Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #5
PART 5
“THE PATH OF THE SUNGRAZER”
The ”Halcyon” has been assailed by the notorious pirate Crimson Jack, who seeks to capture a Resistance spy on board for a lucrative First Order bounty.
But the heroic Captain Keevan and Cruise Director Lenka Mok may have a trick or two up their sleeves.
Meanwhile, amid all the terror, logistics droid D3-O9 is distracting a young passenger with tales from throughout the legendary ship’s long history.
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Will Sliney
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: E.M. Gist
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: August 3, 2022
After revealing himself as a Resistance spy Shorr Komrin attempts to lead Crimson Jack away from the Halcyon and his granddaughter by exiting the ship in an escape pod. Meanwhile aboard the cruise liner the pirates have all guests and crew held hostage as D3 recounts a final tale in the ships storied history.
As final issues go this one was solid. The flashback story was enjoyable, if inconsequential, recounting the time a guest, who wanted to show his sick partner the wonders of the galaxy, was the target of a certain group of bounty hunters. It was a sweet story but not necessarily one I’d expect for the final issue. By far the most interesting detail of the story is the inclusion of Sacks own group of bounty hunters. Yes, you read that right. Bossk, 4-LOm, Zuckuss, Losha and T’Onga make an appearance and whilst I initially loved their cameo I now cant help but think its undermined and significantly lowered the stakes of Sacks’ Bounty Hunter series.
The tale is seemingly set a few years after the Battle of Endor and we know this because we see a holo-broadcast of Princess Leia appealing for ex-Imperial planets to join The New Republic and a guest notes that Leia herself spent her honeymoon aboard the Halcyon years previous (for that story read the upcoming novel The Princess & The Scoundrel!). This concerns me because one of the strongest points about the Bounty Hunter series, especially recently, is that it featured a lot of great, original characters and their obvious expendable mortality gave this series huge stakes. Right now in the series it looks like a certain character is heading toward an emotional demise but as they were just mentioned in this issue I now know that isn’t going to be the case. Granted this could be an intentional misdirect but still its a little disheartening. Still though, It was encouraging to see that T’Onga is still in charge rather than their former, and less compelling, leader Valance.
The framing story has been the weakest aspect in the previous issues but here it shines and steals the show. There’s no huge revelations but it ties the story up in a satisfying way and ends in a much more successful and unexpected cameo that made my inner Star Wars literature fanboy scream in delight. I genuinely think that when this run is released in TPB format and I can really take in the overarching story in one sitting most of my apathy towards the series will lessen considerably. Captain Keevan and Lenka Mok have the potential to be really interesting characters, especially since the former is heavily featured in The Princess & The Scoundrel and Crimson Jack is a deliciously campy villain. I’d be more than happy to read a more focused story featuring these three, with or without the Halycon. The ship itself also has the potential to be a great setting for stories but I feel that this was possibly the biggest failing of this run as it never managed to sell the Halycon as a dynamic location full of personality and weight. The Galaxy’s Edge tie-in materials were far more successful in this respect.
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