Review: ‘Star Wars’ #41 – Lando Calrissian Finally Comes Clean in ‘Lando Lost’
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally getting payoff for certain moments in Lando’s character arc going all the way back to the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover in 2021. With Lando finally aligned to the Rebel cause morally, the time has come for him to face the consequences of his earlier actions.
This issue only dips into that a little bit, with an emotional conversation as Lando is finally required to spill his secrets to his friends, but for the most part this issue focuses on the mission to rescue Lobot. The action is brief but chaotic as our core heroes face down the Droid Scourge, all of it entertaining, before a smaller scale but still emotional ending.
The main Star Wars comic run has probably been the least involved with the Dark Droids crossover compared to Doctor Aphra, Darth Vader and Bounty Hunters, with its biggest connection being the possession of Lobot. Lando’s mission to rescue and fix his closest friend has always been engaging and relatable, but I’m glad this story arc is over so we can move on to something new. Luke is on a particularly intriguing journey right now, so I’m eager to return to that story with Lobot’s fate resolved.
Speaking of Dark Droids, beware spoilers! As writer Charles Soule warned us, this issue contains pretty huge spoilers for the final issue of Dark Droids, which doesn’t come out until December 27, three weeks after publication of this issue. If you are invested in the Dark Droids comic series and don’t want to know what happens, then absolutely do not read this comic until Dark Droids #5 releases and certainly do not read this review after the spoiler warning.
This publishing error does harm the issue a bit, as it presents the outcome of that series in a way that feels random and out of the blue, acting as a convenient deus ex machina for our heroes rather than a more natural outcome. If this issue had been swapped with Dark Droids #5, it wouldn’t have felt that way.
Spoilers ahead…
The issue kicks off with some great action as the gang face off against the Droid Scourge. The art is particularly impressive, showing our heroes outnumbered and surrounded by droids as they do an impressive job keeping them all at bay. It’s great to see our heroes all united and fighting a larger threat again.
The action is kept at a brisk pace as we discover that the Droid Scourge has finally figured out how to fully possess organics, a breakthrough that was teased right at the end of the previous Doctor Aphra issue. It’s a surprising development that only really makes sense if you’ve read that issue and kept up with the main Dark Droids series, but it doesn’t get in the way of the tension as the gang are swarmed by disk droids and all get possessed.
It matters little though, as this is where the big spoiler happens. We get a little shot of the Droid Scourge getting impaled by Ajax Sigma, killing him and ending the threat once and for all. That’s all we see — it’s all on one page, there’s no more information on how Ajax Sigma got to him, and it’s presented as something else going on in another story. It is a badass moment though, with Ajax getting a great line in as he kills the Droid Scourge.
With the Droid Scourge threat ended, the gang are free to go find Lobot without any other obstacles in the way. When they find him, the hybroid is barely clinging to life. Lando and Chewie take him back to the Falcon immediately while Luke and Leia stay to help the locals. This is when the first part of Lando’s confession comes. He reveals everything to Chewie as he boots the Talky droid back up, stating that he’s willing to face the consequences but later, after Lobot has been saved.
Unfortunately for Lando, this is when Leia and Luke return. Leia is furious to see the Talky on board the Millennium Falcon when she believed it was still being stored on the Home One all this time. After some negotiating with the Talky, Lando is left with no other choice but to explain to Leia everything that has he done, along with his motivations for doing so. He is remarkably honest with her, and it feels good to see him finally get all of this off his chest.
However, it seems to have broken Leia’s hard-earned trust. Talky agrees to fix Lobot’s implants and Lando finally manages to rescue his friend. The two of them get a quiet and heartfelt conversation on the Falcon afterwards where Lando tells Lobot just how much he means to him. This is right before Leia marches in with two Rebel Alliance soldiers and puts him under arrest.
She says Lando is to be charged with treason, the penalty for which is death. We obviously know that Lando survives this ordeal and even ascends to the rank of general by Return of the Jedi, so that does make you wonder if something is up here. The issue does tease that Lando will be undergoing a trial, but does Leia secretly sympathize with Lando’s motives and has no intention of going through with the punishment? Or will Lando have to win her over once again?
I’m glad the main Star Wars comic is past the Dark Droids stuff now, because the next couple of stories sound fascinating. The Trial of Lando Calrissian promises plenty of tense drama, while the next story is going to get into tonnes of Force-related shenanigans as Luke encounters that Sith woman he saw back on Christophsis.
I can’t wait. As fun as the Dark Droids crossover was, it meant that we took too long of a break from Luke’s story. I’m eager to get back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Rating: 7/10
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
