Star Wars – Hidden Empire #3: The Wrath of Cha

The final chapter of the Crimson Dawn trilogy meets its midpoint in this issue. Mostly there have been no wins on either side, Crimson Dawn or the Empire. Each issue of this series has begun with the Archivist spinning the tale of the last plan Of Lady Qi’Ra to two mysterious characters hidden in robes and hoods. This serves as an introduction to each issue by setting up the main players. For this tale, the Archivist names Darth Vader, herself, and Chanath Cha. This issue is the definitive point for that last named character. She has shown up here and there in a few titles, going back to the first year of Marvel “Star Wars” comics after the purchase of the franchise by Disney. However, she never really had many key outstanding moments. In this series she is one of the main characters, and this issue allows he to show readers who she really is and why she has lasted so long. She is joined by her quad, The Orphans also get great character snapshots as each one has some key moment in the issue. Ever since this long Crimson Dawn trilogy multi-series began, it has featured some relatively background characters as well a bunch of compelling new ones. Cha and the Orphans are a great example of that.

As much as this issue is about Cha, It’s also a good Darth Vader issue. He seems extra evil in this issue. Chanath Cha is seeking revenge for the murder of her family, and Vader nothing short of laughs in her face. He takes some good hits, but keeps coming back like Jason in a Friday the Thirteenth film. This chapter doubles down on showing his relentless ruthless nature. He is am unstoppable monster, much as The Orphans try to take him down valiantly. This issue also focus’s quite a bit on the Archivist, not only through her natation, but part of the story she is in. Her determination and loyalty to Qi’Ra have never been in question, but this issue really nails that trait home by the end of this chapter.

This is a bright issue. The colors seem like they would be home in a well animated cartoon, even though the art is much more detailed than that of a typical animated feature. On top of the brightness, which starts on the regular release cover art as well, there are some many actual colors in it. It is as if the artist got a new set of crayons and wanted to makes sure every one was used. Every single character seems to have their own color scheme as they all vary completely in visual appearance as well. This almost constant, but very appealing assault of color lends itself well to the action in the story. There is a lot of energetic items at play here; blaster bolts, lightsaber blades, power shields, and even the Fermata Cage itself seem to pulse with life. However it is hard to say the greater impact this issue will have on the over all saga. It’s a bright center to this series, but it certainly seems like this long Crimson Dawn trilogy is finally coming to and end.