Queen Trios of Shu-Torun’s betrayal has left the heroic Rebel Alliance scattered and at the mercy of the evil Galactic Empire! Unable to contact their allies, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 have become stranded on the isolationist moon of Hubin.
Hubin’s ruler, the former mercenary Thane Markona, has taken it upon himself to train Luke. But as the young Jedi has grown closer to the Thane and his daughter Tula, so has he grown restless to return to the Rebellion, secretly activating a communication beacon and blind to the trouble it might attract.
And just as Han and Leia were starting to feel closer than ever before, Leia has revealed that she has been focusing on other pursuits. Namely, the Rebellion’s next target: Queen Trios and Shu-Torun….
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Angel Unzueta
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Jamal Campbell
Variant Cover Artists: John Tyler Christopher, Lenil Francis Yu & Marte Garcia
Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman
Editor: Mike Paniccia
Publisher: Marvel
Release Date: January 9, 2019
Luke has betrayed Tula’s trust by attempting to contact the Rebellion. However, no signal was transmitted for it was all an exercise in Thane Markano’s test of the Rebel’s character. Once all the motives are revealed, the arrival of some unexpected visitors, the infamous Scar Squadron, sets the stage for the next issue.
Kieron Gillen’s tenure as writer and the series itself are winding down to a conclusion. It appears the end of the journey is going to be a bang as the Rebels move to confront the treacherous Queen Trios. “The Escape” has been a necessary interlude between “Hope Dies” and the penultimate conclusion but hasn’t been the most interesting chapter. The arc reminds me of a blend of common themes found in Star Trek episodes. The main characters finding themselves isolated and judged by an entity added with a touch “Old Western”-style influence (gun duels, saloons, log-splitting, etc.) are so reminiscent to that franchise that I almost expect a Captain Kirk-like monologue explaining the virtues of the human spirit to appear. Does this sour the story at all? It does not.
Jamal Campbell’s cover art furthers the notion of the “Old West” capturing Han Solo’s showdown on main street for unintentionally damaging the pride of a Markano Clan member. You can almost feel the tension, the itch of the trigger finger, and anticipate who will “shoot first”. Again, the whole creative team has produced flawless artwork which keeps pace with the action and the emotions of the characters.
It’s easy to predict, the return of Scar Squadron is really going to put the Markano Clan and the Rebels to a test of much more than character attributes.
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