Review: Legends of the Past Collide in Marvel’s ‘Bounty Hunters’ #37
Perhaps the best choice being made early on in Marvel’s Dark Droids crossover is to keep the focus on the personal stakes in each of the four ongoing series. Whether it’s Lando and Lobot, Darth Vader’s struggles with the Force, or Aphra’s own toxic web, it’s been a pleasant surprise to start things off with this “Scourge” quietly building up its menace in the background while our leading players sink deeper into turmoil. As the crossover progresses, it should make for some really dramatic storytelling. Bounty Hunters #37 continues the trend.
After two issues of Boba Fett’s games, the team has reached their destination in their search for Tarr Kligson. Mysteries are now afoot as Tarr is Beilert Valance’s only hope to save his dying humanity. Will he keep Valance from a terrible fate? Should the team have even trusted Fett? Can Tarr be trusted? What is the connection to the Dark Droids saga? And how does Jango Fett factor in?
Bounty Hunters #37 isn’t the most eventful issue, but it’s structured in a clever way that answers almost every question and packs some sly parallels to the Legends story of Kligson and his “droid world.”
Spoilers ahead…
The issue opens with a reminder of the revolving door of artists this series faces right now. Davide Tinto brings his pencil to the party, and you can immediately tell he’s only played in IDW’s Star Wars: Adventures before in terms of Star Wars land. That’s not a bad thing, but Tinto’s style has a cleaner and more exaggerated tone that fits better overall in that setting. Paolo Villanelli set a dirty and rugged standard that most guest artists have met, but Tinto still gets the job done for the most part. While initially off-putting, Arif Prianto’s consistent colors help the reader feel at home as Tinto adjusts to the style Bounty Hunters has demanded its entire run.
The main gimmick of the issue is flashing back between the present and a time when Jango Fett is seeking help for a dying Tarr Kligson. It’s implied that the duo have been partners for a while, and things have since gone wrong with some pirates. Jango’s plan to get to Kamino is halted when Taun We (someone out there has all of the Kaminoans straight in their head) refuses them due to some super-secret arrangement between him and Kamino. Kligson has a last-ditch idea, though. There is one place they can go, a family secret that we learn to be called the Haven.
Sacks plays with time well, paralleling each little movement of our main characters and Jango to paint a picture of the Haven and its meaning in the present. It works to create a growing unease as both sides realize the Haven isn’t what they initially expected.
Jango Fett and Tarr’s experience begins with an army of angry droids who can’t bear to see any organics board their vessel. Jango defends them both before Telemak, a droid serving as the guardian of the Haven, breaks up the fighting. Eventually, they reluctantly agree to help Tarr, thanks to his family’s service in starting a droid revolution. One can assume the Haven is either an alias for Kligson’s Moon or is stationed by the moon. As a reminder, that was a location that, at one point, served as the hub of Ajax Sigma. We also learn that these droids are stationed waiting for the second coming of Ajax.
In the present, our heroes are greeted by an army of peaceful droids led by Telemak, now the assistant to the guardian of the Haven. The years have not been kind to Telemak, whose plating is now beaten up, broken, and has wires coming out of his head. He marvels at the sight of Valance and immediately takes him in to definitely fix his failing processor.
In a gorgeously-constructed single page split down the middle, we see Jango board his ship and say goodbye to Tarr. On the opposite end, Valance is also being led away from his friends. Droids rule on the Haven. Nobody else is allowed entry.
After Valance is gone longer than anticipated, T’onga sends 4-LOM and Zuckuss to get answers. Once inside, the pair walk down an eerily empty hallway, and that’s when we see it. The tell-tale sign that the Scourge has made its way onto the Haven. The invisible camera moves in front of the duo, allowing us to see what’s now on the prowl behind them. Crawling on the ceiling, in silence, and all around, droids. Dozens upon dozens of blood-thirsty droids stake their next target. Dark Droids is laying it on thick with the horror beats and letting its writers and artists have a ball with it, and I am here for the chaos.
Closing things out, we rejoin Valance hooked up to what can only be described as a mad scientists’ lab. That mad scientist reveals himself as Tarr Kligson, who plans to use Valance for everything except restoring his memories. Tears pour from Valance’s eyes as we again see another memory of Yura fade away… into nothing.
Bounty Hunters #37 does a lot with very little. It’s an issue that shows off Sacks’ ability to be creative with his narrative approach, a trait I wish he explored more — instead of just jumping from scene to scene without much narrative reason. Finally seeing Tarr was very much welcome, and his character makes me wonder if he is playing a similar game to what he played in Legends.
In Star Wars (1977) #47, his “droid world” resembled its now-canon setting. It’s a place hidden away from prying eyes and does not take kindly to organics. As that story went on, we learned Tarr only helped our Rebel heroes as a means to uncover a traitor in his own midst. Is a similar story happening here? Does Tarr possess some valuable information about the Scourge that he needs Valance to help combat?
Valance is destined to fall under the influence of the Scourge anyway, so there isn’t an uplifting follow-up on the horizon. Dark Droids continues to be a breath of fresh air, and Bounty Hunters is no exception. Issue #37 isn’t the most awe-inspiring ride, but investment is still very high in this unending and futile quest for one happy day for this motley crew.
RATING: 7/10
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.
