Star Wars #28: Imperial Officer Skywalker Reporting for Duty

This series has had to pull triple duty in its almost thirty issues. It has had to focus on Leia, Lando, and Luke in various stories. Even when they are together, a story arc or issue usually revolves around only one of them. After focusing on Leia for the vast majority of the series, it is nice to giving Luke a bit more attention. That is not to say he hasn’t seen action in this series. He has fought Vader in a dog fight and found a new lightsaber with his yellow blade. He even got to travel to a planet were he was able to meet the spirit of Jedi Elzar Mann, a character from “The High Republic.” In this issue he gets to actually help the rebellion instead of just looking for Jedi knowledge to complete his training. He understands that he is the only one capable of infiltrating Coruscant despite the fact that he is one of the most wanted beings in the galaxy. His Jedi gifts maker him a unique asset. He is able to convince General Syndulla, someone who has had direct dealings with other Jedi, that he is right for the job.

Luke is near the end of his training, so he has discovered most of his powers he will have in Return of the Jedi. One of the powers he displays in that film is the Jedi Mind Trick. He uses the ability to gain access to Jabba the Hutt by tricking his majordomo, Bib Fortuna. In this issue he displays that he has indeed mastered this trick, something he struggled with earlier on in the series. He also displays some major acrobatics, which also come to play aboard Jabba’s sail barge a few months later. There is a moment in this chapter where he dodges a blow, and whether intended or not by this Marvel crew, in a very Spider-Man like way. These displays convince rebel command that he is capable of this mission, but more deeply it shows to the readers that Luke is very close to his full potential as seen when he eventually does confront Vader and the Emperor himself. This is significant because it is a sign this series will close relatively soon. This series has meant to fill the gap betweenThe Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It needed to tell the tale of how Luke got from barely able to use The Force to the dynamo he is in the final film. The time is only one year, and this series has been long. It stands to reason that if Luke is getting to his full power, the events of The Battle of Endor are fast approaching. This issue proves that Luke is ready for that endeavor.

This issue isn’t just about Luke. The escaping family gets a lot of time in this chapter. Because the locales change from Rebel Ship interiors, to nightscapes of Coruscant, to it’s seedy underbelly so does the color, goin from tan, to dark blues, to toxic greens and yellows respectively. One of the technical issues this series has had in the past is that it struggles likeness to film actors. This issue doesn’t suffer from that. Because Luke is the only main character from the films in the issue, the rest of the characters do not have to be specifically recognizable. Hera Syndulla is, but a Twi’Lek she stands out on her own. Luke is recognizable in this issue in not only his features, but his words and actions. He is very much the capable and confident Jedi as seem in Return if the Jedi, but he is still very visually recognizable even in his black Imperial uniform.