Star Wars (2020) #23
THE DAWN ALLIANCE
Kes Dameron has defied orders and led a team of rebels to rescue his wife, Shara Bey, from the clutches of the ruthless Commander Zahra.
With the entire rebel fleet arriving at the doorstep of Zahra’s Star Destroyer, the Rebels believe they’ve got the upper hand.
However, Commander Zahra has her own plan in motion….
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: Carlo Pagulayan
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: May 4, 2022
Star Wars #23 picks up right where the last issue left off. Working on the tip from Qi’ra the Rebel Alliance have brought the fight to the Tarkin’s Will believing they are about to execute a surprise attack. Commander Zahra isn’t just ready for them, she’s ready to destroy the entire Rebel fleet with one single Star Destroyer. Meanwhile Kes Dameron has infiltrated the Tarkin’s Will in a bid to save his long captured wife Shara Bey. What follows is a battle to rival any from the movies.
This series just gets better and better. After stumbling during the War of the Bounty Hunters Soule has taken this run back to what made the first three arcs the best to hold the mainline Star Wars title in years. From the opening panels you know you’re in for something special when Zahra outlines her plan as it plays out in front of us. It’s clever, conniving and cutthroat and in keeping with her mentor’s cold sensibilities. It’s also clear that Zahra has learned from the Rebels past successes against all odds and emulates their scrappy and ingenious determination to great success.
The Infiltrator’s part in this issue is that of the unknown variable. The foil to Zahra’s grand designs that she isn’t aware of. It plays out beautifully resulting in an emotional climax both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Friends, we finally have our girl back. She’s been gone a long time but Shara and Kes are reunited at last. After all this anguish and torture I’m sure she will get to live and long and happy life with her husband and son and nothing bad will possibly happen. Right?
The cover is indicative of the content as the story takes place mostly from the Empire’s POV, only cutting to the infiltrating Rebel infiltrators and never to the Rebel command or fleet. This creates a potent sense of helplessness in the reader as we can only watch in silence as the horror unfolds. It’s extremely clever writing by Soule and I’m incredibly eager to see how it resolves in the next issue. Now that the pre-crossover arcs are finally resolving I’m hoping we can catch up with Lando as he played such a vital in the earlier arcs of this run.
Star Wars #24 @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
