Determined to follow Imperial Knight Jao Assam’s vision in the Force and track down the Sith known as Darth Wredd, Jao and Ania Solo are now wanted for crimes by the Triumvirate government, which has decided to turn a blind eye to Wredd’s killing of other Sith.
Led to the planet Dac in their pursuit of Wredd, Jao and Ania instead discovered that another Sith—Darth Luft—and his criminal syndicate are enslaving surviving Mon Calamari and Quarren refugees and forcing them to build a pirate fleet in the abandoned factory ring surrounding the dead planet.
Ania and Jao—along with two slaves—have been captured by Luft, locked in an escape pod, and dropped into the poisoned oceans of Dac…
The Review
Legacy #9 has a nice opening. Ania, Jao and their two new companions, Luen and Tikin, are all trapped on an escape pod that is rapidly sinking to the bottom of a poisoned ocean. The murky depths of Dac are littered with the skeletal remains of the dead. The first page of the issue has only a brief narration box and four haunting panels. Regardless of the art in the rest of the issue, they really nailed it in the beginning. It’s creepy and dramatic.
Nevertheless, Legacy #9 isn’t a sad tale, and it doesn’t take long for the action to kick in. Just as Ania and company begin freaking out about their circumstances, Sauk and AG-37 arrive for the rescue. There’s some nice dialog between Sauk and AG-37, and between Luen and Tikin. In both cases, the characters have good chemistry and some fun lines. It adds a lot to the enjoyment of the story. The art holds up pretty well with the underwater scenes. There’s also some nice closeups of Sauk. Without too much effort, Sauk and AG-37 manage to save the day.
From there, the story cuts to Coruscant. Yalta Val receives word from Dac about the Sith and the pirates. As any dutiful servant of the government, he reports this to the Triumvirate. The writers take this opportunity to make some interesting character choices. Through the dialog, Stazi establishes himself as the cool voice of reason, K’Kruhk the neutral man of few words, and Empress Fel as the cold hearted ruler willing to make sacrifices for the greater good and helplessly spiraling into a pit of imminent failure. Seriously, you can’t help but read her lines and groan. You just know this isn’t going to end well. Not only does her dialog make her unlikable, but it also paves the road for another lousy Imperial ruler. It would have been nice to get a good Imperial ruler for a change, but I suppose she’s just like her dad.
Either way, the action skips back to Dac and the pirate-run orbital shipyards. Tikin and Jao get themselves in trouble, while Ania and company run off for reinforcements. Here, the writers interject a really nice story break by having Ania and Jao part company. It’s refreshing to see her not blindly follow a Force user around, especially when she see’s them doing something really dumb. The issue ends with a burst of action and a cool final page that has some good artwork for the style they use.
From cover to cover, Legacy #9 delivers a fun issue with some nice moments. While I’m not a big fan of the art style, it’s still not too bad. My biggest gripes with this one are a couple of rushed moments in the story. AG-37 and Sauk mention dispatching some pirates at one point, and in rereading the scene, I’m still not sure when they dispatched the pirates. But more importantly, that would have been an awesome scene to actually see, so it’s kind of disappointing that it’s a throwaway line. Beyond that, there’s a few other plot points that are conveniently rushed, but it’s forgivable.
My only other criticism is with Darth Luft. We got a glimpse of him in the last issue, and he seemed like he might be a neat character. In fact, I had high hopes he might be a little better than your average Sith. When trouble crossed his path, he didn’t lock lightsaber blades, but instead used a trap to deal with his enemies. There was a glimpse of intellect there. A sign of someone who could think outside the box that many bad guys get themselves trapped in. Sadly, those character elements were thrown away in this issue as he thoughtlessly orders the death of everyone. I have no idea what he was thinking. I can understand a Sith not caring about the life of fellow sentients, but shouldn’t he have realized it would cause all his captives to rebel against their captors, thus creating even more chaos at a time when he should really be focusing on that deadly Imperial Knight who wants him dead? If he had kept his mouth shut, his problem would have been much easier to deal with. As is, his dialog made him sound dumb, putting him in the same boat with Empress Fel.
Even with it’s flaws, Legacy #9 is still an entertaining issue and I give it a three and a half out of five. There’s some good storytelling, some fun dialog, and some nice visual moments. The art could be better, and there were a few missed opportunities with the characters, but it’s a decent Star Wars adventure overall and worth picking up.
For more Jedi News comic reviews click here.
