Published: June 8, 2022
Rating: Rated T
Writer: Charles Soule
Artists: Ramon Rosanas, Madibek Musabekov
Colourist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Carlo Pagulayan, Rachelle Rosenberg
The synopsis;
“THE FINAL HUNT!”
COMMANDER ELLIAN ZAHRA, former protégé of GRAND MOFF WILHUFF TARKIN, has used brilliant tactics and savage brutality to nearly eradicate the Rebel fleet. Now she and her final target, GENERAL LEIA ORGANA, will hunt each other across a wild planet…to the bitter end.
The review;
This arc for Star Wars has been some of the very best that this series has had to offer; excitement, tension and adventure. To think this is coming from the same mind that is currently helping sort The High Republic and I wonder how his brain is not fried! Couple this with the incredible artwork by Ramon Rosanas that utilises so many angles and recognisable features from the original films, you have the recipe for a story that will please any fan of those movies. I can’t wait to see what we have in store this issue.
The final confrontation is here and Leia and Zahra take central stage. This finale is definitely focusing on these two, harkening back to their last encounter. Like that comic, Soule uses this issue to show the reader just how similar these two characters are but also how fundamentally different they are. It makes you think about how easy it is for anybody to choose which path they will take. From the very first few pages, we see Leia commenting on the devastation, the destruction that Zahra was going to use as propaganda against the Rebellion. The way Leia talks, the way that she sees the effects of the damage, it could all be used as a propaganda piece against the Empire. Yet with Leia, we know that is not why she is saying it. She feels the pain, the destruction, the loss and only wants to make things right. For Leia, it motivates her herself which in turn inspires others, with Zahra she calculates what she is doing to bring fear to motivate them. Soule then pushes on with this comparison of the characters, the fact that they both want the other, to bring an end to their contribution to their relative side. Zahra feels that it needs to be one versus one, that she must take her revenge for the loss of the Death Star. The contrast here with Leia is simply beautiful by Soule. Leia, who has lost her family, her people and her planet (not to mention Han) has every right to want revenge, to strike her opponent down. But she is able to stop, to know that killing is not the answer, except as a last resort. Leia might be a politician, but this sort of thinking shows that even without training, she has many Jedi principles. It shows exactly why Leia is so inspiring, why so many follow her to the Rebellion. Soule really shows this contrast between the two so well and shows the growth in Leia since her and Zahra’s last confrontation.
The artwork by Rosanas is exceptional as always. The smoke and devastation of the Rebels, the darkness of the caves, the angles of the ships as they go to locate Zahra. It feels so much like Star Wars from the way the panels are angled to the actual representation of the characters themselves.
Zahra, as always, is the villain that we always want. She is overconfident, thinking she knows exactly how people will act and respond to a particular stimulus. The fact that even though she thinks she can predict Leia’s actions, she can’t fully understand how Leia can think the way she does, that she doesn’t need to kill. Her tactical thinking is so clever, a cave where blasters are seemingly useless. I’ve said it before, she reminds me of Thrawn, with her outwitting her opponent. It makes the Empire as a whole more fearsome, that it isn’t full of idiots! It also explains why the Rebels are willing to throw so many resources at one person. The amount of personal they lose is shocking but also understandable when you consider how many lives have been lost because of this one individual.
Soule gets Star Wars (clearly), but he also understands what elements need to come into issues. Throughout this series he has never forgotten the droids and here we see he gives someone else equal attention: Chewbacca. Chewie is going through his own mental battle of losing Han and I love he plays a more prominent role here. His smell shows why in Return of the Jedi he follows his nose, as it hasn’t led him wrong before (well, not always). Most of all, I love that we get to see his ferocity in battle, I mean how many people can really contend with a Wookiee? It’s good to see that he’s not forgotten and that he is still active in the Rebellion.
The finale of this arc is everything a reader could want. Another confrontation between Zahra and Leia that shows how the decisions of both have led them down slightly different paths and ultimately to different ways of seeing the galaxy. It is a very fitting end for this story, but I am very grateful to Soule for keeping things a little open. The end of Zahra? I don’t think so! This character has proved to be a formidable opponent and one that works as a great way to show how easy it would have been for Leia to slide down a dark path if not for her strong character and morals. I do hope we get to see her sooner rather than later. Soule and Rosanas have set an incredible high bar with this arc, a bar that is going to be very hard to beat.
Availability;
Star Wars (2020) is an ongoing series available from Marvel. This issue retails at $3.99 and is available via the Marvel App, comiXology and all good comic bookstores.
