Star Wars (2025) #9
WICKED GAME
A dark plot by a group of Nagai pirates and the Zantarrk Gang has led LUKE SKYWALKER, RYNN ZENAT, HAN SOLO and BEILERT VALANCE across the galaxy searching for ways to stop the coming attack on the fledgling New Republic.
Recently, it was discovered that REYNA OSKURE, an Anzati witch and manipulator thought dead after the BATTLE OF JAKKU, was pulling the strings of Pirrosi leader Almovar, causing much of the conflict between the New Republic, the Pirrosi and the Nagai.
Now the battle rages on the Nagai homeworld as the New Republic heroes face down Oskure’s soldiers….
Writer: Alex Segura
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Cover artist: Phil Noto
Editor: Mark Pannicia
Publication date: January 21 2026
We’re only a few weeks into 2026, but already the year seems to be about endings. We recently concluded three excellent limited series in Jedi Knights, Legacy of Vader and Han Solo: Hunt For The Falcon, all titles that got the fandom talking, and the end of the month will see Kathleen Kennedy step away from the role of Lucasfilm president after almost 14 years. Star Wars Insider ends a 32 year run in April, and the final panel of the 9th issue of Volume 3 of Star Wars tells us that the 10th issue is the conclusion, marking – unless that refers to the conclusion of the story rather than the title itself – that this will be the shortest volume of the flagship title, be it the original run from ’77 to ’86, the Dark Horse era or the modern Marvel runs. If that’s the case then it’s a shame, as Alex Segura has delivered a storyline with flavours reminiscent of The Truce at Bakura and the post-Jedi Marvel run, finding the voices of the characters with ease, accompanied by admirable interior and exterior artwork.
But, we’re not there yet and neither are our heroes as we open to Han Solo and Beilert Valance running through the corridors of Nagi, evading blaster fire from enemies right behind them as they search for Bastion. Solo has Leia on the holocom, wanting to know how they’re managing and clearly keen to help, despite Threepio’s plaintive statement that young master Ben might need a nappy change. Valance tells Han they have a lead on where Bastion is, and they sign off as we cut to Luke and the Nagai Tuula, gazing across a vast Nagi plain. He’s keen to find Reyna Oskure, and as a tracker familiar with her own world she believes she headed across the plain and they set out, as we cut once again to Oskure, marching towards her ship with the captive Rynn and Jesrit following. Rynn is clearly not well, her life force being drained by Oskure, but the witch cares little as we switch planets once again, this time to Chandrila where Leia is set to leave to help her husband and brother, but Mothma pulls rank, reminding Leia that her responsibilities are now far broader than they were before, and how she is needed by the Republic. Leia grudgingly agrees and tells Alaytia to do what needs to be done in her absense.
Cut back to Nagi, as Bastion leads the charge ahead of Solo and Valance, taking cover as they try to figure out where Oskure has taken Jesrit and Rynn, but as Bastion checks to see where their enemies are she is hit in the forehead and falls back, dead. Solo is shocked, and tells Valance they can’t leave her body there, but the cyborg not only tells Han they must move on if they’re to save their surviving friends, but that Han has changed from the self-absorbed smuggler of old, mellowed by marriage and fatherhood. Han takes it in the spirit as it’s intended as we cut to the Fenril Fleet above Nagi, waiting for orders from the vanquished Venk that will never come. Suddenly, the New Republic fleet drops out of hyperspace all around them, warning them to back down, that Nagi is a part of the New Republic, and an attack on Nagi is an attack on the Republic.
Back on Nagi, Oskure orders her vessel to be prepared for her departure, grabbing Rynn by the throat as she tells Oskure what she really thinks of her, but that stops when Luke, Han, Tuula and Valance appear on a balcony above, and a firefight starts that sees Rynn kick back at Oskure and the witch start to drag her to her ship, and certain death. Frustrated, Luke leaps down to face Oskure, and they fight, his lightsaber knocked out of his had by her claws. He used the Force to push her back, and using a Jedi Mind Trick confuses her long ehough to place the Crown of Verity on her head, negating her powers and making her tell only the truth. As she kneels she pushes a switch on a pad, and we hear her tell Luke that when she forced the Nagai to make a new fleet made from Imperial junk that she ensured a final victory, and he realises she isn’t lying about that. Valance urges Luke to leave immediately, and we cut to the final page as the Fenril Fleet realise the self-destruct sequence that has been activated can’t be stopped, and we watch as the fleet erupts in flame, the Republic Fleet moving quickly out of distance as the final panel ends with the words ‘To Be Concluded!‘
Beautifully drawn by guest artist Ramon Rosanas and carefully crafted by Alex Segura, this was one of the more enjoyable issues of the run, one that at times has been so overloaded with new characters it’s been hard to follow (and again, something that could be easily avoided if narrative boxes and Who’s Who intro pages were reintroduced). The era is a tricky one, for readers and for the New Republic, as it fights the dregs of the Imperial threat and uprisings from wannabe tyrants like Oskure, keen to latch onto power wherever they can.
If the next issue is the last one of the third volume, then I sincerely hope Segura gets another bite at the cherry when it returns (which it surely will as the fiftieth races towards us) because along with regular artist Pete Woods they’ve done an admirable job of making this era feel like something defined. The Mandalorian era is boxed off, the time afterwards a vast ocean with little in it other than the excellent Shadow of the Sith, but it’s definitely worth remembering that in this post-Return of the Jedi era we have the capacity to do what Marvel and Bantam did all those years ago when The Truce at Bakura followed on from the Thrawn trilogy and tell amazing stories that helped spark the return of the saga throughout the 90’s. To fans, this era is so important – it told the Han, Luke and Leia stories we never got (but so badly wanted back in the late 80’s and 90’s) on film – so fingers crossed Lucasfilm and Marvel have plans to push on, as right now. We have two mini series to look forward to in Shadow of Maul in March and Galaxy’s Edge: Echoes of the Empire in April. They’ll no doubt both be fascinating, with Echoes set in the Return of the Jedi era, but this era could certainly do with more investigation.
The days of four ongoing titles seems a long way off right now….
