Star Wars #10: Love, Death, and Robots

This issues wastes little time getting right back into the plot. For an issue without a huge amount of story progression, Charles Soule manages to pack in a lot of action, romance, and possible betrayal into this one. There is droid cracking, deals made, nefarious subplots, two lovers separated by their duties of war, an ace team of pilots flying about, and an endangered cyborg. Regardless, the issue starts out with Leia not having the code she needs, and she finishes pretty much in the same boat. However the story here is not without substance. Lando has rescued Lobot, who is almost more machine than man really, in honor of their deep friendship. It would seem that Lobot might be useful with helping the ancient translator droid in assisting the rebels, but at what cost. The second half of the issue involves Poe Dameron’s parents, both rebel fighters, coming to terms with what the war is doing to them as a couple and creates new tensions in an already volatile situation

Lots of action with space battles and fun droid melodrama, but the best part of this issue is that Lando continues to take the spotlight. This is similar to the old Marvel series from the 80’s where Lando would consistently be involved in missions. It is especially important for Lando to shine in this timeline, as Han is currently encased in carbonite and it is partially because of Lando. He will need to pull some clever heroics in order to prove to The Rebellion that he is worthy of the rank of general they will grant him in Return Of the Jedi. But ever the complicated rogue, Lando is also being influenced by Jabba the Hutt to turn on his rebel friends. The series has mostly focused on Luke and Leia as the main characters, so it’s nice to see Lando in focus for a change.

Again, it can’t be said enough that the plot does not really go all that further in this issue, yet a lot does happen including a shocker twist ending sure to get the next issue moving very fast. The plot not going all that further is not really a bad thing. Rarely does the audience get to see the other Rebels struggle with their war aside from the main characters. One of the highlights of this addition was the formation of Starlight squadron, a team of famous rebel pilots from comics, books, and films. Another treat is a glimpse into Poe Dameon’s parents’ relationship since they usually occupy background shots so far. These two fight though the rest of the war, and helped raise an amazing hero in his own right. It is nice to see them as just people caught up in a war. It humanizes them. Finally, there is plenty of starfighter action to round out a solid chapter. Not bad for a single issue.