“Star Wars Legacy: War”

Sometimes the inner workings of comic book companies is too arcane, even for someone who follows this stuff day in and day out. I cannot properly explain why “Star Wars Legacy” was prematurely canceled after 50 issues, only to be brought back for a final 6 issue miniseries. Nor can I explain why that miniseries was called “Star Wars: Legacy – War” which is a bad title. What I can tell you is how the story of Cade Skywalker, Darth Krayt, and hundreds of other characters, comes to an end.

In truth there are so many characters in the greater “Star Wars Legacy” ensemble, that listing all their conclusions would be a chore. Fortunately stories are made up of more than plots and characters- there are themes, underlying ideas that the authors explore whether they are conscious of them or not. Fortunately John Ostrander and Jan Duursema are old comic book pros and they wrote these six issues at the height of their storytelling powers. Yes Duursema still draws the weirdest lips, but when it comes to telling an epic outer space morality play, these are the guys you want to turn to.

So ultimately, their final thesis comes down to the conflict between different ideologies of the Force. The Light Side. The Dark. The Side in the middle. And most of all, the people who aren’t thinking about their choices in magical cosmic terms. The stormtroopers and the pilots, the spies and the pirates, the crime lords and the bodyguards all need to decide whether to choose the Dark Side or the Light Side. And most, surprise surprise, go with the good.

The Sith have one go-to move, and that’s to try and push someone past their point of no return. But in the final battle, this ends up failing spectacularly. Gunner and the Skull Squadron are ordered to kill their own family members and then random children, so they break away and join the good guys. So do half the Moffs and when Emperor Fel crosses the line, so do the Imperial Knights. The Sith bank on the idea that if you can make someone feel bad enough, you can make them do anything. (Sort of reminds you of the campaign strategy of a certain US political party). But Ostrander and Duursema will have you believe that people would rather feel good than bad, and that they’d be willing to fight for their own happiness. I like that outlook!

As you might assume, a lot of these issues is spent on dramatic action beats. Superweapons get revealed. A lot of panels need to show you the chaos of a huge space battle. There is more than one occasion where someone ignites a lightsaber and whispers a cool guy line. And Duursema pulls out all the stops; she absolutely crushes it. This far into the series, you know how you feel about her style. But her craft? Her technique? She does better in this arc than maybe in the rest of her career. The layouts are clean and exciting. The page turns never fail to thrill. She brings the noise and the fury for five and a half issues.

That last half an issue though becomes almost entirely introspective. It’s Cade’s final decision. He’s already killed Krayt (again). But Krayt’s ghost is going to go on to haunt him, the same as all the Skywalker ghosts that haunt him. So Cade’s final mission is to throw Krayt’s body into a sun, with the intention of throwing himself in right after. But he hesitates. His final decision is whether or not it is more heroic to sacrifice himself, dying for the greater good, or to suffer on and keep fighting the good fight.

And please, this is Star Wars. You know what he picked. This was the end of Cade’s story though not the end of stories told in this era of Star Wars. We get a brief peek at Cade, Syn, and Blue in “Star Wars Legacy” volume 2. They don’t get involved with galactic politics (which is now run by Princess Sia, the Jedi Council, and Grand Admiral Stazi). Our favorite trio lives free, flying around the galaxy getting into trouble.

The Force is with them. And the Force will be with you, always.

Star Wars Track of the Week: “The Rebel Fleet/End Title” by John Williams from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back