THE TERMINUS GAUNTLET PART 3
A DESPERATE GAMBIT
The Rebellion needs the cyborg bounty hunter Valance to rescue a transport stranded in deep space. But the ship is under attack by the fearsome new Ohnaka Gang!
The pirates all but destroyed Valance’s freighter in the ensuing battle. Escaping onto the transport, Valance found their commander ready to give up. Valance isn’t the surrendering type, so he stole and X-wing to fight back.
Now the rebels and the pirates believe Valance’s quick exit to hyperspace means the battle’s all but over—or has Valance’s fight only just begun?!
Writer:Â Ethan Sacks
Penciller:Â Paolo Villanelli
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Cover artist: Mattia De Iulis
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: March 17, 2021
Pages:Â 32
We open the issue with a trip into the past as a physically and mentally wounded Valance is starkly informed that not only is he not eligible for Imperial medical care, but that his dreams of piloting a TIE Fighter in the Imperial Navy are all but over. Understandably he is sore about the whole situation, even to the point of chewing out Han Solo, who arrives to check on his injured comrade. After biting back so Solo he apologises and thanks the Corellian, but as Valance looks up Han has already left the room.
We return to the present on the Terminus Hyperspace Route as Valance climbs the outside of the Ohnaka gangs ship as inside the gang start to eliminate the rebels before they cause trouble. Valance manages to gain access to the ship, blasting a guard and stepping inside as we head to Ruusaan and T’Onga and Losha as they agree to work together to gain revenge on the killers of Nakano Lash, taking the Nexu with them.
Back inside the ship, and with the gang wary of rebel interference, Valance starts to work through the remaining gang members and encounters the rebels who have no idea why their ship has been targeted by the Ohnaka gang. Meanwhile, on the bridge Dengar – who is working with the Ohnaka gang – introduces pragmatic former Rebel Captain Hill Purpura, who is prepared to sell out the Rebellion in order to survive, but Valance continues to work his way through the gang, discovering Dengar and as Purpura is captured by the Rebels. It’s his final ‘discussion’ with Dengar that is the key; as Zuckuss and 4-LOM jump back into the hunt for Valance, Beilert and an unconscious Dengar swoop away in search of his next target as a phalanx of rebel ships arrive.
The plot thickens, but still we continue with the knock-’em-down-and-drag-’em-out action of Bounty Hunters. Not much room for finesse, but within the action Valance does show some skill for playing the room, and Ethan Sacks continues to show his talent for voicing these underworld characters. Intertwining loosely with the larger action of the era, Bounty Hunters runs pleasingly parallel; not the main course in any measure, but feeding off decisions taken by the lead characters of the Skywalker Saga. Hopping across the galaxy and dipping into the lives and issues of a variety of people while still giving us main event guest appearances from icons like dengar, 4-LOM, Zuckuss and led by the main Marvel man Valance himself, it’s a title that is never anything other than entertaining.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Veitch, Tom (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 476 Pages - 03/10/2021 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)