Star Wars: Crimson Reign #2
THE ASSASSINS! QI’RA sends two killers to do what they do best to continue with her plan to plunge the galaxy into chaos.
The relentless, Force-blinded OCHI OF BESTOON and the mysterious, unstoppable DEATHSTICK each have a target, and nothing will get in their way!
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Steven Cummings
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: February 2, 2022
It’s one thing to watch the major players of the galaxy do their worst, it’s another to hear them explain why they do what they do, and the opening pages of Crimson Reign #2 see Qi’ra do just that. After tasking Ochi of Bestoon and Deathstick with two separate hits – Deathstick heading to Panisia in the Outer Rim to apprehend Cadeliah, best known from the Bounty Hunters series as the youngster caught between the Mourner’s Wail and Unbroken Clan that bounty hunter Valance took to ‘safety’ and Ochi to Coruscant to send a message and clandestinely eliminate Emperor Palpatine’s Royal Guards – she explains just how she is able to manipulate these two lethal assassins to do what they do.
To delve too deeply into that explanation would do the comic a disservice; suffice it to say that Qi’ra deftly breaks down what motivates Jedi, bounty hunters, Sith and more and explains to her underlings how she has managed to bring Crimson Reign back from the brink and make it into the powerhouse it is.
Once that is done, we switch to Ochi as he flies through hyperspace towards Coruscant in the Bestoon Legacy, heading to Level 2685 where he secures the lethal timed toxins needed to carry out his delicate mission. On Panisia, Deathstick calls a hotline to report sedicious Rebel activity and as the Empires forces power in, she kidnaps Cadeliah and takes her back to Qi’ra aboard the Vermillion.
This really is a fantastic issue, and another heavy-hitting entry from Charles Soule in a series that has opened the lid on the power struggles within the galactic underworld. Following on from War of the Bounty Hunters, it’s criminal that so far, this series has yet to receive a fraction of the attention and ‘push’ that the prior series did. With gorgeous artwork from Steven Cummings and a galaxy-spanning tale story that is steadily folding in other series (Cadeliah from Bounty Hunters being the prominent one this issue) there’s every chance that events in this series will resonate in other areas of storytelling, but for now we can bathe in another very satisfying issue of Crimson Reign.
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