‘The Mandalorian’ Comic #7 Review: ‘The Reckoning’ Captures the Intensity of the Penultimate Season 1 Episode
The Mandalorian comic series has not held many expectations for fans or even comic lovers, as it has thus far only offered adaptations of each chapter of the beloved Disney Plus series, adding little else to the story we already know and love. Issue #7 takes us through Chapter 7, The Reckoning, the penultimate episode of season 1 of The Mandalorian, in which the titular character returns to Nevarro at the behest of Carl Weathers’ Greef Karga to destroy the ex-Imperial client who had first hired him to grab the Child.
UPDATE: There was a factual mistake in this review regarding a location which had actually been mentioned in the original episode — it has now been corrected.
Issue #7 does a great job of capturing the intensity of this episode in comic form, including the build-up of suspense that comes to a head at the end of the chapter. The rebirth of IG-11 was beautifully represented, stylistically illustrating the painstaking effort that Kuiil made to give him a new purpose whilst juggling the sombre hope of new trust and strength.
Furthermore, the artwork perfectly depicts the tension between ex-Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune and Kuiil, who spent several lifetimes of indentured servitude to the Empire.
The most interesting part of the issue was the reference to a Star Wars location casually mentioned by Kuiil upon his greeting of the Child and Cara Dune — the Cytocaves of Nora appears to be a gene farm which produces strand-casts. Kuiil informs the Mandalorian that he once worked at a gene farm, presumably a place of genetic engineering where beings are created, most likely similar to the creation of clones we have seen for the Grand Army of the Republic… and in the infamous return of Darth Sidious in The Rise of Skywalker. Whilst this was in the source material episode, it is an interesting idea to reflect upon, and the comic adaptation gives space for that.
Reading this comic transported me back to the first moment I watched the episode, mere hours before I watched the midnight premiere of Star Wars Episode IX. This was interesting because The Reckoning introduced a Force ability unseen before in live-action: Force healing (briefly touched upon in The Clone Wars‘ sixteenth episode, The Altar of Mortis), which was then used by Rey in Episode IX.
The moment wherein the Child healed a dying Greef Karga — after a Nevarro reptavian attack — held such gravity in The Reckoning, as we were witnessing a powerful Force ability that fans had not previously seen before, giving us an idea about the strength of the Child… and setting up its use as an important plot device for the final instalment of the Skywalker Saga. The show understood this and handled it accordingly, but unfortunately, the comic adaptation gave little weight to such an important scene, granting it a few brief panels and no time to chew.
Overall, if you love Star Wars comics and the artistry behind them, give this series a go — at the very least, you can look at a great story from a different angle. Or it may be something to read if you’ve watched the show a thousand times and are scraping the bottom of the Mandalorian barrel for new content before season 3 comes out. Personally, I’d prefer the 1001st rewatch.
6/10
Rosalie Lambert is a law student from Australia with a deep love for Star Wars, fantasy, and epic stylistic storytelling. Growing up in the country, Rosalie has always loved nature and outdoor activities, and has a passion for human rights and social justice that she wants to work towards in her field of study.
