common practice in the series, and it saddens me to see it again.
Wood’s however raised the game again with Leia’s aggression towards Han, Luke’s emotional talk with Artoo, and the shocking marriage plans of Leia at the end of the issue. Brian Wood undoubtedly has supreme writing talent. He has a beautiful and light touch at times that really plays to the sensitivities of the characters, and it is great to see this in Star Wars comic. Hopefully this issue serves as a tiding up exercise and as the series kicks on this skill is applied to the overarching storyline. The series has SO much potential it deserves this focus.
Largely due to the fast plot movements and mass of dialogue in the issue, this is a difficult issue for the art team to really showcase their skills. They cope with the speed well, and make good use of character expressions to emphasise the emotions of the characters during heavy dialogue scenes. D’Anda again shows his reliability, and his work with Eltaed on the Luke / Pritha scene is touching and emotional, and again works well in a simpler Luke by the window in hyperspace scene. It really helps highlight his loneliness. Perhaps there is a no scene in this issue that really calls out to the comic medium to run wild, but overall the work on this issue is of a high standard and solid.
I feel that this issue wraps up a chapter in the series, and Wood is aligning the stars for the plot lines ahead. The next couple of issues will focus on Vader, before returning to our main cast in issue 15. I get a feeling good times are ahead.
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