Han Solo & Chewbacca #10
DEAD OR ALIVE, PART V
HAN SOLO and CHEWBACCA have come to the smuggler’s moon of NAR SHADDAA to learn the secret of the mysterious urn they have been hired to obtain for Jabba the Hutt.
Although the urn is supposed to contain the remains of Jabba’s most despised rivals, it actually conceals the neural core of AJAX SIGMA, a droid revolutionary who was destroyed centuries earlier.
Only Han, Chewbacca and their mysterious ally PHAEDRA know the truth. And now all their enemies are after them and the urn, including CORBUS TYRA, the man who claimed to be Han’s father….
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: David Messina
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Cover artist: Phil Noto
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: March 1, 2023
As we arrive at the final issue, the adventure concludes as we open with Greedo standing in the palace of Jabba the Hutt as the gangster and his major domo Bib Fortuna confer, questioning the skills of Solo as the bemused Rodian looks on. Instantly we hop to 36 hours before, as Solo and his wannbe father Corbus Tyra grapple as Khel swoops in her ship while Chewie faces off with Marshal Vancto. It’s a busy opening as Tyra uses the training remote to stun Han as Khel and T’onga fire at Vancto and Chewie, leading the wookiee to grab T’onga and hurl her towards Khel, who comms the ship where Akko is chasing the Millennium Falcon piloted by the inexperienced Phaedra as Han tries to convince Corbus that the urn was the valuable asset they all believed it to be.
Marshal Vancto gets the upperhand, taking in Khel and co for their bounties while missing out on Han and Chewie, his intended targets. Or he did, until Chewie gets the drop on him and we swing to outer space as the Falcon continues to be pursued as Han and continue to fight in the cargo hold. Han gets the upper hand and runs to the cockpit, only to realise the falcon is about to crashland and manages to keep the nose up as it skids to a halt. Checking the ship is ok, he spies Corbus making a run for it as the other ship comes about, but Solo has to pursue and catches up with Tyra. The older man tries to play for time as he silently goes for his gun, but Han has played that game before and shoots Corbus, sending him tumbling from the tree with the urn in his hand.
Aako has landed and has Phaedra at gunpoint, only for Solo to return, telling him that Corbus and the urn are gone. Chewie returns, blasting the gun out of Akko’s hand as Marshal Vancto explains how he is taking Khel in for the bounty on her head, and her ship for good measure. As for the rest of the team, as he was himself, Solo opts to strand them, and roars away in the Falcon, where they land and bury the droid brain to keep it out of Jabba’s hands. With their mission at an end, Han gives Phaedra an option – get dropped off somewhere, or join them on their next adventure, and we roll out as the Falcon flies away.
We can only hope that the team of Guggenheim, Messina, Caramagna, Sinclair and Noto get to do this again as the 10 issues have been huge fun, giving us a flavour of what a Han Solo TV series could / would / should be and feeding the rollercoaster hunger fans of the rogueish Correllian crave. Great work all round by the team, for delivering a ten issue series rather than the usual truncated 4 or 5 and for ten beautiful poster-worthy Phil Noto covers.
More please Marvel – #MakeHanSolo&Chewbacca2happen
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Guggenheim, Marc (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 03/01/2023 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
