I need to bring everyone up to speed on the fourth chapter in the Charles Soule series. In “The Chosen One” Darth Vader took control of the Inquisitors. In the next story, “The Dying Light”, the Inquisitors are sent to hunt one of the last Jedi, the Jedi Librarian Jocasta Nu. A short two issue story, “The Rule of Five”, mercenaries try to take the bounty on Darth Vader, I passed on this one. I did not get the first issue #13, but “Burning Seas” deals with the Empire suppressing Mon Cala. Soule got his Star Wars confused in that one with setting the wrong time for the story, making Tarkin Grand Moff before he was given that title, and confusing the uniform of one of his characters, Commander Jordo. These will probably be corrected in the collected edition, but it looks like the Story Group is again asleep. In #14, Darth Vader and the Inquisitors are on Dac City, the capital. Vader flashes back to when he encountered Lee-Char and the time was dubbed king in the Clone Wars fourth season episode, “Prisoners” (2011).
Lee-Char tries to negotiate with Tarkin over the assassination of Ambassador Telvar. Soule again stretches canon with having a Jedi Master, Barr, teaching a group of six apprentices among them Verla. Barr is an Iktotch, the same horned species as Jedi Master Saesee Tiin, the pilot that died in Revenge of the Sith. He looks so similar that again with Soule, I thought it was the same guy, but no, different name and character. Barr reveals to them that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker. Again, canon breaking, the only one who made the connection was Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's former apprentice in Star Wars: Rebels. This unknown Jedi somehow knows everything about what happened in Revenge of the Sith (2005). Let’s get past that and deal with his vision leading Lee-Char. Raadus takes the defense of the south and Commander Ackbar takes the defense of the north, this is very cool. Raadus of course is the Mon Calamari admiral introduced in Rogue One (2016).
Vader uses the Force on Lee-Char, but around all of the cities are giant purple whales (unidentified, but a nice addition to Mon Cala sea life), they send massive waves that cover the surface of the cities along with Vader. The whale tsunami was used before in Aquaman. #15 has Vader sinking in the Great Ungeness Trench. Vader’s armor is getting crushed by the depths and he faces a Kraken-like creature with a single green eye, another nice addition to the sea life. It is also unidentified, but there is precedent, Luke faced a demonsquid on the planet Aquaris in the newspaper strip, “The Night Beast”, collected in Classic Star Wars #8 (1993). Ackbar leads an assault on the Imperial sky base and uses metal encased missiles that breach the shields and destroy it. Clever. Lee-Char tells Barr that he revealed his location to the Inquisitors. Tarkin has decided to up the stakes. #16 has the Inquisitors tracking down the Jedi and Master Barr leads the escape, but one by one we see the apprentices killed and see flashbacks to how they were brought in as his apprentices.
Lee-Char tries to negotiate with Tarkin over the assassination of Ambassador Telvar. Soule again stretches canon with having a Jedi Master, Barr, teaching a group of six apprentices among them Verla. Barr is an Iktotch, the same horned species as Jedi Master Saesee Tiin, the pilot that died in Revenge of the Sith. He looks so similar that again with Soule, I thought it was the same guy, but no, different name and character. Barr reveals to them that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker. Again, canon breaking, the only one who made the connection was Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's former apprentice in Star Wars: Rebels. This unknown Jedi somehow knows everything about what happened in Revenge of the Sith (2005). Let’s get past that and deal with his vision leading Lee-Char. Raadus takes the defense of the south and Commander Ackbar takes the defense of the north, this is very cool. Raadus of course is the Mon Calamari admiral introduced in Rogue One (2016).
Vader uses the Force on Lee-Char, but around all of the cities are giant purple whales (unidentified, but a nice addition to Mon Cala sea life), they send massive waves that cover the surface of the cities along with Vader. The whale tsunami was used before in Aquaman. #15 has Vader sinking in the Great Ungeness Trench. Vader’s armor is getting crushed by the depths and he faces a Kraken-like creature with a single green eye, another nice addition to the sea life. It is also unidentified, but there is precedent, Luke faced a demonsquid on the planet Aquaris in the newspaper strip, “The Night Beast”, collected in Classic Star Wars #8 (1993). Ackbar leads an assault on the Imperial sky base and uses metal encased missiles that breach the shields and destroy it. Clever. Lee-Char tells Barr that he revealed his location to the Inquisitors. Tarkin has decided to up the stakes. #16 has the Inquisitors tracking down the Jedi and Master Barr leads the escape, but one by one we see the apprentices killed and see flashbacks to how they were brought in as his apprentices.
