Phasma is Back in Her Element in Marvel’s Captain Phasma #2

After escaping the trash compactor on Starkiller Base, Phasma is on the hunt to tie up a major loose end. First Order officer Lieutenant Sol Rivas has accessed the records of her treasonous actions that allowed the Resistance to defeat the First Order. To cover her tracks, she intends to hunt Rivas down, silence him, and pin it all on him instead. Part 2 of this four part series finds Phasma and her pilot, TN-3465, on the volatile planet of Luprora, a rocky world that very much reminds the Captain of her home planet Parnassos. Read on for the full review. Spoilers ahead…

 

 

 

On Luprora, Phasma and TN-3465 find Rivas’ abandoned TIE fighter, discovering that the officer landed on the planet out of necessity, lacking fuel and with his hyperdrive disabled. Phasma takes a moment to disable his ship’s communications before tracking him down to a nearby village. In order to blend in with the locals, Phasma and TN-3465 change clothes in a nearby hut just outside the village.

 

 

The panels tease a reveal as the Captain removes her helmet, but by the next panel she has already found a replacement (she really doesn’t like people seeing her face, does she?). After the trooper changes, we also discover that TN-3465 is also a woman (cue that awkward moment when you realize you’ve been reading her dialogue in a male voice up to this point).

 

 

The pair set out for the village, but before they arrive, they are assaulted by a tentacled sea monster. Phasma proves her mettle against the beast, catching the attention of the locals and earning admiration from the leader of the town. The leader reveals to Phasma that their “friend” has been taken by creatures known as the R’ora and that they should count him as good as dead. Not wanting to leave her secret to chance, Phasma is determined to make sure that Rivas does not escape from these mysterious sea-dwellers.

 

 

Writer Kelly Thompson continues to unravel the tale of Phasma’s self-redemption, this time proving that she has a good handle on Phasma as a character, giving her a good bit of dialogue and allowing her to interact with others. After a first issue with non-stop action, it’s nice to see that there will be some substance to this mini-series as well. I’m interested to see if any kind of kinship will develop between her and TN-3465 or if she will continue to remain distant (as is her typical response to others) and commanding.

 

 

In the Phasma novel by Delilah S. Dawson, we got a lot of really great moments with Phasma on her home planet of Parnassos (which were actually, in my opinion, the best parts about the book), and it’s great to see Phasma in her element again on Luprora, where she can really demonstrate her skills as a formidable warrior. Checchetto continues to awe and inspire with his beautiful artwork in this series, and to be honest, even if the story sucked (which it most certainly does not), this would be worth picking up for the art alone. This issue doesn’t pack as much punch as #1 did, but it sets up what could be a very entertaining second half of the series and has quite a bit of fun along the way.

 

Score: 7/10

 

 

Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Captain Phasma #2 is available now in a comic shop near you or online at Comixology. Happy reading comic fans!

 

 

 

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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.

24 thoughts on “Phasma is Back in Her Element in Marvel’s Captain Phasma #2

  • September 20, 2017 at 7:43 pm
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    Which treasonous actions? She literally had a gun to her head- that seems pretty coerced.

    • September 20, 2017 at 7:58 pm
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      Her duty would have been to die rather than aid the enemy. She betrayed the First Order by valuing her own life. Phasma knows the penalty for such action and understands exactly what her punishment will be if she’s discovered. Remember how Vader often dealt with failure? The First Order is not so different in their approach.

      • September 20, 2017 at 8:38 pm
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        Dayum remind me not to work for you.

        • September 20, 2017 at 9:50 pm
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          What does that have to do with him personally? He was just stating a fact about the First Order.

          • September 20, 2017 at 10:48 pm
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            fcpw was just joking. lol

          • September 20, 2017 at 11:03 pm
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            Doubtful since he couldn’t understand what Phasma’s treasonous act was.

        • September 20, 2017 at 10:51 pm
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          Lol. Those are Snoke’s standards, not mine. 🙂

    • September 20, 2017 at 8:31 pm
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      You mean a gun to the armor of a Naboo ship armor.

  • September 20, 2017 at 8:27 pm
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    According to to the comics her cape can deflect blaster bolts. Her armor is made from a Naboo cruiser, so I am pretty sure that can deflect blaster bolts as well.

    So what was her reason for not putting up a fight again?

    • September 20, 2017 at 8:52 pm
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      WHAT? No way! That’s so cool! Makes you think if she’s from Naboo herself.

      • September 21, 2017 at 11:38 am
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        The novel that came out recently goes into her past, including her home planet.

