Published: January 17, 2018
aWriter: Devin Grayson
Artist: Eva Widermann
Colourist: Monica Kubina
Letterer: Tom B. Long
Cover Artist: Eva Widermann
The synopsis;
The Star Wars Forces of Destiny initiative celebrates the inspiring stories of iconic heroes from a galaxy far, far away….
Star Wars Adventures has joined the festivities with an exciting weekly series of comic books that explores all corners of the Star Wars universe, showing how choices both big and small ultimately shape the destinies of beloved characters, such as Princess Leia, Rey, Padmé, Ahsoka, and Hera along with your soon-to-be favorites from The Last Jedi, Rose and Paige!
Fans will be excited to discover these stories told by talent from across Star Wars novels, comics and animation, including Delilah S. Dawson, Elsa Charretier, Beth Revis, Jody Houser, and Devin Grayson!
The review;
When a routine supply run to the agricultural planet of Fekunda is disrupted by a TIE Fighter patrol, ace twi’lek pilot Hera Syndulla finds herself stranded with no way to contact anyone for aid. It turns out that it wasn’t just the Rebellion interested in Fekunda, but the Empire too. Forcing the local farmers to work backbreaking shifts and requisitioning all of the food produced, the Imperials are draining the land – and its people – dry. Hera won’t let injustice stand, so she and Chopper decide to create a bit of chaos to rout out the Imperials.
In all of the Forces of Destiny animated shorts Hera never really had her own story, almost always co-starring alongside other famous Star Wars characters, so Forces of Destiny #3 shines a light on how well the twi’lek can handle things by herself. In this story it’s just Hera taking on the Imperials with her own wits, or a few well-aimed shots from the Ghost, which is very similar to how she operates in A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller.
Although Hera is perfectly capable of working alone, she likes being part of a team, and Grayson balances these two sides of her personality extremely well. As the plot progresses she builds a team of local rebels on Fekunda to fight back against the Empire, with her natural leadership inspiring more to join. One key part of Hera is that she has a very strong sense of character judgement, and it comes through in Forces of Destiny #3, as the twi’lek instinctively knows who is right for the Rebellion, and who isn’t.
This team of farmers-turned-rebels is a motley bunch of alien species, all fantastically drawn by Widermann. A particular standout is Lemnos, who is basically a tall Star Wars version of an otter, and who Grayson explained via social media was inspired by the Selonians from Legends. He’s extremely sweet, especially with those expressive whiskers, and it’s nice to see real-world animals inspiring the designs for some of the fantastical creatures populating the galaxy far, far away. Fans have had Jaxxon inspired by rabbits, Lemnos based on otters, and vulptices are basically fancy foxes, so what will be next?
Of course, even with a small group of rebels, Hera couldn’t do this mission without Chopper. He’d never forgive her. Unusually, for a droid, throughout the story he has his own speech bubbles filled with his mechanical voice and as a reader you can easily hear the cantankerous droid’s unique sounds. It might not make any sense and it’s impossible to know exactly what Chopper’s saying, but it can be implied by Hera’s responses, and Grayson has written their interaction so naturally. The repartee between the two is fun to read, and only made more hilarious by Wildermann’s artwork portraying Chopper flailing his metallic arms around as he electronically chatters.
Wildermann illustrates both the small details and vast panoramas with incredible flair, and the art panels for Forces of Destiny #3 have a cinematic quality. She uses some really unusual angles, along with quickly changing frames to great dramatic effect, and the close-ups on characters’ eyes are particularly memorable. The eyes are the window to the soul, and Wildermann throws that window open wide. However, the action shots are just as wonderfully drawn, with plenty of detail included on ships engaging in dogfights, or an AT-ST on a rampage. While it may all be drawn in Wildermann’s own style, everything still looks and feels like something from Star Wars Rebels.
What Hera teaches the people of Fekunda is that fighting doesn’t solve everything. If the locals physically fought the Imperials then they would simply be arrested and replaced with stormtroopers, or be forced to work against their will. So, some subterfuge is in order to make sure that the Empire becomes bored of Fekunda, and no longer sees the planet as a valuable asset. Sometimes it is not about knowing how to fight, but when not to.
Forces of Destiny #3 may not add anything new to Hera Syndulla’s character, or involve a major galactic event, but it holds a powerful moral message about how sometimes the best way to fight is to lay down the weapon.
Availability;
The original IDW Star Wars: Forces of Destiny mini-series ran in 2018, encompassing 5 issues. Star Wars: Forces of Destiny #3 is currently available in digital format from the IDW Publishing, and comiXology. A physical copy can be found in one of the trade paperback releases from IDW Publishing. Please check with Amazon UK and US, Forbidden Planet in the UK or your local comic bookstore for availability.
