Review: ‘Bounty Hunters’ #42 Wears Its Heart on Its Sleeve as the Series Says Goodbye
The final issue of Bounty Hunters is here. Four years and 42 issues later, one of the staple ongoing series set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is over. In an attempt to not make this intro too sentimental, first things first. Issue #42 isn’t the series’ best issue. There is an unexpectedly deft Return of the Jedi-related twist that feels like it needed another issue to completely flesh out. Can you simply chalk that up to not wanting to say goodbye to this world? Perhaps.
Throughout this site’s last year of reviews, I’ve often praised writer Ethan Sacks’ deliberate approach. Considering the arena he’s playing in, it would’ve been easy to give in to mindless spectacle. But nope. Sacks chose the hard route. The mindless spectacle and the action set pieces were just the backdrop. The real spectacle was seeing these characters grow and make a lasting impact that helps those around them. These characters became more than just bounty hunters. They became a family.
That even shines a harsh light on Star Wars News Net‘s own coverage of the series over the years. I’ve purposefully never linked to our review for issue #4. I will now because I have to make a point. Our reviewer at the time, Kyle, criticized the hyper-violence shown towards women for seemingly no reason other than shock value. He took a stand demanding more from our storytellers, and this site stopped covering the series full-time. This continued until Bounty Hunters #29, the point at which this series demanded your attention. So Kyle, if you’re reading this, hopefully, you were able to give Bounty Hunters a second chance because it became everything you asked for and more.
By my count, Bounty Hunters #42 highlights six women that this series would’ve been impossible without. Beilert Valance’s status as the leading figure never wavered, but each of these six women proved instrumental in elevating the most poignant moments of Valance’s arc. This finale honors everything Bounty Hunters became, giving the team one final exhilarating mission and a lovingly crafted goodbye.
Spoilers ahead…
The main crux of the issue is Beilert Valance’s assault on Jabba’s Palace. Heading in, I was convinced it was solely to make a play at Han Solo, but we’d discover it was more layered than that. Boba Fett fed the crew information about Jabba’s top-secret weapon. When he comes face-to-face with the slug, Valance demands to know the location of Jabba’s “secret droid.”
Jabba takes the action to the Mos Espa Grand Arena (looking as splendid as ever) and decides to make a gladiatorial show out of it. Valance is in one corner, staring down a megadroid straight out of the Yoda series. This also ties in nicely with Han Solo & Chewbacca. In that series, Jabba was after Ajax Sigma’s neural core, which we now know would’ve been used to power this megadroid. Back in Yoda, the Jedi Master and Anakin had to think outside the box to stop it. So what hope would anyone have if Jabba succeeded in capturing the battle tactics of the droid revolutionary? We’ll never know. I just love it when comics can organically weave this much together at once.
The battle against the megadroid does not go well for Valance. Thankfully, he has backup. T’onga, Losha, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM come to the rescue. Together, they find a way to win the day. Afterward, we learn they did all this to provide an opening for Leia, Luke, and our classic heroes to save Han Solo one day. We even get a few panels with the classic heroes where Luke ponders why Valance would propose this certifiably insane course of action.
For those not in the know, Han risked everything to save Valance back in their Empire days. Ever since Valance has felt like he owed him. Finally, with a chance to make a difference, he ran with it. There is a missing beat to the story regarding Boba Fett that cheapens this wrinkle. I know Valance lost and regained his memories, but it was established he should remember what Fett did to him. Their small interactions in this issue felt like the water had been put under the bridge. An air of inherent tension was missing.
I’d only buy it if my theory that Fett feels guilty over what happened proves correct. This would explain why he was so willing to help them find Tarr Kligson and why he was more than happy to contribute to the demise of Jabba’s megadroid. Perhaps these are early signs of an old bounty hunter ready to settle down and make amends. The irony is if that’s the case, he just unwittingly signed his life away to the Sarlacc and his fight for Jabba’s vacant throne. In any case, I would have liked to see more out of Fett to shore that up so the Return of the Jedi tie-in could pop a bit more.
So here we are. Here at the end of all things. Intentional Lord of the Rings reference aside, this felt like the infamous “ending” of Return of the King. Before we start a riot, I love the 12 endings, or however many there are, so put your pitchforks down. As the crew has their final goodbye, we have an artist change. Paolo Villanelli returns to finish what he started and pencil the last few pages.
T’onga and Losha return to their home on the moon of Logal Ri, a location we haven’t returned to since they left it in Bounty Hunters #1. T’onga envisions a place where bounty hunters can coexist. As she details her vision, we get flashes from across the galaxy. Everyone this series has touched, from Dengar, IG-88, and Tasu Leech, series regulars like Vukorah (who mentions Nevarro), Zuckuss, and 4-LOM, all get a moment in the spotlight. Elsewhere, Bossk regrets his choice to betray the crew. This was a nice way to convey the series’s core message that you don’t have to be alone. No matter your choices, you have a place.
Then, the surprises start. I almost fell out of my chair when Yura was revealed to be alive and well. She’s such a minor character, but what a pleasant surprise to have in your chamber as an author. But don’t worry, there’s more as I did fall out of my chair for the next return. Cadeliah is back! The last time we saw her in Hidden Empire #5, Qi’ra had left her with the Crimson Dawn fortune and pleaded that she lives for herself and not others. Cadeliah will now help bankroll T’onga’s venture, and I can’t help but smile.
At one point, Cadeliah was the living embodiment of hope in the Star Wars underworld. Back in the crime syndicate days of the series, she was the heir and the one who could bring people together. I always wondered how they would approach that as her bond with Qi’ra grew, and the most straightforward answer was to just not. Going against the grain in what it means to be a bounty hunter breaks the cycle, and I love that for Losha, T’onga, and Cadeliah as they move on to the next phase of their lives.
The series ends with Jyala Haydenn being reprimanded by the Empire. It’s not long before Valance joins the party. They have a small moment before Valance offers Haydenn his hand. She takes it, and the pair are off to figure out what they can do together.
For me, this ending further drills home the themes of the issue. All that matters is your intentions. Haydenn had nothing but good intentions, even when she shot Valance. By bringing her into the fold, Valance says let’s leave the past behind and forge ahead. He doesn’t remember some of that past, but he knows Haydenn can be counted on. You are allowed to trust each other in this dark galaxy, the new bounty hunter way this series created.
So much for trying not to be long-winded, but I’ve now said more than enough. When the only negatives are some stilted dialogue and possibly needing another issue to make sense of an admittedly easy mental leap, your finale is doing something right. Throughout all the ups and downs of Bounty Hunters, Sacks showed that wearing your heart on your sleeve is more important than a good payday. Fight for others, and they might fight for you right back.
RATING: 9/10
Sacks wrote a thank you letter to everyone at the end of the issue. There’s an extended version on X (Twitter), which you can find here. Until March Ethan. Job well done.
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.
