SWNN Review: Marvel’s Star Wars #17

Star Wars #17 - Cover

Jason Aaron’s “Rebel Jail” story arc continues this week with issue #17 of the Star Wars titular series. Read on for the full review. Spoilers ahead.

 

In part one of the story arc that picked up after Dr. Aphra’s capture in the “Vader Down” crossover, we followed Leia and Sana to Sunspot Prison, a top secret holding facility used by the Rebellion to hold war criminals, as they deliver Aphra to the rebel jail. The issue ended with a bang that led right into part two, which finds Leia and Sana fighting for their lives and defending the prison from the mysterious attacker.

 

Star Wars #17 - I Hate Droids

 

At the end of issue #16, an armored commando/bounty hunter type with a command of thug droids infiltrated Sunspot Prison. In light of Vader’s attempts to reclaim Aphra, we were led to believe that this whole coup was a rescue attempt meant for her, but this issue revealed just how wrong we were about that assumption.

 

Star Wars #17 - Man in Charge

 

The mysterious metal-clad madman keyed us in on his motivations in this issue, and it has nothing to do with rescuing the dangerous doctor. Although the identity and the motivations behind the actions of the character are never revealed in this issue, we at least discover what he’s trying to do. It seems from his conversation with Leia that the intruder may have some past connection to the princess, but it is still unclear as to what exactly that connection may have been.

 

Star Wars #17 - You Need Saving

 

However muddled the history between Leia and this new malefactor may be, his mission is clear – kill all the prisoners and teach Leia the error of her ways in her approach to the war effort. He does this by executing some of the prisoners and then releasing the others, in an attempt to force Leia to kill them herself. The masked antagonist obviously takes issue with due process when it comes to Imperial scum, and resents Leia for her failure to deal out merciless justice.

 

Star Wars #17 - Nothing Noble in War

 

Leia, true to her ideals, resists the tempation to go along with the intruder’s scheme and actually rescues and frees Dr. Aphra to help her and Sana escape this madman’s mayhem. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see how this pans out just yet, as the issue leaves us here, but it certainly looks to be a fun ride when we get back on next month with issue #18.

 

Star Wars #17 - It's Fast Enough For You

 

As a side plot to the main story, we also follow Luke and Han on Nar Shaddaa, who are  struggling to earn back the credits Han lost when he got caught cheating at Sabaac in the last issue. Although this sub plot still feels a bit unnecessary after its odd inclusion in part one of this arc, it did bring some relief to the serious nature of the main plot.

 

Star Wars #17 - Not Running a Charity Here

 

Seeing Luke as a salesman trying to convince a potential client that the Falcon was the ship for him was priceless, as he used several of Han’s selling points from their cantina conversation in ANH. Long story short, they get the job, and the cargo…well let’s just say Han’s not hauling rathtars this time around, and Leia’s angry name-calling rant she unleashes on him later at Echo Base might just stem from an inside joke that began here in this moment.

 

Star Wars #17 - Lethal Ladies

 

The pacing of this issue was great, and I think that this new story arc by Aaron is brilliant while Yu’s artwork is also quite good and really reflects the tone of the story Aaron is telling. If you haven’t checked out Marvel’s Star Wars series yet, I definitely recommend it. Although the first story arc “Skywalker Strikes” had its issues (no pun intended), the second arc “Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon” and the “Vader Down” crossover were fantastic, and Aaron is really hitting his stride so far with “Rebel Jail”. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

 

As always, support your local comic shops, and stay tuned to Star Wars News Net for more on Star Wars comics and more!

 

Star Wars #17 - Next Issue

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Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

Jordan Pate (Hard Case)

Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

28 thoughts on “SWNN Review: Marvel’s Star Wars #17

  • March 23, 2016 at 8:59 pm
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    wow, that cover art is terrible. what in all circles of hell is going on with Luke’s face?

