One of the strengths of “Star Wars Legacy” is how far reaching the story is. A Star Wars movie never lets you sit in one place too long. You’ll spend a few minutes on an adventure before being whisked away to a bad guys meeting, and then check in with another hero on another planet. The narrative isn’t closely tied to a single person or place. “Legacy” takes that to heart with its one shot issues, which tell the stories of the Sith, the Alliance, the Jedi, Imperial spies, stormtroopers… it’s a complex conflict and we’ve seen it on multiple fronts. So throwing in a Mandalorian vengeance story three-quarters of the way through of all this? Sure, why not.
“Star Wars Legacy” #41-46
Story by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema
Written by John Ostrander
Illustrated by Jan Duursema, Kajo Baldisimo, and Dave Ross
Inked by Dan Parsons
Colored by Brad Anderson and Jesus Aburto
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Published by Marvel
Originally published by Dark Horse
Despite my appreciation for the supporting cast, and for the complexities of the story, I have been finding my attention drift when we’re not engaged with Cade and his central conflict. Part of that is the art. Jan Duursema has so much to do with my affection for this series, and other artists take over with other stories. But it’s worth giving these other threads a shot. I was delighted for example to hear a Mando refer to his armor as his beskar’gam. The confusing Star Wars continuity really does feel like a legend.
And despite me not getting too invested in the truly flabbergasting extended cast, I can appreciate good storytelling. The former Imperial Knight who has been leading the resistance on Mon Calamari returned, and there was some forward movement in his story. Emperor Fel wants him to return, but he’s unwilling to cut his allies loose. So a Jedi, in part to show good faith and in part because of his religious beliefs, takes up the leadership role of the resistance. It’s a shuffling of pieces, but it’s cool to see the will of all these individuals clash. This series is partially a star war because of all the pew pew and action, but it’s always a star war of ideas.
Even the main story this week was only sort of about Cade’s journey. I mean it was, just not chronologically. The crew’s adventure on Wayland was less about this late stage of the war, and more about how it started. We spend a lot of time in flashback, seeing how Cade’s dad dreamed of repairing the worlds damaged in all of the previous star wars, and how his dream was sabotaged by the forces of evil. Not the treachery of the Yuzahn Vong, but the Sith. Of course.
It’s not like the Cade crew’s story was subpar. It was exactly what you’d hope for in this series at this point. They go to a planet that dredges up some old feelings. There’s a new psycho villain who is of course serving the Sith (in this case, Lady Maladi). There’s also a babe who has survived untold horror but now has the hots for one of heroes (in this case, Syn). The conflict comes down to a temptation for Cade who concludes that he’s not Jedi or Sith, but something else. That’s how these go, and this was a great execution of those concepts.
But the Imperials stole the show. Seeing the delicate alliance of Fel’s Empire, the hidden Jedi council, and the Alliance come together felt great. Seeing the fissures form in the awful Sith ranks also felt like a triumph. Honestly, the best character in the story was Gunn Yage, Cade’s half sister and reluctant Sith pilot. If the best Star Wars stories are about people wrestling with temptation, young Yage had the most believable choice to make. Should she continue to serve in the army, even though her commanders have become monsters? Or should she become the thing she hates the most? A traitor! You know it’s good Star Wars when someone’s finger is on the button in a ship, but they can’t fire because they got a conscience.
Continued belowPlus, oh yeah, the Cade/Blue love story came to a head, with the healing power of their bond saving Blue from a Yuzahn Vong torture device. That felt pretty important. It was written with the appropriate level of epic pathos, but honestly their relationship has felt so much more complicated than declarations of devotion while the galaxy burns. That’s great, but I prefer the nuance. And isn’t that a cool place to be? “Legacy” has come together so well that at worst now, it’s a pretty good Star Wars. And at best, it’s something more. May the Force be with you!
Star Wars Track of the Week: “The Force Awakens” arranged by Frederick Lloyd and John Samuel Hanson, based on music by John Williams from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
