Star Wars (2020) #40
DROID DISASTER
Lando and the rebels aboard ”Home One” were awakened when the ship’s defenses were activated, as if gearing up for battle.
Lando soon learned the culprit was an unwell Lobot, whose neural implants are failing, causing interference with the Rebel ship and potentially lethal damage to Lobot.
In an effort to save his friend, Lando dragged Lobot to Jabba the Hutt’s palace to seek the aid of the talky droid that helped him once before. However, the scourge that’s affecting droids has made its way to the Tatooine crime den and found its way into Lobot’s mind….
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: Stephen Segovia
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: November 1, 2023
It’s an intriguing opening for a comic, having one of the protagonists lay out the expositional details in such a clever way it doesn’t feel like exposition at all, but that’s exactly what Charles Soule does as Talky Droid lays out recent events in the opening pages of Star Wars #40, and what he says is true: Lando is in a deep dilemma, needing the droid for his skills while also requiring the help of the Rebel Alliance, and the two things being entirely uncompatible. The mission is still clear; save Lobot, but his cyborg friend is now deeply in thrall to the scourge, and to quote the great Captain James T. Kirk “The odds are against us and the situation is grim“. Talky droid is practically gloating, but Lando knows he’s right, and ending the conversation by switching the droid off, he startes into the abyss and a memory of himself and Lobot on Alderaan. Lobot was far from happy. Through Lando’s subterfuge and deception they’d managed to skip out of another bad situation, a stance Lando appeared to not understand. He explained how Lobot was his most trusted confidante, and accepted that while the going was currently very good, it likely wouldn’t last, as nothing ever does.
We step from Alderaan to an Alderaanian as we enter the Alliance fleet and Leia Organa as she pauses a briefing regarding supplies to the Empire’s still hidden superweapon as Lando returns and asks for a moment to discuss Han Solo. He tells Leia how he travelled to Tatooine in the Millennium Falcon and saw Han in his carbonite block hung on Jabba’s wall, and also how the droids in the palace were acting oddly, something Leia has seen in the fleet. All droids are deactivated, meaning the vital astromechs are useless, making the Falcon even more important than usual. Lando has a plan, to find Lobot, save his friend and track the source of the scourge, but Leia is reticent to spare resources. Lando leaves, unsurprised at her refusal to help and keen to seek out Amilyn Holdo who helped him in the past, but Leia stops him explaining that yes, the return of Lobot would be useful to the Alliance, but it was also important to be helping a friend.
The eliste force Leia mentioned – Lando, Chebacca, Luke and Leia – fly towards Epikonia in the Falcon, a world of seemingly little importance until Leia explains that it’s a communications hub that sends signals to all corners of the galaxy. As they spy an automated droid fleet and Luke prepares to access their transponder database, Lando stops him, explaining how the Falcon has a droid core – L3-37 – at the heart of its systems, and quickly shuts her down. With no navacomputer they’re flying blind, but Lando uses his piloting skills to drop the Falcon into a huge radar dish as Lobot and the scourge realise just who has landed and why, the scourge wanting Luke for his connections to the Force which they see as ‘the last great mystery‘.
Our heroes are surprised at the lack of people in the city, but that silence is soon broken as a swarm of droids move in and a firefight breaks out, the scourge telling them that this will be all over soon as we end with the twisted grin of a scourge-controlled Lobot and a dire situation that appears impossible to escape. Once again, Charles Soule is weaving numerous key elements, including the strengthening relationship between Leia and Lando and the growing threat of the scourge, set against the backdrop of the final weeks before the start of Return of the Jedi.
In the past Lando was a liar and a conman, but the Lando of ‘today’ is bold and brave, willing to risk all for a common cause while still operating under the scrutiny of suspicion. To see that ease and approach the Episode VI relationships – remember, there’s only a year between Empire and Jedi unlike the 3 years between Star Wars and Empire – is fascinating to watch and satisfying to read. Married to some truly sumptuous artwork, this continues to lead the Star Wars line with effortless class.
