Star Wars (2020) #28
THE CALCULUS OF LOSS
Disillusioned with the evils of the Empire, Lieutenant Melton and his wife, Bevelyn, serve as double agents of Crimson Dawn. Qi’ra has activated these agents, tasking them with exposing the construction of a second Death Star to the Rebel Alliance.
The couple and their children escaped the Death Star aboard an Imperial shuttle but were immediately detected. The defectors attempted to make contact with the rebels, but their story was dismissed.
Restricted to preprogrammed coordinates, the family barely survived their crash landing on Coruscant before encountering the Imperial capital’s underworld and security forces. Fortunately, there is one member of the Rebel Alliance who believes their desperate transmission….
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Andres Genolet
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: E. M. Gist
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: 12th October 2022
Opening an issue with Luke Skywalker and Hera Syndulla is bound to grab attention, but when they’re discussing Imperial defectors and their potential usefulness to the cause of freedom, well…how can we resist? That’s the opening gambit to issue 28 of the latest volume of Charles Soule run on Star Wars, and as we move further in and their veracity is investigated and confirmed, their plight goes from potato salad to hot potato in seconds and the game’s afoot. On Coruscant the family are out of the crashed Lambda class shuttle and ready to move, with Bevelyn taking the two children and Melton looking to distract the incoming security services to give them a chance to escape. He sets the self destruct on the shuttle, and as local security arrive, the shuttle explodes, giving them time to collect their thoughts and move on.
Back to Luke, Hera and Commodore Grek who are trying to talk Luke out of heading to Coruscant, until Skywalker uses the Jedi Mind Trick to convince them of his powers, and his safety – as Hera says, he’s the only Jedi they have, but while Palpatine and Vader are away from Imperial City in the Mid Rim, he is keen to go. He has a plan, to dress in Imperial uniform and we switch quickly to The Works on Coruscant (famous as the location where Sidious and Dooku meet at the end of Attack of the Clones) and after being told he looks good in black (nice touch Charles) he leaves his sentinel lightsaber with the two Pathfinders accompanying him and heads into the city.
Back with the family, down in the tunnels they’re cornered. With vicious corridor ghouls snarling at them, Bevelyn fires to take it down, attracting the Coruscant Security Force who close in, until Luke arrives in full Imperial garb. They fire at him but he dodges, explaining who he is and why he’s there, and even when more security arrive he smashes the walls to let more corridor ghouls in, attacking the guards and giving them time to once again run.
We wrap back with the Rebel fleet, the family safe and telling their story as Luke reports to Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar and General Syndulla. Not only were the family working on the inside of the Empire for Crimson Dawn, but…the Empire are building another Death Star. There’s silence, a silence which could easily end the issue on a sombre note, but this is Star Wars and where there’s war there’s hope, and Mon Mothma personifies that. “If we could do it once, we can do it again. Let’s get to work.”
For a title that rarely dips below ‘engaging read‘, this really is a superb issue. Meshing in with what’s to come in Return of the Jedi in an increasingly detailed way, there are big, bold moments in this issue that continue to head towards the future. Luke in black, the Death Star reveal, the fleet no longer congregating but staying separate until (presumably) Sullust. The artwork by Andres Genolet is just superb, a real treat while Soule (and I’m sure it’s getting boring to read this) continues to nail the characters, finding their voices and motivations while bringing fresh narrative and storylines as Jedi fast approaches. With lush colours by Rachelle Rosenberg behind a superb cover from E. M. Gist, this is a keeper, and down the line most certainly a key issue as the reality of the second Death Star is revealed to our heroes.
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