Admiral Raadus has gathered the Mon Calamari ships together and their shields repel attacks by the Imperials. Yes!, this is Raadus! Vader gets the request from Tarkin to find Lee-Char and end the war and he sends the Inquisitors after the Jedi. The Inquisitors have the Jedi trapped and only Verla and Barr are left, but he has a trick up his sleeve. He uses the Force to lift the helmets off of the clone troopers and gives Order 66. Again, this is something only known by the Emperor, but anyway. Let’s get to the last part, #17, Part V of Burning Seas, by Charles Soule with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Daniele Orlandini. The cover by Camuncoli is a fanciful part of the comic with Vader dueling with Barr on the surface. The clone troopers turn on the Inquisitors thinking that they are Jedi instead of the Jedi. Barr tells Verla that he used the Force to convince the clones that the Inquisitors are Jedi. I still think Order 66 insures that Sith and their allies are not harmed, seeing Anakin lead the 501st attack on the Jedi Temple, but let’s move on. Barr tells Verla to escape and find a Jedi Master while he has other business. Tenth Brother is killed by the clone trooper attack.
Sixth Brother and Ninth Sister Force push away the clone troopers and Sixth Brother uses his lightsaber to injure Ninth Sister’s leg. I'm wondering why a group of Force users would find a group not a legion of clone troopers difficult to fight with lightsabers. The Mon Calamari guards try to protect Lee-Char in the Royal Command Bunker, but of course Vader slices through them. Lee-Char fires on Vader, but his blaster fire is deflected back making him drop his blaster. Tarkin orders the three Star Destroyers in orbit to fire down on the Mon Calamari city tearing it apart. Lee-Char believes that the Mon Calamari will destroy the Empire according to Barr's vision. Master Barr faces Vader with his blue lightsaber. Lee-Char hangs around for some reason. Admiral Raadus has reports that the cities are falling and decides to separate the cruisers to fight.
During their lightsaber duel, Vader realizes that Barr killed the ambassador to force action, which enrages Lee-Char. He sends a message for his people to stand down, but Tarkin continues the bombardment. The destruction of the Mon Calamari cities is handled well by Camuncoli as well as the action. Admiral Raadus gives the order for the cruisers to head out into space. Lee-Char is taken away by stormtroopers as Vader looks over the fallen body of Master Barr. We don't actually get to see Vader kill Barr. It seems like a loss, Vader has won, but Barr was a weak, deluded Jedi. The first part of Soule’s run was to find a lightsaber crystal, I wish it was from Barr’s lightsaber instead of yet another unknown Jedi or Jocasta Nu’s lightsaber. There are many parts were Soule breaks canon, gets confused, but there is enough with the sea life, Lee-Char, one of my favorite characters, and Ackbar and Raadus that just get by that the other parts can be ignored.
Sixth Brother and Ninth Sister Force push away the clone troopers and Sixth Brother uses his lightsaber to injure Ninth Sister’s leg. I'm wondering why a group of Force users would find a group not a legion of clone troopers difficult to fight with lightsabers. The Mon Calamari guards try to protect Lee-Char in the Royal Command Bunker, but of course Vader slices through them. Lee-Char fires on Vader, but his blaster fire is deflected back making him drop his blaster. Tarkin orders the three Star Destroyers in orbit to fire down on the Mon Calamari city tearing it apart. Lee-Char believes that the Mon Calamari will destroy the Empire according to Barr's vision. Master Barr faces Vader with his blue lightsaber. Lee-Char hangs around for some reason. Admiral Raadus has reports that the cities are falling and decides to separate the cruisers to fight.
During their lightsaber duel, Vader realizes that Barr killed the ambassador to force action, which enrages Lee-Char. He sends a message for his people to stand down, but Tarkin continues the bombardment. The destruction of the Mon Calamari cities is handled well by Camuncoli as well as the action. Admiral Raadus gives the order for the cruisers to head out into space. Lee-Char is taken away by stormtroopers as Vader looks over the fallen body of Master Barr. We don't actually get to see Vader kill Barr. It seems like a loss, Vader has won, but Barr was a weak, deluded Jedi. The first part of Soule’s run was to find a lightsaber crystal, I wish it was from Barr’s lightsaber instead of yet another unknown Jedi or Jocasta Nu’s lightsaber. There are many parts were Soule breaks canon, gets confused, but there is enough with the sea life, Lee-Char, one of my favorite characters, and Ackbar and Raadus that just get by that the other parts can be ignored.
Three Lightsabers out of Five!
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