Star Wars: Age of Rebellion-Villains was written by Greg Pak and Simon Spurrier and illustrated by various artists. It was released on August 21, 2019.
Synopsis
I resisted the urge to use the shirtless pic.
The villains of the Original Trilogy: vile, cunning, relentless; seemingly without pity. Grand Moff Tarkin, he serves the Empire with loyalty and pleasure; and he expects the same utter devotion from those under him. Boba Fett, professional bounty hunter; he does what he does because he is good at it and it’s how he makes a living, anything else is incidental .Tatooine has little of value to offer, but when outside parties take an interest in something from the barren planet, Jabba The Hutt sees an opportunity for a different kind of profit. Darth Vader learns a lesson about the Empire’s bureaucrats; when to obey them and when to…let a giant space crab crush them. A short story about IG-88 from Age of Rebellion Special rounds out the collection.
Review
This can't possibly end well.
So, here we go with the companion piece to the previously reviewed Age of Rebellion-Heroes. Like most of this Age of…series it’s a mixed bag. The stories are pretty much all good, it’s just that some of them have some less than appealing elements. For example, the Tarkin story: on the one hand, it is a great vignette about the operation of the Death Star and an intriguing look into the mindset of Tarkin. On the other hand, the whole Tarkin pops the shirt off and challenges a crewman to a knife fight feels needlessly provocative. That whole scene is a fantasy sequence from inside Tarkin’s noggin. Tarkin does not seem to me to be the kind of person who daydreams about power fantasies. Tarkin has an inconceivable amount of power in reality, and it just doesn’t seem like his style. The whole thing figured prominently in preview images for the issue, and seems like one of those “trailer moments” that is just deliberately misleading. Other than that, though, I think it is a really good story; but it’s tainted by that particular element. The Boba Fett story is what a Fett story should be: simple and effective. Fett is a relentless and unstoppable hunter whose reputation precedes him. Probably the best story in the collection, which is what I think I said about the Jango story from Age of Republic-Villains. How about a Jango/Boba mini-series that takes place partly during the PT and partly during the OT? The Jabba story was pretty cool. The Sand People come to Jabba with a problem and he uses some offworlders’ desire for a rare beverage called the Tusken Wind to solve the problem, and he never has to leave his dais to do it! Was I disappointed that Tusken Wind did NOT turn out to be composed mostly of Jabba’s farts? You bet I was! Was I further disappointed when Tusken Wind did NOT turn out to be distilled bantha urine? Who wouldn’t be? Nevertheless, the story was unique and enjoyable; except some of the art wasn’t that great.
Boba. Fett.
Now, if there is one character who has received a fair amount of good development in the new era of Marvel Star Wars comics, it is Darth Vader. He has been the focus of not one, but two very excellent 25 issue series. I’m not saying there aren’t any good or worthwhile Vader stories left to tell, but the one from this collection just isn’t one of them. It’s not terrible, but it just feels disposable. The premise of Vader taking flak from fellow Imperials was dealt with in both of the above mentioned series. This story has a couple of nice details; but do you know what I would have rather gotten? An issue dedicated to Palpatine. How often do we see Palpatine in anything other than a supporting role? The IG-88 story was a clever tale of the merciless machine and highlights his unique abilities and talent for playing the long game. I wouldn’t mind seeing a bounty hunter mini-series featuring some of our non-Fett friends as well.
Notes
The Tarkin story takes place during a short time frame before, during and after the destruction of Alderaan. It really is a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the moon—I mean battle station.
The Vader story takes place earlier in the days of the Empire. Vader is still flying the ship we see him acquire in the Soule series.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Motti appears prominently in the Tarkin issue; we could definitely use a definitive version of him.
Score:
Mixed bag, but the good outweighs the bad. 3 Skulls
