Star Wars: Dark Droids #5: First, I just realized that the hybroid I didn't recognize is Tolvan, who I admit is one of the few characters I miss from "Doctor Aphra."
Soule wraps up things fairly neatly here, as Ajax kills the Scourge just as he manages to take over organics. I *think* he's able to take over all organics when he takes over Luke and thus gains access to the Force for the first time. (I guess Vader never let him access it when they merged in "Star Wars: Darth Vader" #40?) The Scourge is contemplating becoming the new Force by now taking over non-sentient creatures when Ajax stabs him.
With the Scourge gone, Ajax invites the new D-Squad to join him at the Second Revelation, though they all demur. Disturbingly, he re-activates the Spark Eternal and revises his revelations: the third revelation becomes about "them" and the fourth one is now "all." I still don't totally understand the Spark Eternal business, but it seems like Ajax is going to become the threat that Triple Zero warns him not to become when they parted.
Overall, "Star Wars: Dark Droids" was an OK event. I still feel like Soule could've done a better job giving us more information about the intelligence that became the Scourge, particularly since he once again makes it clear here that he and the Spark Eternal are two separate entities. Ajax only seems to resurrect the Spark Eternal, so is the Scourge - or, at least, the intelligence that joined the Spark Eternal to become the Scourge - truly dead? If I understood more about his nature, I think I'd have a better grasp on that.
Honestly, I think it's getting to the point where we need to end this interlude between "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" and plunge into the unknown. Between this event and the much less enjoyable "Star Wars: Hidden Empire," it's feel like we're spinning our wheels.
Star Wars #41: They're not kidding when they say you should read "Star Wars: Dark Droids" #5 first!
The first few pages more or less mirror what we saw in that issue, as Chewie, Lando, Leia, and Luke fight off the Scourge's minions. Once the possession ends (after Ajax kills the Scourge), Lando finds Lobot, whose condition has deteriorated. Leia and Luke stay to help all the humans suddenly freed from the Scourge's control, and Lando has Chewie carry Lobot to the Falcon. He asks Chewie to keep secret what he's going to show him until after Lobot is healed and then reveals the Talky.
But Lando's plan goes screwy when Leia and Luke arrive, informing him that the authorities had everything under control. (Heh. You almost never see that in comics, and I laughed out loud. "We're good, heroes, thanks!") The Talky refuses to heal Lobot until he's sure Lando really does care about him (since, if he does, he'd keep the Talky alive in case Lobot falls ill again). To prove his connection to Lobot, Lando confesses everything to Chewie, Leia, and Luke.
But he does so after he tries a different story. He stops himself and tells the truth: he agreed to spy on the Alliance to save himself from Jabba and, because he never actually passed along information, he sent Jabba the Talky as a way to save himself again. But Lando goes one step further, confessing that he stayed with the Alliance to build up the trust he needed them to have in him so that he could take the Falcon and retrieve the Talky.
The gambit works, and the Talky fixes Lobot, who's capable of speech again. It's pretty unbelievable. Lando admits to Lobot that he decided to try out the new Lando that he's just getting to know. Of course, he might not get a chance, since Leia arrives with guards to arrest him, announcing the penalty of treason is death!
Star Wars: Darth Vader #41: Like all the best cross-over issues, Pak uses the event to tease out truths about Vader here and advance the series' existing plot.
First things first, Vader doesn't surrender himself to the Scourge: he captures the Scourge's consciousness within a closed-loop system in his suit, studying him so he can replicate his ability to control droids. (It's why, as mentioned above, the Scourge didn't get access to the Force until he possessed Luke in "Star Wars: Dark Droids" #5.) When an Imperial unit arrives to take in Vader (Ha!) for attempting to assassinate the Emperor, Vader uses this control to see through his droids' eyes and use the Force on anyone in his now-expanded visual range.
But the Scourge is right that Vader can't process nearly the number of consciousnesses that he (the Scourge) can, and Vader struggles under the weight of this control. Vader takes out the droids attacking him, and the Scourge presumably dies in "Star Wars: Dark Droids" #5 before he can send more after him. The issue ends with the revelation of the "Schism Imperial," a trio of three Imperial officials, including the Umbaran, who clearly seek to overthrow Palpatine.
As I said, it was fun to see Vader pull a fast one on the Scourge, a reminder of his resourcefulness that we haven't seen here lately.
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