Star Wars (2020) #34
A FRACTURED ALLIANCE
In a desperate battle with the Killdroids, Luke and the rebel heroes managed to get the Path engine back to the ”Longbeam”, but Luke’s hand and lightsaber were crushed by one of the monstrous droids in the process.
With a little help from Lobot and the Kezarat Colony, the rebels were able to use the Path engine to get out of No-Space and offered to bring members of the colony along with them.
Having made their way out of No-Space, Luke now faces the reality that he’s going to need to face Darth Vader again in the future, and he’s going to need a new lightsaber….
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: Stephen Segovia
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: May 3, 2023
In much the same way that Doctor Aphra and Bounty Hunters have rolled out of their long-running storylines in the wake of Hidden Empire, so Star Wars shifts gear as we leave behind No-Space and follow Luke Skywalker as he searches for a solution to his broken lightsaber problem. Of course, with the events of Return of the Jedi on the near horizon we know he’ll soon be getting his iconic green blade, but how we’re yet to learn. We open with Luke and Artoo, Skywalker keen to figure out his problem and knowing he can no longer use Ilum as the source for his kyber crystal search. He’s reading the ancient Jedi texts, presumably the ones we see decades later on Ahch-To in The Last Jedi, and understands that while there was no need for Yoda and Obi-Wan to teach him the ancient rites of passage for a Jedi to build their blade, he needs to figure it out. He’s frustrated, and it becomes increasingly clear that this mission to find a solution is something he needs to do, despite Leia reminding him that his connection to the Force is somewhat flaky and his piloting talents are required for the upcoming assault.
We then arrrive on a very familiar location; Christophsis, the world we first saw in The Clone Wars movie from 2008. While there’s a limited Imperial presense on Christophsis, Luke is keen to avoid the city and parks his T-65 far away, walking with Artoo in the rain as he explains to way of the world on the planet, how kyber is occasionally found by prospectors and traded. He decides to tell Artoo to stay put and hold his lightsaber as he heads into town and finding a cantina he asks the bartender about looking for rare commodities, and as the barkeep utters the word ‘kyber‘ he is blasted, and Luke turns to see all the denizens of the bar taken out in a hail of fire, and a green-haired woman standing in the doorway with a smoking gun. Luke is incenced, and as she drops her blaster and Artoo arrives, Luke takes his lightsaber and demands to know who she is and why she did it.
Her name is Gretta, and she explains that anyone who comes looking for kyber is taken hostage and handed over to the Empire. She also explains the reason why she did it. When her people on Jedha were murdered by the Empire, she swore revenge, so when Luke blew up the Death Star in her mind they were avenged. She wants to help, and despite still being angry at her actions he allows her to help and they take her speeder and head out to find a man called Cuata. He’s a kyber expert, one who saw the writing on the wall as those who refused to assist the Empire were killed, and leaving that behind he hid out on Christophsis. Gretta helps Cuata survive with supplies and food, and roaring across the plains their speeder is suddenly hit by a huge creature erupting from the ground that promptly eats the speeder as Luke reaches for his lightsaber, which fails. They run, panicking at their imminent demise and Luke reaches out into the Force but nothing. As he waits for the inevitable the creature explodes and walking through the smoke in the final page we see Cuata, who asks Luke for his lightsaber….
A thoughtful, action-packed issue, the story doesn’t hang about from Luke making his decision to swing over to Christophsis to meeting Gretta and finding Cuata. There’s a kinetic flow to the way Soule tells his stories and this issue highlights that, blending introspection with action and delivering another wrinkle to the run in to Jedi. A great read.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Soule, Charles (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 22 Pages - 06/07/2023 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
