Star Wars fans potentially have a lot to be excited about. If the rumors around the holonet are to be believed, the full trailer for The Force Awakens will be released on Monday, October 19th. Further reports claim that the trailer will debut during Monday Night Football and released online shortly thereafter along with a new logo for the film which will replace the current design with the title wedged in between “Star” and “Wars”.
We are 62 two days away from the film’s release, and there is still no official synopsis. We don’t yet know what the movie is about or the stakes that are involved. Hopefully this trailer will answer some of those questions without giving too much away.
This week, there were two new comic books and a kind of, sort of, season premiere. While the major canonical elements were a little on the light side, they were still a lot of fun and provided some insight as to what we can look forward to on The Road to Episode VII.
Star Wars: Rebels – S02E02: “The Lost Commanders”
Rebels is back with a 22 episode slate for its sophomore run as opposed to the 12 episodes we got last year.
Technically, the real season premiere took place in June when Darth Vader discovered that the former apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Asoka, is still alive.
Four months later, we get the second episode and are reacquainted with some old friends.
The Ghost crew are now official members of the Rebellion.
This movement is in its early stages, which makes sense considering the show takes place five years before A New Hope. Allies are in short supply, but Asoka knows someone who might join their ranks.
Enter Captain Rex, along with Wolffe Gregor, and Kanan is beside himself. He doesn’t trust the clones and for very good reason. Greg Weisman’s Kanan: The Last Padawan comic book from Marvel shows that Kanan was just a boy when the events of Order 66 irrevocably changed his life forever. The clones he fought beside killed his master, Depa Billaba, and relentlessly tried to hunt him down. With incomplete training and no idea of how the galaxy really works, Kanan had to go into hiding.
The explanation as to why Rex and his crew didn’t turn on the Jedi at the end of the war was briefly explained and explored in the Lost Episodes season of The Clone Wars series that only aired on Netflix. The exclusive nature of the source material could produce more questions than answers for those who didn’t see it and will hopefully be fleshed out further this season.
Ezra is starting to come into his own as a Jedi. While the more bratty elements of his character are few and far between, you’re still reminded that he is just a kid. His innocence shows as he tries to convince Kanan to trust Captain Rex. While Ezra never experienced the horrors his friend went through, he’s also lived a hard life and has had to survive on his own while not knowing who to trust.
While there is a little too much filler with Zeb playing the role of monster bait, Kanan’s reluctance to work with the Clone troopers drives the episode. Seeing the clones “decommissioned” and much older painted a clear picture as to how their post wars lives have treated them.
The writers continue to tease us as to whether Asoka knows who Darth Vader really is or not. Her short but sweet remark on the matter points in both directions. Maybe she knows and is trying to redeem him or maybe she has no clue whatsoever. It will be interesting to see how far along in the season it goes until her knowledge on the matter is revealed.
The cliffhanger at the end promises that next week’s episode will deliver more action and adventure than we got this time around. While the scene of Zeb helping the clones went on a little too long, other elements at play, such as fear, mystery, and betrayal, wraps up this nice little package of an episode.
Star Wars: Chewbacca #1
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Phil Noto
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Chewbacca is one of the most popular characters in all of pop culture.
In fact, he is one of the few sidekicks who could kick the crap out of their alpha male counterpart. Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto make the co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon take center stage in his own five-part mini-series. Chewbacca in the lead role is a challenge considering that his vocabulary is limited to roars.
The story takes place right after the Battle of Yavin, and Chewie takes some time off from the Rebellion to relax and play some Sabacc. A young girl named Zarro is introduced. She is the vehicle Duggan uses to convey Chewie’s thoughts to the reader. Zarro escapes enslavement and bumps into Chewie who agrees to help her maintain her freedom.
Phil Noto’s artwork is eye catching and captures the essence of the story Duggan is telling. There is one page where Chewie has his hands behind his head in a relaxed position while laying on a slew of pink rose petals. The image did a great job of showing how at peace he was in that moment. After all, the poor guy didn’t even get a medal at the end of A New Hope, so at least he got some flowers.
In Guardians of the Galaxy and Rocket Raccoon comics, the creators do a phenomenal job of conveying Groot’s personality through facial expression and body language even thought he only says three words. Noto was unable to deliver the same result as the lettering of Joe Caramanga was heavily relied on for that task. Roars in different colors and sizes made any message get lost in translation that was meant to express more than anger or happiness.
So, should you buy this book? If you’re a canon junkie, then take a pass on this one. If you’re a Chewbacca fan, wait until it goes down in price or on sale in a back issue bin. It’s not a bad comic by any means. There was nothing in the narrative that stated why this story needed to be told.
Star Wars: Shattered Empire #3
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Marco Checchetto, Angel Unzueta
Colorist: Andres Mossa
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Even from beyond the grave, Emperor Palpatine will do anything to protect his secrets.
Satellites have been sent to select planets across the galaxy to create typhoon strength storms that will destroy everything in their path. One of these planets is Palpatine’s home world of Naboo.
Coincidentally, Princess Leia and Shara Bey (Poe Dameron’s mother) are there meeting with the Queen in an attempt to bring allies to the New Republic.
The use of a weather device sounds a little out of touch with the Star Wars universe. Greg Rucka makes it work brilliantly just he’s done with everything else in this series.
So far, Naboo is the only planet identified in this onslaught. Will other systems of note be destroyed or altered? If so, what role will it play in The Force Awakens?
The phrase “Imperial Remnant” is used for the first time and with some emphasis. This is the term used to describe The First Order. Now, what if one of the planets the Emperor chose to dispatch his weather devices to is Tatooine? The planet could have been altered to such a degree that it was renamed as a way to start over spiritually. Maybe the name bestowed upon this world is Jakku, the desert planet seen in TFA trailers.
One of the things that makes Star Wars so fun are the battle scenes. The artwork expresses how much Checchetto and Unzueta love this universe. The coordinated attacks, the last minute save from a Stormtrooper sneaking up for the kill shot, and the unbelievable luck of an AT-ST crashing into a sealed Imperial complex delivers that feeling of “We’re home.”
Lucasfilm and Disney have been very careful not to call back to the prequels during their marketing for TFA. Rucka, on the other hand, does it quite a bit as Leia rushes to the hangar from Episode I to see if the old N-1 Starfighters are operational. She suddenly feels a disturbance in the Force and an image of Darth Maul appears.
In Princess Leia #2, she experienced a similar feeling on Naboo when she encountered a mural of Queen Amidala. I suspect this explains Leia’s conversation with Luke in Return of the Jedi when she said her mother was beautiful even though she never met her.
Both of these moments were well executed and shows how this planet triggers the Force inside of Leia.
Shattered Empire #1 was the number one selling comic book in the month of September. That speaks to how this series has captured the imagination of Star Wars fans while delivering real stakes and developments that took place after Return of the Jedi.
The last issue of this series will be released next week. Even though this book is an easy sell, I’m going to say it anyway. BUY IT NOW!
