Cheater Gets Cheated in Marvel’s Star Wars DJ: Most Wanted

When STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI takes theaters in FORCE (get it?) this December, Star Wars fans will get a peek into some new dark corners of the Galaxy Far Away…and out of one of those corners scuttles DJ, the mysterious character played by Benicio Del Toro! Who is this mystery man, and what put him in the path of our Resistance heroes? Join Ben Acker & Ben Blacker (Star Wars Join the Resistance, Star Wars: The Last Jedi – The Storms of Crait) and Kev Walker (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Darkhawk) as they reveal a day in DJ’s life just before his appearance in the film!

 

SPOILERS AHEAD

 

We met the mysterious codebreaker DJ (played by Benicio Del Toro) in a Canto Bight casino jail cell in The Last Jedi, when he crossed paths with Resistance fighters Finn and Rose. The issue opens with DJ at one of the casino game tables losing a small fortune while perplexing a droid with his choices and relaxed demeanor.

 

 

His enjoyment is interrupted by two detectives, Pol Opol and Oosha Choi, who are working on two robberies. One of the victims is an arms dealer and the other a charitable person who came to Cantonica as a contest winner. Both people were robbed of their self-stats and code cards. The theft instigated a gang war that led to the death of three police officers. The detectives discovered that the man behind it all is one Denel Strench. DJ is his only surviving associate, which is why they need his help. However, they cannot touch him because in Canto Bight the casinos hold jurisdiction.

 

 

As the detectives are escorted out, DJ continues gambling and winning big. We learn that the money he lost at the beginning of the story was just his way of slicing into the casino’s system and cheating them out of a larger sum of money. When the detectives and casino owner confront DJ outside, both are cheated out of getting their hands on him thanks to an armed escort from the other casino.

 

 

Moont from Melt is a dangerous man who enjoys both luxury and violence. DJ challenges him to catch him cheating, which will give Moont the opportunity to engage in his favorite hobby – breaking every bone in DJ’s body. The friendly game is interrupted by Flestic Crupp, one of victims of the original crime. DJ is flabbergasted when he finds out that Denel Strench helped Crupp find him. Because, as we learn, Strench does not exist – he was made up by DJ himself  – yet the very same imaginary gangster betrayed him. With both the cops and vengeful gangsters on his tail, DJ needs to seek assistance from a friendly podracer with gambling debts. His only chance of survival is turning himself in to the cops.

 

 

We learn that a vengeful droid from the beginning of the story broke into DJ’s room and stole all necessary information. The droid is then destroyed and DJ is apprehended and taken to jail where Finn and Rose will soon meet him.

As he is taken away, DJ claims he only cheats terrible people. However it should be clarified that, in his cynical world view, those are the only kind of people that exist. Even the charitable person from the beginning of the story is, in actuality, a drug dealer. From his point of view, he is the only honest person.

 

 

If I am being completely honest, this feels like a completely superfluous issue. There is nothing in this story that we couldn’t surmise about DJ from The Last Jedi. He is a completely amoral character only looking out for number one. While the writers did a valiant job of demonstrating DJ’s skills, hardly any attempt was made to introduce some depth or complexity. He is a skilled scumbag who thinks the worst of people, and that’s all. The writers surrounded DJ with characters that feel more like caricatures than actual people, from hardened but honest detectives, to an evil and violent casino proprietor.

 

The comic was more successful in describing the setting of Canto Bight or, more precisely, the underbelly of the “lousy, beautiful town” which was hinted at in the movie. Under the posh and colorful surface lurks the violence and deception dynamically depicted by Kevin Walker’s art and Java Tartaglia’s vivid colors.

In the end however, DJ: Most Wanted is not what I would call an essential read for a Star Wars fan. Even if you were curious about DJ after watching The Last Jedi, I doubt this issue would give you much food for thought, offering little to enhance your view of the character. It is a shame, because the setting of Canto Bight could actually provide the background for more interesting Star Wars stories, but for now anyway, you can take it or leave it.

 

DJ: Most Wanted gets 5/10 STARS.

 

 

+ posts

Staff member, comic and book reviewer. Cheers for the Light Side, but would drink with Grand Admirals.

Jelena Bidin (LadyMusashi)

Staff member, comic and book reviewer. Cheers for the Light Side, but would drink with Grand Admirals.

26 thoughts on “Cheater Gets Cheated in Marvel’s Star Wars DJ: Most Wanted

  • February 1, 2018 at 12:09 am
    Permalink

    Isn’t his twin brother a collector of some sort?

