War of the Bounty Hunters - Alpha #1 (May 5): Am I excited about the "War of the Bounty Hunters?" Of course I'm excited about the War of the Bounty Hunters! Given the comments that bounty hunters have made in recent issues of the various Star Wars series, it's been clear that they were all furious that Boba Fett won the Han Solo bounty. It stood to reason that someone would make a play for swiping Han from Boba Fett.
Soule's challenge from the start was to explain why Boba Fett didn't take Han immediately to Jabba the Hutt. We've seen references in the various Star Wars series about how Jabba didn't have Han yet, but it didn't make sense to me why Boba Fett would risk a delay. Here, we learn why: the carbonite became unstable, and Han started to, um, defrost. That's definitely a problem.
Boba Fett travels to Nar Shaddaa to try to find someone who can help. His contact, Doc Ragon, only works in cash up front, and Boba Fett doesn't have enough credits. But, Doc's a reasonable man: if Boba Fett joins the gladiatorial contests and kills one of the fights who cost Doc a bunch of money, Doc'll fix Han. Boba Fett manages to do so, but he returns to Doc's to find Doc dead and a now-stabilized Han gone. So begins the War of the Bounty Hunters!
Beyond just the strong premise, Soule understands that Boba Fett is the main draw here. It's our first good look at him in the comics, and Soule leans into his dry and terse humor. Some great examples include Boba: telling Bib Fortuna that he'll call him back (and hanging up) when the carbonite's defrosting alarm sounds; muttering, "About that.," when Doc asks for his cash; quipping, "Great.," when the gladiator champion, a spider-creature, explains that the arena setup conveniently reminds her of her homeweb; informing Bib Fortuna that, "It's gonna be a minute.," when he realizes that Han is gone. It's all the Boba Fett that we've been longing to see, the Boba Fett who was too valuable to lose in a sarlacc's gut.
Soule also hints at the the man behind the mask. As Boba Fett prepares to enter the arena the first time, we see a flashback to him holding Jango Fett's helmet; in fact, he gives Jango as his name to the registration clerk. While I don't expect the cross-over event to focus exclusively on Boba Fett, these moments made me even more excited about his upcoming Disney+ series. Knowing that I'm going to get all the Boba Fett that I could possibly want, I'm excited to enjoy what promises to be an amazing tour of the galaxy's seedy underbelly through his eyes.
Star Wars #13 (May 12): This issue is an odd one, as it sends Luke not so much on a wild-goose chase but a fled-goose chase.
Chewie has a friend, a fellow Wookiee named Sagwa, on Nar Shaddaa who makes contact after Chewie sends out word that he's looking for Boba Fett. Artoo, Luke, and Threepio accompany Chewie to meet Sagwa. Upon seeing recent champion "Jango's" holographic image at the colosseum, they all agree that it was probably Boba Fett.
Unfortunately, Luke's attempt to bribe the registration clerk from "War of the Bounty Hunters - Alpha" #1 goes wrong for two reasons. First, as she mentions, it isn't like they ask for proof of identity when people register. Second, she calls the Kanji gang who are still sore over their champion's (the spider-creature's) loss. A fight ensues. (Threepio: "Why do so many of our conversations lead to violence?")
Luke fends off wave after wave of incoming fire as he and his compatriots flee, leading the gang leader to instruct a lackey to call the Imperial garrison on Vandor to collect the Order 66 bounty on Luke. (Dun-dun-DUN!) The team leaves Nar Shaddaa empty-handed other than Sagwa casting in his lot with the Rebellion. But, they receive a message from Leia that an "unknown party" has contacted them claiming to be in possession of Han.
As I mentioned, this issue is interesting in that, unusually, the team doesn't achieve its mission. It doesn't mean that it isn't important, though, as I'm guessing Vader is going to pay particular interest in what the Kanji gang tells the garrison on Vandor.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #12 (May 19): This issue is interesting in no small part because Dengar is the hero of the story. I know, right?
When Zuckuss and 4-LOM track down Dengar and Valance, Valance doubles-down on his usual response to such a situation, ready to deny them the bounty in a blaze of glory. Thankfully, Dengar knocks him unconscious and tells Zuckuss and 4-LOM that "the girl" (i.e., Cadeliah) isn't on the ship. In exchange for sparing his and Valance's lives, Dengar gives the pair Boba Fett's location so they can join the race to find Han. (Jesus, how much money is Jabba paying?) I doubt that Zuckuss and 4-LOM are going to let Valance off the hook, since you'd have to figure the Unbroken Clan would give them some money just for Valance. For now, though, they're have more profitable fish to fry.
The other story running through this issue is a flashback showing how a series of events - again, mostly the result of Valance's poor decisions - led Han to think that Valance was trying to assassinate him. Of course, Valance was trying to assassinate him, before he discovered that Han was his target. I hope that we see Caviness, the assassin who hired Valance in the first place, again, because I really enjoyed his world-weary competence.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #12 (May 26): I was wondering what role Vader was going to play in this event. After all, he gave Han to Boba Fett. Why would he care what happens to him now? But, Pak does an amazing job tying the event to this series ongoing plot. After Exegol, Vader has realized that he has nowhere near the power that the Emperor does. As the Emperor himself says, he has to turn his hate somewhere else. The answer? Luke. Given the Rule of Two, Vader realizes that Luke is his greatest competition, something that we saw last issue when he had a vision of Luke killing him and serving at the Emperor's side. In other words, Luke is in trouble.
Also Read: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #10 (May 26)
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