Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #4
PART 4 of 5 “THE BETRAYAL OF KHASHYUN”
BLACK SPIRE OUTPOST is a haven for smugglers, merchants and travelers from every corner of the galaxy–all looking to make the score of a lifetime through the infamous black market.
The mysterious Dok-Ondar is known far and wide as a collector and trader of only the most valuable artifacts money can buy. But a trio of outlaws — KENDOH, REMEX and WOORO are after the fabled SWORD OF KHASHYUN that even Dok- Ondar fears…and they’ve hatched a scheme to swindle the Ithorian out of it.
Kendoh plans to hire pirate Hondo Ohnaka to help them escape the First Order blockade. Little does Kendoh know that Hondo is in league with Dok-Ondar. And that Dok and Hondo have some history with the sword–and with rogue archaeologist DOCTOR APHRA!
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artist: Will Sliney
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Dono Sánchez-Almara, Protobunker
Cover artist: Tommy Lee Edwards
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: July 31, 2019
Pages: 24
UPC: 759606093557
The First Order are active on Batuu, the sword of Khashyun – broken into two but holding incredible power when reformed – is in the hands of the criminal Kendoh and her team and Dok Ondar, and the moment is approaching when the pooduu will hit the fan, and who’s usually near to the scene when that happens? You got it, Doctor Aphra and as we step back three decades to her era of involvement we get a neat Star Trek easter egg (‘The University of Bar’leth) and a trip to the sith homeworld of Moraband (it’ll always be Korriban to me).
Once inside the temple, navigating the corridors and encountering ancient sith booby traps that take out one of Doc Ondar’s Shistavanen enforcers and BeeTee’s drone, Aphra finds the sword as well as a sith hound which takes out the other Shistavanen (after BeeTee trips it so he and Aphra can escape). They lure it down another booby trapped corridor where hidden lasers emplacements take out the hound, but ever the opportunist, Aphra hopes to cut a new deal,. Ondar is one step ahead, taking out Triple-Zero and leaving Aphra stranded on Moraband in a tale for another day as Ondar explains in the present, but a bigger issue is at hand as the First Order enter Black Spire in numbers.
We’re at the sharp end of the Galaxy’s Edge series and so far, it’s been a treat. The art by Will Sliney has been fresh and easy on the eye, married to the pacey scripting of Ethan Sacks. This series may part of a wider plan to embed Galaxy’s Edge into the broader Star Wars story, in its history and location, but the issues don’t hang about, skipping from past to present and rolling out familiar faces to help tell their stories. It makes you realise how small the Star Wars galaxy really is as faces from across the timeline interweave in the greater story. It’s more fun than you might expect it to be.
There’s just the fifth and final issue left to wrap up the series, but as someone who’s yet had the pleasure of visiting Batuu for real, this series has made it an even more essential trip for me to make, and if a second (or ongoing) series were to secure the frankly gorgeous cover art of Tommy Lee Edward, then that alone would likely secure my credits. I’m equal parts keen to read the finale and sad that it’s finishing – for a mini series, you can’t really hope for much better than that.
[lasso box=”B07VPKX4KF” id=”169456″ link_id=”16859″ ref=”amzn-star-wars-galaxys-edge-4-edwards-edtn”]
