Star Wars: Jango Fett #3
TRAIL OF LOST HOPE, PART 3
In the years before the Clone Wars, a lone bounty hunter makes is way through the galaxy, one hunt at a time. His name is….
Jango Fett is searching for his most dangerous bounty yet – the thief of a valuable artifact known as the Hope of Glee Anselm. With a planet on the verge of war and Chancellor Valorum’s government in danger of collapse, time is running out for the bounty hunter to track his target.
The problem is that Fett has no idea who he is looking for.
But with the dreaded assassin Aurra Sing and a morally questionable judicial agent on his heels, Jango’s troubles are only beginning….
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Luke Ross
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Nolan Wood
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Release Date: May 29, 2024
One thing you know you’re going to get whenever either of the Fett boys enter the panel of a comic, it’s action and the third issue of Jango Fett certainly doesn’t disappoint as it’s packed to the A99 aquata breathers with action, intrigue, double-crosses, alliances of convenience and more. We open somewhere in the Roxuli sector as Aurra Sing checks a datapad, the image of her ‘partner’ Judicial Huijari clear to see, and as he enters and she makes out she’s simply preparing for thier upcoming mission, we know her suspicions are on red alert.
Cut to Roxuli orbit as Slave 1 blasts in and Jango takes the Firespray down to the mining outpost, bemoaning the fact that he has a thief to catch without having any idea what she looks like. In the truest Western style he walks into the seemingly abandoned town, clouds of dust billowing as a CZ-1 droid comes to greet Jango, asking him to hand in his weapons before he is blasted to the ground by a cadre of aliens who seem keen not to be captured and taken back to the Republic. Jango has no idea who he is looking for, and the general nerves on all sides erupts into a gunfight as Fett takes them down one by one, leaving only a small child, presumably the kid of the lead alien.
We cut away from Roxuli to a Republic diplomatic cruiser in orbit of Glee Anselm where the talks continue between the Anselmi and the Nautolans. The Republic delegate assigned to oversee the talks tries in despair to keep the talks continuing, but in a few short panels it’s clear that these negotiations are over.
Situation dealt with, Fett enters the bar, looking for information, but his job is done for him as a green-skinned Nautolan bolts for the door, only making it a few steps before Jango uses his grappling hook to bring her to the ground. We quickly learn that this is a familiar face to readers of Bounty Hunters, Nakano Lash who goes to defend herself with a small blaster just as Fett is knocked off his feet by a much more powerful bolt. He lokss up to see Aurra Sing coming at him, knocking his helmet off and cracking him in the face with her boot. Huijari points his blaster at Nakano, and Fett manages to blast the gun out of his hand before Aurra can once again get the upper hand, using a rope to throttle Jango as she asks if Huijari called for backup, to which he replies yes. Then the twist; she tells Jango ‘Just like the Pyke spice-runner job, remember?’ and leaps away, grabbing her rifle with Jango in her sights, but instead of taking him out she shoots Huijari, who drops the thermal detonator he had primed as the rest dive for cover.
It turns out Aurra knew Huijari wasn’t who he said he was, but as she continues Nakano pulls out the Hope of Glee Anselm, and they all gaze at the priceless artifact in wonder, until Lash smashes it against a wall – it’s a fake, and as the pieces fall to the ground and Jango realises it’s all a set up we take the final cut away to the Two Blasters Bar on Daiyu and Vigor Struk as his comm goes off along with everyone else in the bar, and he utters the final word of the issue – “Fett“.
Another brisk and pacey issue, littered with some absolutely beautiful artwork from Luke Ross – especially his cantinas which look good enough to walk into – and the regulation tight plotting and scripting from Sacks, who knows these characters so well. Fantastic to see the young Nakano Lash here after her key appearances in Bounty Hunters, and the deck is set for a thrilling final issue. Let’s hope that it’s not Ethan’s swansong from Star Wars and that another series (mini or ongoing) is on the horizon, and if it was teaming with Luke Ross again, that certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Sacks, Ethan (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 22 Pages - 06/19/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
