Today, Patrick, Michael and Taylor discuss Star Wars 6, Princess Leia 4 and Darth Vader 6.

Patrick: This week’s crop of Star Wars comics is unique in that it’s the first time we’re seeing multiple Marvel Star Wars comics released all on one day. All three find our characters struggling to understand and assert their place in the universe. Sometimes that struggle is literal, as in Darth Vader’s duel to claim his right as Palpatine’s protege. Sometimes the struggle is more abstract, as in Leia’s coming to terms with what it means to be the princess of a planet that no longer exists. And sometimes, it’s just blasters and lightsabers! So, let’s gather ’round and dig in to some stories from A Long Time Ago.

Star Wars 6

Patrick: I am 100% certain that the point I’m about to make is going to be misunderstood: this issue of Star Wars is all about space. WAIT! You thought I meant outer space, didn’t you? IT’S OKAY TO ADMIT IT. I mean that the bulk of this issue is intensely interested in the physical space between characters, and how they either have to overcome that proximity or use it to their advantage. The big centerpiece here is the knock-down, drag-out brawl between Luke and Boba Fett in Obi-Wan’s home on Tatooine. It’s the epitome of close-quarters combat and artist John Cassaday drops the camera into every imaginable corner of the room to give the reader a complete view of the action. And that action is tight. Luke and Boba Fett are close enough that the blades on Fett’s gauntlets pose just as much of a physical threat as Luke’s lightsaber.

Actually, on that note, I love Luke’s relationship with the lightsaber in this sequence – it represents his identity, his family, and his confidence in this fight. Check out how Luke’s incapable of putting up a fight until the second the lightsaber clicks on. Perhaps more tellingly, we see the lightsaber resisting Boba Fett before we even see Luke doing it. When Fett manages to disarm him, they both do a mad scramble for the hilt – they’re both so desperate to control this thing. And then when they both do get their hands on it, the blade ends up being equally dangerous to both of them.

That’s so good: not only is the proximity between these two combatants as tight as it can possibly get, but the only thing between them is this weapon imbued with so much extra meaning. Also, lest we forget, the final scene shows Boba Fett revealing the identity of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star to Darth Vader: “Skywalker.” Vader flips his shit — and it’s a cool scene and I assume we’ll talk about again before the end of his article — but this is also hand reminder of where that lightsaber came from and what it represents. That’s Anakin’s weapon. Everything about what makes Luke special — his lineage, his force sensitivity, everything — is tied up in that weapon.

Of course, there was also a big reveal about Han Solo in this issue too, but I’ll leave that for Michael to explore. I do just want to point out that Han is also trying to use the smallness of a space to his advantage in bringing Leia to the cozy little nest he and Chewie had hidden behind a waterfall.

Michael: If you also read Darth Vader 6 this week you’ll know that the “Skywalker revelation scene” also occurs at the end of that issue, albeit with a little more context (See below for more.) With that overlap between books, I’m surprised editorial didn’t slap a caption on that scene like “Editor’s note: Check out Darth Vader 6 for more Vader rage-widow-cracking.” I appreciate the restraint.

I know he showed up empty handed, but shouldn’t my boy Boba Fett get a little something for the intel he gave Vader? Nothing for the effort Ani? Regardless of Darth Vader crossovers, as it stands in Star Wars 6, this was still a very important moment in the continuing saga of this series. And speaking of sagas, the “Whaaaat!? Han has a wife!?” moment evoked a very Brian K. Vaughan Saga vibe to me. Whether Sana Solo is telling the truth or not, it will be interesting to see a Star Wars love triangle that doesn’t retroactively become partially incestuous. I dig the design of her ship (which I swear I’ve seen in some other Star Wars story before); it’s very reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon, perhaps the pair of ships are a “his and hers” package? Sana’s ship is sort of a more functional version of the Falcon, with the cockpit front and center instead of shuffled to the side. I assume there are nav-computers on these shifts, but I’ve always thought that cockpit location would make flying the Falcon very difficult. You’ve thought about it too, don’t lie.

Excellent breakdown of the Fett/Luke fight, Patrick– it was raw and brutal in ways we typically don’t see in Star Wars. Though Luke can’t throw a punch for shit, it was impressive to see his Daredevil-Fu as he fought Fett blind. I also kept finding myself surprised/thrilled when Fett would use his jetpack to lunge at Luke; like, “YOU CAN’T USE A JETPACK INDOORS BOBA FETT YOU CRAZY!” Classic Fett.

Princess Leia 4

Taylor: Here’s a question: what is Star Wars without Han Solo? Follow up question: Can we care about Star Wars without Han Solo? If anything, the Han-less prequels taught me that I need Solo, so it’s nice to know that the new movie features him even, if he’s a little crusty. That means there’s always going to be a roadblock for me enjoying a Star Wars story that doesn’t involve Han, but there are ways around it.