        Also it’s not just any cruiser, it was Palpatine’s personal ship.

    • September 20, 2017 at 8:53 pm
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      Naboo cruisers cannot deflect blaster bolts, shields handle that work. Even if they did, I doubt they’d stand up to a boltcaster shot. Regardless, you don’t need blasters when you have a Wookiee.

      And her reason for not putting up a fight is that she values self-preservation above all else, as explained in the Phasma novel. She had no time to react before Chewie sucker-punched her. She would do a quick mental calculation, realize that the base was infiltrated AND under air attack, and be looking to GTFO. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was on her way to an escape ship when Finn and the others caught her. If she was defending the base she would have had stormtroopers with her.

      • September 20, 2017 at 9:00 pm
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        This spaceframe, created by the skilled engineers of the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps was a single, long supple hull. The frame was covered in chromium, formerly used to shield starships from radiation and some forms of laser attacks,[7] but later used simply in a time-honored tradition.

        Yes it could deflect hand blaster bolts.

        • September 21, 2017 at 8:09 am
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          Well it could be like how some “bullet proof” vests can stop 9mm but not a 7.62×39mm. So yeah maybe small shrapnel and minor laser fire just nothing serious.

    • September 21, 2017 at 6:31 am
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      A Wookiee that easily rips people’s arms off. That was her reason.

  • September 20, 2017 at 10:13 pm
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    I’m about 120 pages in to the novel right now. I’ve appreciated the comic so far but this comic seems to be more about filling in the gaps than about telling us about the character.

    • September 20, 2017 at 11:51 pm
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      Does the novel describe her appearance, or so far avoiding it?

      • September 21, 2017 at 6:56 am
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        So now I wonder if the novel gives some insight into this: maybe there’s a reason why Phasma wants to keep her face hidden (which would tie in with her admonishing Finn for removing his helmet). It seems it could be a psychological thing, and, like Kylo, there’s nothing wrong with her face/appearance.

      • September 21, 2017 at 11:36 am
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        She is described to look like Gwendoline Christie (not with those words obviously), not avoiding it but not revealing anything shocking about her look. There is nothing special about her face at the time of the novel (which is 10 years before TFA) that would make her wear a mask. Wearing her helmet at all times seems to be psychological as if she doesn’t want anyone to see her real face just like she doesn’t want anyone know her past before the First Order.

      • September 21, 2017 at 3:17 pm
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        No, but it does do a good job of establishing that she does not like others to see her face or read her emotions.

  • September 21, 2017 at 6:14 am
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    The most important question to ask is how does Phasma look in a string-bikini? That’s all that matters……

  • September 21, 2017 at 7:05 am
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    This comic has me speculating now how Phasma will be unmasked in the movies. It’s rumored that she won’t be unmasked in TLJ. But there’s the Vanity Fair shoot with Gwendoline Christie in costume without the helmet. So we already have this literal image of Phasma unmasked.

    Here’s my prediction (or idea) for Episode IX: the first time Phasma appears, she’ll simply be without her helmet. But initially, the scene will play out that if you didn’t already know who the actress has been underneath the helmet, then it will appear to be that Game of Thrones woman warrior making an appearance. (Phasma could be not wearing her uniform at all, but dressed in another outfit; perhaps this scene in question could be her undercover, pretending to be another person.) Then in a later scene, we see Christie/Phasma put on her armor, and so the audience (those who didn’t already know it’s Christie as Phasma) goes “Oh — she’s Phasma!”

    So what I’m predicting is that JJ Abrams could go the opposite way in revealing Phasma’s face — not by unmasking her, but by just showing Christie in another role first, who then puts on the helmet later. Thus, revealing she’s Phasma.

  • September 21, 2017 at 9:12 am
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    This series has turned out great so far, a surprise. And I didn’t expect much for it originally. A major factor is the artist. Great work here on their part.

    My reaction to the reveal that TN-3465 is a woman didn’t feel like a “whoa” twist — instead, it struck me as a “huh, how did I miss that, why am I surprised?” feeling. Which in itself was an interesting reaction for me. Looking back at the drawings of TN-3465, I scrutinized them and wonder if the artist clued us into this by the way she stands and is positioned, perhaps in a subtle “feminine” stance. Or, maybe I’m seeing something that wasn’t put in there intentionally by the artist, and it’s me simply re-imagining things.

    I now can see that maybe even in the OT, several of the Stormtroopers could be women. In fact, this may not be considered revisionist thinking on our part today, because some of the people wearing Stormtrooper costumes in ANH really were women.

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