Comic Review: Star Wars (2020) #42

The Dark Droids crossover event is finished and, if like me, you waited to read issue 41 in the correct order, then the dust has barely settled on the ending. Lando was to be put onto trial for treason, talk about exciting. Yet, this is not the main concern of this new storyline; the focus is on Luke. This series has always flitted between the two characters, and I feel Lando was a huge amount of that focus in Dark Droids (and rightfully so). I’m looking forward to getting back to Luke’s search for the Jedi. With Charles Soule as writer, someone who is continuously proving himself as one of the greatest Star Wars writers, what more could you want? We see a change of artist this issue, to Steven Cummings. He is no stranger to Star Wars and I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to this new arc. So, without further ado, let’s dive in…

Coming from Dark Droids, the start of this issue starts beautifully, the calm, the tense atmosphere, the suspicion. It’s all captured without words but with the artwork of Cummings, who absolutely entombs the atmosphere that’s requires of the story. He maintains it all through the issue and I really enjoyed seeing his work. As we continue through this arc, particularly within the crystal, I’m sure he’ll be providing some exciting panels.

Onto the story itself, as soon as we see Luke, he is blocking blaster bolts. There was rush of excitement seeing this. No fan will be able to read that panel and not think of Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. Of course, he’s going to have skills that overlap with Vader’s. More than that, I’m sure Leia has told Luke of all that happened on Bespin and like Luke says, he knew it was possible. Knowing the skill excising, meant instinctively, he could draw upon it. It fits in really well with Luke’s development through the films as well as showing us that although Luke has many talents, some of them that he may demonstrate he hasn’t learnt, but that the force guides him to do.  Soule goes further though and really focuses on something I hadn’t really considered: what Luke is trying to research. When we see him in Return of the Jedi, it’s obvious that Luke has carried on with his Jedi training. Soule has shown us lots of this in this series. Here, Luke is researching his enemy, to know his enemy more. More than that, he wants to know how to bring the dark back to the light. It was an element of the story that I never thought about. If Luke is considering saving his father, would he not look at how to do that. Starting with a Kyber crystal, learning how to mitigate the hatred in it, would be such an important step for him to take. Throughout this series, Soule has constantly dropped things like this that make fans reevaluate what they see in the original trilogy, looking at that from a different point of view. It’s these sorts of revelations that I adore, and that Soule is a master of. It really speaks to just how well Soule knows his Star Wars lore that he is able to manipulate the story so well and authentically.

This issue really homes in on kyber lore. We start to understand exactly what a kyber crystal is and how a Jedi can go into the crystal itself. As a fan of the Jedi and the force, this is fascinating. They seem to act almost like a holocron, but a much lighter version, that isn’t meant to guide but be more like a photograph of a certain time. The fact Luke has two, one good and one bad, makes this a fascinating experiment. I’m enjoying seeing Sith, Sith who we don’t know anything about but at the back of my mind, I also wonder who (if anyone) is in the green kyber crystal, which I think we can all guess is going to go to forming a certain lightsaber.

It’s lovely to see Gretta again. She’s an interesting character, made even more interesting now that we know she has a bit of a thing for Luke. I wonder how far that will go; will it go beyond the mandate of Return of the Jedi perhaps? Although Gretta is cool, her aunt, Feez, is so, so much cooler. She is a wiser, older lady who brings a certain charisma to the comic. Her observations on the force are so interesting as well. Although she can connect a little to the force, she never trained to use it. I always loved that in A New Hope that anyone could use the force with enough training and focus. It sounded like such a life. Yet here we have Feez saying that it is far too obsessive, that to use the force, to study in its ways is all consuming and takes you away from other passions and interests. She even points out to Gretta that look is too focused to ever notice her. It’s an interesting perspective from someone who demands respect as soon as she enters the first panel.

A new arc after a crossover event that was so brilliantly done is always going to be hard. Soule doesn’t rush it and takes his time to set the scene, the foundations, and the characters of what promises to be a very intriguing arc. Soule knows his Star Wars, we see that all through the issue (Soule never forgets the importance of the droids – Artoo is the one to find Gretta), he is able to use that, to spark memories of the films and readjust how we view certain scenes. It’s a tremendous talent to have and makes it a treat for readers. The lore that is been introduced about kyber crystals is fascinating and I’m hoping Soule will delve even further as we progress with the story. As always, this is one of the few series that I feel is absolutely essential for Original Trilogy Star Wars fans. It fills in so many gaps, gaps that you weren’t even aware were there and allows you to have a new appreciation for the brilliance of the original trilogy. With a new arc, it’s the perfect time to jump aboard. Another incredible issue from the man, the myth, the legend: Charles Soule!