    • February 1, 2018 at 1:03 am
      Permalink

      well someones collecting Ewoks in that Solo picture.
      oh you mean the Guardians Collector, 😉

  • February 1, 2018 at 12:19 am
    Permalink

    Who cares about DJ. There is a new Aphra comix out there and we finaly get Leeeeeeeeeessssbiaaaaaaaaaaaansssssss in SW 😀

    • February 1, 2018 at 1:01 am
      Permalink

      Zero F**cks Given for this character

      • February 1, 2018 at 1:38 am
        Permalink

        It’s so weird, I feel the same way about nearly all of your posts.

        • February 1, 2018 at 1:54 am
          Permalink

          awwww, somehow I think you’ll pull through

          #releasethetrailer

          • February 1, 2018 at 11:43 pm
            Permalink

            Oh, I’m fine. You’re just a useless entity on this forum. I like to point it out.

    • February 1, 2018 at 1:34 am
      Permalink

      We’ve had lesbians in Star Wars for a while now. Wasn’t there an Imperial admiral?

      • February 1, 2018 at 9:53 am
        Permalink

        But was it on screen ? Coz here it is 🙂
        Anyway cant wait to see how the story continues with Aphra.
        After Aphra will be released as an 3.75″ SA action figure, i hope they release also that imperial officer Tolvan

    • February 1, 2018 at 9:20 pm
      Permalink

      Oh, I do hope she smirks in this one.

  • February 1, 2018 at 2:00 am
    Permalink

    DJ is a great SW character. More DJ is fine by me.

    • February 1, 2018 at 12:35 pm
      Permalink

      Exactly why is he a great character?

    • February 1, 2018 at 12:35 pm
      Permalink

      Exactly why is he a great character?

      • February 1, 2018 at 2:26 pm
        Permalink

        Exactly why isn’t he? If you’re going to solicit a reason behind someone’s opinion, perhaps you could first offer a reason behind your own.

  • February 1, 2018 at 3:32 am
    Permalink

    I liked DJ in the film but this comic was really lame. It hardly gave us any insight about the character and that was all I was really craving. Plus, I’m convinced that Canto Bight simply isn’t that interesting. The book was kind of dull too.

  • February 1, 2018 at 3:32 am
    Permalink

    I liked DJ in the film but this comic was really lame. It hardly gave us any insight about the character and that was all I was really craving. Plus, I’m convinced that Canto Bight simply isn’t that interesting. The book was kind of dull too.

  • February 1, 2018 at 9:56 am
    Permalink

    Question: Why is suddenly Canto Bight filled with known aliens like twileks and rodians and zabraks ? Its inconsistent with the movie 😀

    • February 1, 2018 at 12:14 pm
      Permalink

      I think Lucasfilm is finally listening, or the artist just knows more Than TPTB

      • February 1, 2018 at 2:24 pm
        Permalink

        Listening to what? The artist is probably just drawing what he or she is familiar with.

      • February 1, 2018 at 10:54 pm
        Permalink

        The artists and writers of these comics (and books) are hired to do fix-it storytelling that the screenwriters neglect (or don’t care) to do.

    • February 2, 2018 at 2:56 pm
      Permalink

      What you saw in the movie it’s just one of the casinos among all thousands of casinos which are in a CASINO Planet!!! Both casinos in this comic are different from the one of the movie. And…, come on, it is supposed to be the place where converge people from the farthest places of the galaxy. In fact, I wonder, why the movie doesn’t show classical aliens?

  • February 1, 2018 at 11:44 am
    Permalink

    I’ve bought pretty much every Star Wars comic or tpb since the ST was announced. Sadly I won’t be getting this one. I thought DJ was boring, a wasted character and a waste of Benicio Del Toros talent.

  • February 1, 2018 at 3:49 pm
    Permalink

    This comics is so boring, I couldn’t finish it.

  • February 1, 2018 at 9:18 pm
    Permalink

    DJ: Most Wanted – An Explanation for Why If There’s One Code-breaker In the Galaxy Who Could Break the FO Code, We Don’t Need Them Because We Met a Rando In Our Cell Instead. A Star Wars Story.

  • February 1, 2018 at 10:53 pm
    Permalink

    I thought it was unintentional comedy when DJ did his “oh, did I do bad?” look, like a cartoon cat with the feather of a parakeet hanging from his lips, when Rose and Finn told him whaddya jerk he was.

    Hey, what happened to DJ amid the chaos after the Holdo Maneuver? Were we shown a brief shot of DJ’s ship leaving the Destroyer, or did Johnson not bother with this detail? Somebody ask him to explain this one, too.

  • February 3, 2018 at 12:59 pm
    Permalink

    Who the hell buys this crap?

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET