Star Wars (2020) #45
THE TRIAL OF LANDO CALRISSIAN, PART 2:
WITNESS TESTIMONY
In order to help his friend Lobot, Lando was forced to make a deal with the Talky droid that helped him once before, as well as confess to his traitorous misdeeds in the past involving the droid and secrets that were sold to Jabba the Hutt.
As Lando stood trial for these crimes before a committee of top Rebellion leaders, a mysterious group captured Mon Mothma from her remote location!
The other rebels were in shock, but Lando’s lawyer, Salli Georgio, thinks she can use this to the advantage of her client….
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: Stephen Segovia
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: April 3 2024
The trial of Lando Calrissian storyline has been an interesting ride so far, but one very much told from ‘a certain point of view’. That’s because Lando is very much out of sorts, and this one-sided trial is a huge component of issue #45 of Star Wars, which opens in the wake of the kidnapping of Mon Mothma, a catastrophe which has very much thrown the proceedings off track. As Princess Leia confers with Admiral Ackbar and General Madine, the quick realisation is that with the kidnapping of Mothma, the entire Alliance is at risk. She knows more of their plans than anyone, and should she fall into the hands of the ISB, then the game is over for the Rebellion. A Pathfinder team led by Kes Dameron is sent to Uveron to ascertain what happened, and Leia realises that while everyone in the trial saw what happened and are considered trustworthy, Lando and his defense lawyer Salli may not be. Salli attempts to end the trial through a point of order (that one of the magistrates is incapacitated), but Madine and Ackbar aren’t interested.
The trial continues, and more witnesses stand to condemn Calrissian, including Leia who tells the events of The Empire Strikes Back from her own point of view. While cross-examined, Salli leads Leia to admit that the reason Lando did much of what he did wasn’t for personal, financial gain (a look at his bank account at the time confirms this) but rather a desire to protect the people of Cloud City. It would seem to be the opening they’re looking for, but Lando is quiet, barely answering or defending himself, even when this opposite point of view hits home with Leia, her sorrow is evident.
Meanwhile on Uveron City, Kes and his tesam meet the onground security detail, making clear to them that their work is trusted and scouring the site for clues. They find a big one, a recorded message which they feed back to Home One which reveals a gagged Mothma and a demand for 200 million credits by the following day, or else she’ll be sold to the Empire. It’s a dire situation, one Madine plainly states will need more than ‘hope’ to resolve.
We swing back to Lando’s cell, Salli perturbed by his lack of urgency, when he suddenly sits up bolt upright, He calls for Chewie, and explains that during Mothma’s kidnap he heard a voice, and the owner of that voice has come to him. It’s a Scarabi mercenary called Hachi, and Lando knows where their safehouses are. He tells Chewie to relay the info – coming from him it will be ignored – and as we roll out of the issue he explains that he doesn’t want to trick his way out of the situation, keen as he is to make sure Lobot is ok. We end with him laying back on the bed, making the statement ‘I’m a Rebel‘.
It’s a word heavy issue, and it absolutely needs to be as there’s a lot to filter through and unpack here. For Mon Mothma the situation is critical; her importance is known to her kidnappers, and the swiftness of her rescue is vital as Tactical Plan Eighteen sends Alliance vessels to all corners of the cosmos. However, the trial of Calrissian is the backbone of the issue and how it’s now falling into place is fascinating. Lando and the no-win scenerio he found himself in Empire is the fuel for the trial, but there’s far more happening here than simply that. Lando’s a chancer, a confidence trickster and a man used to living life on the sharp edge of the blade. That’s fine for Lando, but his friends – Lobot inparticular – often feel the brunt of his risky lifestyle, and here we not only see Lando make clear again how important to him Lobots safety is, but also how determined he is to extricate himself from the situation in the right way.
Handed the opening to vigorously defend himself after Leia realises after almost a year that his choices at Bespin were far from black and white but instead a logical decision to protect thousands of Cloud City citizens rather than a man he’d not seen for over a decade who took his beloved ship, his co-pilot, someone called ‘Skywalker’ and a woman he’d never met, he doesn’t take it.
Perhaps, when laid out in a logical manner it’s too easy to advocate for Lando in this situation, hence the shift for him to pass the chance up and instead offer alternate information to Chewie, but whatever the route taken it’s doing a number of things. First, it layers sympathy on Lando for the horrific choice he had to make at Bespin, selling out Han (never forget, these characters live on the periphery of the criminal underworld, no strangers to deception, deceit and death – a double-cross would be of no great surprise to Solo) and choosing to protect – as Baron Administrator – the people of Cloud City. Second, it shows how blind the usually perceptive Leia has been to the choices Lando had to make, her growing love for Han and his critical place in the Rebellion the only things she can see, other than perhaps a sense of annoyance at not realising the deception earlier. Third, it shows the Rebellion to be far from the rag tag, reactionary band of scrappy fighters we grew up believing them to be, but rather a far more formal and organised group who follow military code, funds prisons and enforce capital punishment.
The situation is dire no doubt, and Endor approaches as the current 2020 run of titles continue to wind down, but the conclusion to this particular storyline and Lando’s place in it is gripping. Great work all round – the artwork is superb, as is Charles Soule’s scripting – and the thought of a Soule written conversation between Han and Lando post-Return of the Jedi as they discuss the past year over a glass of flameout in a dive bar somewhere is delicious. As usual,not to be missed.
