Comic Review: The Fall of Kylo Ren #3 (of 5)

I never thought I’d be wanting more politics in Star Wars, but that is exactly what was missing from the previous comic for me. I wanted to see how the First Order was dealing with this fight for leadership, how Kylo Ren would encourage such behaviour, like the Emperor. Instead, we had an issue focusing on the Knights of Ren. And part of me thinks why not, I’m not the target audience here and the Knights of Ren got shortchanged in the movies. Even so, I am hoping that this next instalment might give me more of what I really want from this series. Writer Charles Soule is no stranger to Star Wars, in fact he is one of the strongest writers in the galaxy, understanding the franchise better than almost anyone else. Joining him is artist Will Sliney, another Star Wars veteran. Together, the two know how to tell a Star Wars tale…

Before I even get to the comic itself, I want to mention the cover, or the variant covers. I have been a huge fan of Dave Dorman for years, his covers for most Dark Horse comics in the nineties are engraved in my brain. To see him back, with covers for this series is a real thrill and a highlight for me. Dorman brings a true sense of Star Wars for us older fans and I hope we can continue to see more of his work.

I feel Soule teases us at the start of the comic. The issue opens with Kylo dealing with the Knights of Ren, sending them into the vacuum of space. Pryde seems to think this is unwise but – as harsh as it sounds – I was thinking, great, let’s get rid of them and move on. Soule has other ideas after tantalising his readers, Kylo brings them back in. What I did like was that we see Pryde questioning Kylo. Ren is not annoyed about this but patiently explains why he is doing what he is doing. It demonstrates the relationship that the two of them are forging. This is what I want to be seeing.

However, Pryde is not the focus of the comic. That is all a flashback to show the origins of how the Knights of Ren came to be in possession of the Umbral Shard. The thing that was a gift to Kylo now has a name. Soule does not waste time with guess work for the reader; he lays out what is happening throughout this entire issue. In case there are new readers, Soule is quick to point out that the Knights of Ren are not Sith, although the humour of people wearing black must be Sith I found very entertaining. We see the history of the shard when the Knights are working for Aavin Bellor – the Duros who hired them for the job. He seems to be a nobody, someone we shouldn’t’ know and I wonder if he will be a catalyst for the story or serve some more important role later in the series.

While having the background of the shard is important and I do appreciate that Soule hasn’t waited until the last couple of issues to fill us in, this is not the part that really interests me. Laced throughout this story is the conflict between Pryde and Hux. This is what I want to see, this is the part that I really find fascinating, and I wish there were more pages dedicated to. The two of them are taking shots at each other all the time. It’s the sort of internal strife that the Empire was known for and I love to see the one up man ship quality that is happening. Every time that Hux thinks he has scored a point, Pryde comes straight in to knock him down a peg or two. Ultimately, it ends with Pryde putting Hux into a fighter and sending him out into a battle. We know that this is not what Hux is about, we know that he is a commander, not a fighter. Yet I have a sneaky feeling this could all backfire on Pryde and Hux comes and saves the day. For this to work, there has to be a real threat, Soule has to give us the history of the shard before he can give Hux his victory (if that is what is going to happen). I just find it so frustrating as this is the part that I want to read, this is the look at the First Order with all its flaws. These moments in the comic really shine. I’m hoping as Soule keeps coming back to them, we’ll have more in the remaining instalments.

The artwork by Sliney works really well here. There is a lot of motion and movement which Sliney handles like a pro. I love his design work on the different droids that keep coming after the Knights. The page with the different droids in the panels was really impressive and you can tell Sliney is comfortable in a movement heavy environment. By the time you get to the last page, a full one-page spread, you can almost imagine Sliney with a big grin on his face going, oh yeah!

I’m not the biggest sequel fan and certainly not the biggest Knights of Ren fan, so this issue has been a bit hit and miss for me. I understand Soule needs to lay some foundations and fill the gaps, so the story makes sense. But what I did see were glimpses of things I really wanted to see more of: The First Order. This gives me hope that – like the opening instalment – we will start to focus more on Pryde and Hux and their internal bickering of who can outdo who. These moments really shine. Although more of Sliney’s droid designs would also be a guilty pleasure, I can’t wait to see how this new droid is going to actually move – surely, it has a few surprises for Kylo?