      • March 24, 2016 at 1:53 pm
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        Covers rarely reveal anything about the actual content of the story within these days, but I think that the last page of the comic with our three lethal ladies would have made for a great cover and would have actually been relevant to the story. I like this cover, but variants always perplex me a bit (and even the regular covers sometimes). Chewie is not even in this issue. But like I said, covers are cool, but rarely are relevant to the pages of the actual comic.

      • March 24, 2016 at 11:51 pm
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        Except you can’t park the Falcon like that, it would totally tip over.

        This cover makes no sense, it’s why they decided to go with transgender Luke.

        • March 25, 2016 at 1:10 am
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          If TFA has taught us nothing else it’s that 1) Ships can have any amount of crap packed away in their hulls that pop out whenever needed, so maybe it’s got extra landing gear in the thrusters and 2) the Falcon is completely indestructible, so who cares if it tips over. Falcon don’t care, Falcon don’t give a shit – look at it park backwards! Eww, look, it’s eating a cobra!

          • March 25, 2016 at 4:47 am
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            SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Don’t say that because now the Falcon is gonna blow up before the end of this new trilogy.

      • March 25, 2016 at 12:01 am
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        If TFA has taught us nothing else it’s that 1) Ships can have any amount of crap packed away in their hulls that pop out whenever needed and 2) the Falcon is completely indestructible, so who cares if it tips over. Falcon don’t care, Falcon don’t give a shit – look at it park backwards!

        • March 25, 2016 at 2:57 am
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          I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re ALWAYS high….

    • March 23, 2016 at 9:14 pm
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      Like I said, on a different site, they probably held a competition in a 8th grade art class.

    • March 23, 2016 at 9:17 pm
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      I was thinking the same thing.

    • March 23, 2016 at 9:40 pm
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      Yeah, notice I didn’t mention anything about the cover artist in my review. I was trying to ignore it. He did the art for the Princess Leia mini series which is dreadful.

    • March 24, 2016 at 11:23 pm
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      Botox and botched plastic surgery.

  • March 23, 2016 at 9:07 pm
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    APHRA?

    • March 23, 2016 at 9:41 pm
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      She is an archaeologist and droid programmer that works for Vader.

      • March 23, 2016 at 10:03 pm
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        Yes, I know. I was just surprised to see her on the cover for the next issue.

        • March 24, 2016 at 1:48 pm
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          Oh, okay. I didn’t know if you followed the Vader series or not.

          • March 24, 2016 at 2:07 pm
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            HA! I read these out of order – saw Vader #17 before this one. Now it all makes sense! Chalk another in the ‘not the brightest bulb’ column for me!

  • March 23, 2016 at 9:45 pm
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    Wow… Meg Ryan guess stars? I hope they don’t make it a romantic comedy!

  • March 23, 2016 at 10:04 pm
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    Luke Skywalker as played by Meg Ryan.

  • March 24, 2016 at 1:08 am
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    That cover art is hideous. I thought this issue was merely OK. It did feature some animal poop jokes though, and everyone loves those. Don’t we, kids?

    • March 24, 2016 at 3:45 am
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      “A cartoon rabbit that steps in the poopy.”

  • March 24, 2016 at 4:10 am
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    The cover art’s a little dodgy, but the art for the book proper is very solid and well-done.

  • March 24, 2016 at 2:07 pm
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    WITH A REBEL JAIL….SHE CRIED – MORE! MORE! MORE!

  • March 24, 2016 at 11:50 pm
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    WTF is wrong with Luke’s face.

    • March 25, 2016 at 3:29 am
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      Apparently Hoth wasn’t the first time he had encountered a wampa.

  • March 24, 2016 at 11:58 pm
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    Can someone tell me if the idea of the Rebels – those guys that are constantly on the run from one secret base to another, with critically limited resources to work with – having a massive jail where they house bunches of imperials is as godawful stupid as it sounds?

    • March 25, 2016 at 3:29 am
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      It is.

  • March 25, 2016 at 3:29 am
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    So Meg Ryan modeled for the cover of Star Wars. Nice.

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