Enter: Princess Leia 4. In this issue, Leia effectively schemes to make herself the object of a prisoner exchange. Needless to say, she dominates the action of issue. The funny thing is, she’s at her best when talking to her stalwart pilot, Evaan.

The banter between these two is excellent. They’re intellectual equals, but they both are confident and good at what they do. Evaan’s even starting to let her own personality show through her more uptight facade. This means that any scene with the two promises firecracker dialogue. Evaan, being the hot shot pilot, is a lot like Solo, and nowhere is that clearer than how she plays off of Leia. As a thought experiment, replace Evaan with Han and the scene still absolutely works. This isn’t to say the relationship between Han and Leia is the same as that between Evaan and Leia, but there are enough similarities that it can’t go unnoticed. But really, this isn’t a bad thing since it brings the best qualities of both characters to the forefront.

Earlier in this issue we even see Evaan oogling some contraband and one can’t help but wonder if she’s been in the business herself. While she is a proper Alderaanian, that doesn’t preclude her from any and all illicit activity. Scenes like that and the way she interacts with Leia make me want to know more about this character. Sure, she has Solo-appeal, but it seems like there is so much more there. What do you think Patrick?

Patrick: Well, I’m a sucker for Nein Numb, so Evaan’s rapport with that funky Sullustan makes her feel more like Lando to me. But, Taylor, that’s some rarified air for the character to be breathing: Han, Lando, Evaan. Yeah, I’d say we like her.

I love how frequently Leia’s request to preserve Alderaanian culture results in some disappointment about the fundamental nature of the culture itself. Leia can accomplish all the rescue missions she wants, there are always going to be traitors and racists among her ranks. It’s a remarkably unsentimental view of the victims of this interstellar atrocity. But in allowing Leia’s people to be so believably flawed, writer Mark Waid has crafted a quest for the Princess that feels like she’s genuinely accomplishing something that is not only noble, but truly great. Success for Leia is an act of preservation and, as evidenced by sticking her neck on the line like this, a rather selfless act at that.

I love Terry Dodson’s cartoonier pencils. It almost feels silly calling is work cartoony – that’s really only a fair observation compared to Cassaday’s work on Star Wars and Salvador Larroca’s work on Darth Vader. Dodson’s no less cinematic, though. I love the wide screen layout for the prisoner exchange sequence.

Check out how the camera’s relationship to the action mirror’s the space between Leia and Tula. We zoom in as they approach and zoom out as they walk in opposite directions. It’s subtle but totally draws the reader in.

Darth Vader 6

Michael: I recently discussed how Palpatine is always looking ahead to replacing his prize pupils. Darth Vader 6 had the Emperor flat-out say as much to Vader and Cylo’s cyborgs. Palpatine changes the game and forces them to team up and compete to be his apprentice. It’s a Glengarry Glen Ross-esque sales contest, except there is no “set of steak knives” for 2nd place. You get the job or you probably die. Writer Kieron Gillen actually makes you feel for Vader; he’s starting to realize that “daddy” doesn’t love him as much as he thought he did (ergo Vader being a shitty dad to Luke in the movies.)

Speaking of, this issue slows down the moment from Star Wars 6 where Boba Fett delivers Luke’s identity and Vader realizes that the Emperor lied following Padme’s death. I believe that this is the first time we’ve seen any of the Star Wars books recreate scenes and dialogue from the movies. Salvador Larroca’s puts forth his best work at the end of the issue. By cracking the Star Destroyer window Vader nearly unwittingly throws himself into space with his force rage. But fuck it: his past 20 years have been built on a lie. I like that he doesn’t actually let his anger get the best of him though. He talks to his master, then stands determined looking out into a galaxy he thought he knew but now is shattered and distorted, like his view. This is where he decides he wants to rule the galaxy as father and son. No more Palpatine.

Patrick: Actually, Michael, we have seen Vader reflect on a moment from the prequels: when he and Dr. Aphra first showed up on Genosis. She asks him if he’d ever been to Genosis before, and he recalls being dragged into the coliseum with Padme to fight monsters in Attack of the Clones. One of the more unexpected strengths of this series is its ability to recontextualize the most emotionally resonant parts of those terrible movies to actually motivate Darth Vader during the time of the original trilogy. All of that looks so much better presented on the static page – even Anakin and Padme’s dialogue comes across as sweetly simple (instead of moronic, which is how it reads on screen.)

It’s also helps that we don’t spend more than two sentences with Lucas’ original dialogue from the film.

I don’t totally know what to make of the Emperor’s latest batch of Vader replacements, but Gillen and Larroca are careful to introduce each one with a little monologue about what they’re capable of. Some of them are sorta neat — I like the drone-commanding Tulon in pretty cool — but no one ever won my favor by being a less-cool version of General Grievous. They’re all starting to look like future lightsaber-fodder, but if we need a body-count, I suppose I’d rather know the bodie’s names before they go.

Evidently, there were some non-Star Wars comics released this week. Click here to check out the other comics we wrote about this week!