Review: Storylines Converge and Trandoshans Brawl in Marvel’s ‘Bounty Hunters’ #29
Marvel’s Star Wars: Bounty Hunters has been a roller coaster. One issue is an intriguing moral character quandary with great action, while the next buries itself in overly-convoluted writing and incomprehensible artwork. All that being said, if there is one series that has benefited the most from the reintroduction of Crimson Dawn, it is undoubtedly Bounty Hunters.
The end of War of the Bounty Hunters added a new dimension to Beilert Valance’s character as he struggles with his humanity while back within the Empire as Darth Vader’s puppet. Meanwhile, T’onga and the other bounty hunters came to life in their own right after Crimson Dawn kidnapped Cadeliah.
The two parties have been on separate paths throughout the Crimson Reign arc, with T’onga and her crew even raiding the Vermillion to try and rescue Cadeliah. Despite surviving an encounter with the Knights of Ren, their plight failed, and they now find themselves in service of Qi’ra as they have nothing left to fight for. Their first job is to take out an Imperial transport ship, but what they don’t know is that they are on a collision course with Valance, who is likewise tasked with protecting the ship from Crimson Dawn.
With storylines converging and ramping up, there isn’t a better time to hop back on the bandwagon as this new arc begins with a two-issue Bedlam at Bestine party in Bounty Hunters #29. Or maybe that’s the looming arrival of Iden Versio and the Inferno Squad talking?
Spoilers ahead…
First things first, no. Inferno Squad isn’t anywhere to be seen in this issue so the wait continues. But no time is wasted as we jump right into showing the dueling points of view between T’onga and Valance. They each brief their team, completely unaware of what they’re going to find out when the fighting inevitably begins. One thing to keep in mind for Valance’s incoming conflict of interest is that the last few issues have begun ratcheting up the tension between him and Vader. If this mission goes awry, the Sith Lord could be done playing with his toy (if you’ve read Revelations, you know this is likely the case).
But first a random detour with the return of IG-88! The last time we saw the assassin droid was in his one-shot during the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, where he ended off in a bit of an existential crisis as he pondered the future. During his time away, his head got screwed on tighter and is back working a bounty for the Empire.
He takes out the leaders of the Son-tuul Pride, and then accepts a new bounty. This one is for Vukorah, who is currently on Corellia inside the Unbroken Clan Palace. Random, unrelated, and unnecessary subplots are a staple in Bounty Hunters, but Vukorah has become a much more interesting character after her stay with T’onga’s team. I’ll let it play out.
Anyhow, T’onga and her team board the transport. Bossk and Tasu Leech pair off and skulk around. They have a little banter before they are found, and the issue’s cover comes to life. Tanka surprises them, and the Trandoshan brawl is on while Tasu dangles off the ledge.
Writer Ethan Sacks and artist Paolo Villanelli don’t let it overstay its welcome, packing every panel with the full brunt of their blows, whether physical or verbal. The fight ends in brutal fashion when Bossk wraps a cable around Tanka’s throat and chucks him off the edge of the ship. It’s doubtful this is the last we’ve seen of Tanka, but it was a real fun fight to go out on if it was.
Deeper inside the transport, we rejoin T’onga, Losha, and Zuckuss. They are trying to plant bombs, but are also soon caught. Stormtroopers bear down on them, and their Crimson Dawn contact immediately bolts. Escape isn’t an option however as they are shot down by Beilert Valance, who comes out of the shadows. After T’onga makes a quip that made Valance pause upon hearing the voice, he realizes just what is going on. Valance and T’onga are finally reunited, but it’s about to get way messier before it ever gets better.
Bounty Hunters #29 is a very solid issue that has the benefit of standing on the foundation of a solid last dozen or so issues. It’s still a bit shaky at times, but it never breaks. The groundwork laid by its two leads paved the way for this issue’s payoff. In different ways, both Valance and T’onga have become everything they hate while they were apart, and now here we are.
The Revelations special revealed that Inferno Squad is going to be enlisted to deal with the Empire’s growing Valance problem, and that impending threat raises a lot of questions on how we get there in the next few issues. And of course, it also raises questions on where the story goes from there as the larger Crimson Dawn story reaches its climax. All I know is that Bounty Hunters has done the work to get me invested.
RATING: 8/10
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
