At her trial for the murder of an Imperial Knight, Ania Solo was proven innocent with evidence brought by her friend, Imperial Knight Jao Assam.
Unfortunately, Jao’s appearance in court led to his arrest for deserting the Knights—a crime which carries the death penalty. Empress Fel, the only one with the authority to stay the sentence, refuses to do so.
While Ania, Sauk, and assassin droid AG-37 are doing their best to bring about Jao’s release, the Sith Darth Wredd—for whom Ania and her friends have been searching—is furthering his plans…plans that include Jao!
The Review
A beautiful cover, our heroes back on the hunt for the Sith, and pretty good artwork throughout sets Legacy #16 up for the endgame. There’s just two more issues left, and this one does a great job of setting up the final stretch. Jao Assam gets kidnapped by Darth Wredd and Ania Solo gets sent out to find him. But what is Wredd up to? How can he hope to turn Jao to the dark side?
Even with the awesome cover adorning this issue, I was a little apprehensive about what would be inside. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Brian Albert Thies earlier artwork in this series, and I wasn’t sure I’d be happy with him closing it out. However, Brian Thies pulls off some good artwork in this issue. I’m impressed. It’s not on the same level as Gabriel Hardman, but it still works and fits in with the style. There’s that dark, grittiness to the artwork that makes the world feel lived in and used, but also keeps it from feeling cartoony. I also appreciate the level of detail that was put into the close-ups. The panels don’t feel rushed or overlooked. Going hand-in-hand with the dialog, the artwork brings the story to visual life.
And speaking of the story, Legacy #16 makes some good moves. First off, it takes a natural direction for Ania Solo. Jao gets kidnapped, so of course she gets tasked with finding Jao. It’s kind of straightforward storytelling, but the way the dialog is handled between the characters, it works naturally. One thing that’s pretty funny is the specialized task force that’s assigned to Ania to help her on her search. I’m very interested in seeing them in action.
On the other side of the story is Wredd and Jao. Jao doesn’t get much to do as he’s mostly at Wredd’s mercy. But Wredd gets lots of attention. Most importantly, he gets a backstory. I’m a bit of a sucker for fully fleshed out Sith, so I’m very happy they decided to go into Wredd’s origins in order to further develop his character. As he was, there really wasn’t much to him. Yet the backstory they layout for him is almost enough to turn him into an empathetic character. I say almost because there’s still a severe gap between who he used to be and what he is now. The person he used to be is the sort of character I’d love to read more about. The question is how that previous self, that complex backstory, can be interwoven into his current state. I’m hoping we might see a few more glimpses of Wredd’s character in the next two issues which will help add even more depth to his story.
With Wredd’s backstory unveiled and Ania Solo on a mission to save Jao, things are set for the series’ final arc. This issue does a great job of setting up the adventure, filling out important character details and motivations, and providing some more fun dialog. Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Hardman have done a wonderful job of creating some very likable characters. I can’t wait to see what they do with them next. For setting us up on that last ride and making it a fun start, I give Legacy #16 a five out of five.
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