Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances #3
THE ADAPTATION OF THRAWN: ALLIANCES CONTINUES!
A SPACE BATTLE FOR THE AGES! PAST and PRESENT collide as THRAWN partners with ANAKIN SKYWALKER and DARTH VADER! What are the separatists hiding? And how does PADMÉ play a role?
JODY HOUSER and original THRAWN: ALLIANCES novelist TIMOTHY ZAHN continue to plot the course of Thrawn’s rise with PAT OLLIFFE and ANDREA DI VITO!
Writers: Timothy Zahn, Jody Houser
Artists: Andrea Di Vito, Pat Olliffe
Letterer: VC Travis Lanham
Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover artist: Rod Reis
Editor: Daniel Khazem
Release Date: March 20, 2024
We open the third issue of Thrawn: Alliances with Vader and Thrawn watching a freighter blast off from Batuu, Vader ordering the ship be stopped by the Chimaera but Thrawn noting that the ship would be too fast for the destroyer to mobilise and catch in time. We see an Imperial boarding as Stormtroopers enter the ship and take down the alien crew, and we switch to Batuu in the past as Thrawn and Anakin find the bartender they’re chasing and after a bold manoeuvre that allows Anakin the chance to take out some of the guards surrounding him, they take the conversation inside. We return to the present over Batuu, Imperial forces continuing to fight the aliens onboard the vessel, their numbers depleted after an attack by E-web laser cannons takes a number of them down. They learn that the hold is lined with cylinders that the aliens are rigging with explosives, and knowing Vader is keen for the cargo to be captured they opt to move fast, just as they hear a large explosion.
Back in the past on Batuu and Anakin and Thrawn continue to interrogate their captive, and here we get a very handy and concise summary via Thrawn of exactly what has been going on. He surmises that they are smugglers and thieves who were working with thieves to take supplies being brought to Batuu by their Duke. However, that scam was discovered and the woman who figured it out tracked them to Batuu, learned of the secret base the Duke was building and alerted the Republic. The thieves tried to leave but were unable to as their landing spot was already occupied by a Republic ship.
Back in the present and Vader and Thrawn assess their situation. The freighter indeed escaped, and Vader wonders how Thrawn is so calm now the Emperors prize has been stolen. Thrawn assures him he is far from calm, vowwing revenge as we see a room full of hibernation tanks. Vader orders two to be sent back to the Chimaera and tells Thrawn they’re heading back to the bartender at Black Spire to get more information, and enter to find the bodies they left behind before which they ordered not be moved had indeed been moved. Thrawn asks Vader to bring him one of their knives as we go back to the past as Anakin angrily asks what happened to Duja, but none of them know or weren’t present when it happened. They also inform them that the Separatists on planet won’t be going anywhere as Thrawn and Anakin plan to commandeer their vessel, and that provokes them to attack, which only leads to their swift demise.
With only Janott the Gammorean alive they continue to ask questions, learning that the woman who sang a song for the slain Duja left unarmed while evading the police. They also surnise that it was the Separatists who hired the smugglers, and with both parties dead they’d naturally suspect the bartender of collusion. Back in the now, Vader and Thrawn inspect the knives, realising that these were not the normal blades of their attackers. Thrawn shows the barkeep a hologram and explains the figure is a Grysk, and the bartender confirms that the alien scared both the Darshi and the townsfolk. Vader is unaware of the Grysk and Thrawn enlightens him, telling of their vast numbers and origins in the Unknown Regions.
In the past we see Anakin ask how Thrawn knew the Separatist Base was on Mokivj and he lays out the observations he made to come to that conclusion. He also reminds Anakin that the goal in war is victory rather than revenge, and that the missing ambassador is part of the Clone Wars and we switch to said ambassador – Padme Amidala – aboard an escape pod tearing down towards Mokivj and see the pod smash into the watery depths. She fills part of the pod with water to stop it floating to the surface and being detected, hoping the undercurrents will take her to her desired location of the Separatist base and end the issue as Vader and Thrawn look at the hibernation cylinders and make plans to find the Grysk warriors to use for their own ends.
Blimey, that was hard work. Adapting a film or TV show is commonplace, while a comic plot is something unique in its construction, but this adaptation of Thrawn: Alliances – a Timothy Zahn novel, so plot dense by nature – would appear to be a tricky story to adapt. Visually it’s fine, giving life to the plot-heavy tale, but a prior knowledge of the source material would seem to be essential as the numerous players and schemes are tough to follow without multiple reads and re-reads. Enjoyable for those who’ve read the latest Thrawn trilogy, hard going for those who have not but very much worthwhile to see Thrawn spar with Vaderkin.
