Every once in a while, you have to go to the main fandom website to figure out what to write next. In this case, I was inspired by an article on Starwars.com celebrating War of the Bounty Hunters #3 and Star Wars #16. I am super excited by this new comic arc, going through multiple Star Wars titles. I really want to do a kind of Watchmen-style annotations for the multiple TPB’s that are going to come out in the next 4 months. Maybe I’ll start here!
So far, this arc has been super cool. It involves characters from past films and comics, and ones that have come back into the overall fandom. Apparently, it wasn’t as simple as Boba Fett just delivering Han Solo’s frozen body to Jabba. Apparently, Han is so important, there’s a whole bidding war that busts criminal organizations wide open. And with Darth Vader and Luke, the destiny of the whole galaxy itself.
As the website itself so eloquently puts it:
As the epic War of the Bounty Hunters crossover continues, the galaxy’s biggest players have come to Crimson Dawn’s auction on Jekara to buy the in-demand rebel, still frozen in carbonite.
In StarWars.com’s exclusive preview of Marvel’s Star Wars: The War of the Bounty Hunters #3, tensions boil over — leading to a tussle between Han’s friends and Boba Fett. Meanwhile, in Star Wars #16, Qi’ra, Han’s onetime love and leader of Crimson Dawn, locks blades with Darth Vader
The first panel shows Darth Vader flanked by two Death Troopers from Rogue One. These soldiers are like the Star Wars equivalent of Navy SEALS with cybernetic enhancements (they even sound like they speak in a droid computer language).
Boba Fett has a singular focus on getting Solo and his reputation back from even the Hutt he was going to sell Solo to in the first place. Now that his main Mandalorian episode came out (Episode 6: The Tragedy) and the future The Book of Boba Fett series, I now hear Temeura Morrison’s distinctive voice and his trained barbaric actions front and center in the comic panels.- Ah, Qi’ra. Played in Solo by Emilia Clarke. It’s been a few years since she abandoned Solo and Chewie on Savareen. Also remember that she killed Dryden Vos and contacted Maul to become a leading force in Crimson Dawn. Probably the first action she did for herself and her “freedom” since she escaped Lady Proxima with Solo years before. She also still has Margo, whom you can easily see in Vos’ throne room and looks like she’s made of cracked marble or plaster.
- Aphra had pegged Boba Fett as a clone in the last issue (which is why Sana and she refer to him as such) due to his voice being exactly the same as clones in ye olde Clone Wars footage. Bo-Katan said the same thing in the last episode of Mandalorian season 2.
- Boba Fett makes reference to the Wookiee braids on his armor. They were always a detail I noticed on his action figure as a kid. He also refers to them as possibly being Chewie’s Uncle or “Aunties,” a distinctly Hawaiian/New Zealand familial manner. Morrison, is of course, from New Zealand.
- We also see Administrator Sly Moore, who gets more “screen time” in other issues of the War of the Bounty Hunters. She’s not just referred to as “The Umbaran” but Administrator. And she lost the auction, which I doubt will stop Vader.
- “Beat his ass, Chewbacca” is a distinctly non-Star Wars phrase but it accurately describe how Lando’s feeling right about now.
- The next issue shows Qi’ra fighting Vader in a new outfit (something for the Action Figure Variant cover) with a pair of glowy swords. Awesomely enough, Vader recognizes “the lineage” of her fighting style. No doubt she was trained by Maul in Sith/Jedi arts (for non-Force users) following her Crimson Dawn coup. Vader would recognize it because he and Maul had the same Sith master, Emperor Palpatine.
- I love that Lando recognizes Qi’ra and calling her “a damn impressive woman,” something I would think he only reserves for his mother. He also says “Han did to,” but don’t forget Chewie knew her too, albeit briefly. Qi’ra intimated a more intimate relationship with Lando when Han first met him, but that was probably just a way to make him jealous. It was interesting to hear that Lando was hoping Qi’ra would break free of Crimson Dawn – she now runs the whole thing!
- The second-to-last image shows a panel with Vader using the Force to push Qi’ra back. Maybe he senses Luke coming into view?
Go check this out! Should I do more annotations?
- Hardcover Book
- Ireland, Justina (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 272 Pages - 03/01/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
