Star Wars #37: This issue is great, as Soule uses the "Dark Droids" event to resurrect a loose end, namely the fact Lando sold the Talky - and its ability to access secure Rebel communications due to its rewriting of the Alliance's security codes - to Jabba the Hutt.
Lando's forced to confront this sin when Lobot takes over Home One and activates its offensive weapons systems. A medical droid evaluates him and realizes that, due to the fact Lobot's implants aren't able to connect to the Imperial systems for updates, they're misfiring. In this case, Lobot ran through an old Imperial battle and used Home One to repeat the actions the Imperial vessels took. The droid warns Lando the implants are eventually going to kill Lobot, taking over so much of his body that even his automatic nervous-system functions will cease.
A panicked Lando realizes he's got to save Lobot by finding the Talky and using him to bring back Lobot's personality, as it once did. To do so, Lando has to become the "old Lando" again, and it's clear he thought he'd gotten to leave him in the past now that he's a proven Rebel hero. It doesn't help his guilt when he confronts Leia about her reluctance to let him take the Millennium Falcon and she admits she trusts him. Ouch.
While Lando and Lobot make their way to Tatooine, the Talky is having a tough go, as he keeps screwing up translating for Jabba the Hutt due to his outdated lexicon. Sent to the basement for torture, the Talky might not be in one piece by the time Lando and Lobot arrive.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Max Rebo #1: With a better art crew, this issue would've sang.
Max Rebo - the elephantine leader of the house band in Jabba's palace - contemplates death after he's almost killed in a failed attempt on Jabba's life. He mulls the fate of his mentor, Quez Totark, who died in the crossfire of a gunfight while busking on a Nar Shaddaa corner. Max decides Jabba has to die after Jabba kills Oola, as seen in "Return of the Jedi."
Unbeknownst to Max, death is coming for his band members when Umpass receives a message from his father and orders the droid to play it in front of fellow bandmate Ak-Rev because he's like a brother. For reasons Older doesn't make clear, Umpass' father orders him to assassinate Jabba. It's a problematic order because Ak-Rev's family is indentured to the Hutts and must protect Jabba.
It all comes together on the day Jabba plans to kill Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, as Ak-Rev tries to stop Umpass from killing Jabba and they eventually witness Leia killing him instead. Max tells us that he lost track of them in the chaos following the barge incident. We only know that someone - I'm guessing the Hutts - lured Ak-Rev's clan into the desert and killed them. Meanwhile, Max enjoys a drink to life in a cantina somewhere.
As I said, it's a solid issue, but the art makes it difficult to follow at times, particularly to tell the difference between Ak-Rev and Umpass. Older could've also done a better job explaining why this near-death experience affected Max so much, given that he clearly has seen his share of shoot-outs at Jabba's. But, all in all, it fits this series' concept well, so it's worth a read.
No comments:
Post a Comment