Star Wars: Age of Republic - Villains collects Age of Republic - Count Dooku, Darth Maul, General Grievous, Jango Fett, and the story “Sisters” from Special 1 written by Jody Houser with art by Luke Ross (Carlos Gomez on “Sisters”). It was released on May 8, 2019.
Synopsis
Cover
If ever there was a franchise wherein the bad guys are often in danger of overshadowing the good guys, it’s Star Wars. From the moment Darth Vader steps onto the Tantive IV, intimidating and fully in charge without having to say a word, he held your attention and interest at least as much as Leia, Luke, or Han. The Prequel Trilogy continued this tradition of interesting, if not always well developed, villains. Darth Maul: the relentless killing machine, his appearance like something out of a nightmare; his terse and seething demeanor made him even more fearsome. Count Dooku, alias Darth Tyranus: his refined and elegant appearance and sophisticated bearing belied the cruel spirit within. General Grievous: bloodthirsty, and yet also shameless and craven, the consummate heel. Jango Fett: bounty hunter and assassin; does he have a moral code, or will he carry out whatever are the whims of the highest bidder? Assaj Ventress: the lost soul; driven by a sense of abandonment and rejection, she has served the Light, then the Dark, and now only herself.
Review
They call this a mini-series, but it is really a series of one-shots highlighting the aforementioned characters. Consequently, my review will focus on each issue individually.
Darth Maul's worst nightmare
The Darth Maul issue is good, but feels a little less than substantive. It takes place after the excellent Darth Maul mini-series by Cullen Bunn and Luke Ross. It is, in a lot of ways, a follow up to that series, and the fact that they share the same artist provides some visual continuity. The problem, however, is that it feels like it retreads much of the ground already covered in that story. Maul chafes at the restrictions placed on him by Darth Sidious. Sidious takes his apprentice back to Malachor where he receives another vision, one that teaches him that patience will be just as important as strength when it come to defeating the Jedi. Again, it’s a good story, and I always like seeing the interactions between Palpatine and any of his apprentices; but I have to say it is the weakest of the bunch.
From Jango Fett
If the Darth Maul issue was my least favorite story in this collection, the Jango Fett issue was, quite unexpectedly, my favorite. It takes place just before Attack of the Clones. Although Jango’s arrangement with the Kaminoans has afforded him financial security, he still takes select jobs. He assembles a group of bounty hunters to return a runaway girl to her father and allows young Boba to accompany them so that he might get some field training. There’s some great action and a nice little twist. We see Jango teach his son about the value of hard work, a good reputation, and killin’ people. Heartwarming. As a bonus, there’s a flashback where we see Fett being recruited by Tyranus on the Moons of Bogden.
From Count Dooku
The Count Dooku story is another solid entry. Taking place sometime after The Phantom Menace (the death of Qui-Gon Jinn is referenced) but before the Clone Wars, Dooku travels to Sullust on the pretext of business, but his real mission is to make contact with a criminal organization on behalf of Darth Sidious. While there he runs across a Jedi Knight named Jak’zin who is investigating the very same criminals. He offers to team up with the Jedi and you can probably imagine where this is going. Let’s just say, don’t get attached to Jak’zin; and that’s fine, because he literally looks like Tony the Tiger. That’s my only complaint with the story; I like seeing Sullust and its capital, Jowl City; there’s some awesome Dooku related action, and a sweet flashback to his days at the Jedi Temple. It’s grrreat!!
From General Greivous
General Grievous; what a jerk this guy is, amirite? On the planet Ledeve, he intercepts and kills a Jedi and her Padawan who are searching for a Jedi Temple on the planet. Using their map, he trespasses into the abandoned Temple and makes his way to its center where he finds a glowing power source in a waterfall. Thinking he can possess this secret for himself he reaches for it, but is denied, even taunted by it because he has already abandoned his flesh for what he thought was greater strength. Exposed as the contemptible and pathetic creature that he is, Grievous leaves the temple and orders his orbiting ship to destroy it. After Grievous leaves we can still see a green glow in the rubble of the temple; and does the droid general learn any kind of lesson about not chasing waterfalls and sticking to the rivers and lakes that he’s used to? Of course not; he’s a butthole!
From "Sisters"
“Sisters” is a short (10 page) story featuring Asajj Ventress. It takes place at the same time as the CW episode “To Catch a Jedi”. Ventress has just learned of the bounty on Ahsoka Tano. On her way to track down the rogue Padawan she encounters two sisters in danger on Coruscant’s lower levels. Moved by memories of her own losses, she intervenes and gives the galaxy the gift of one more person missing a limb.
Age of Republic-Villains is a fun, if not always compelling, collection that will be worth the price of admission for fans of the Prequel Trilogy and Clone Wars. Luke Ross’s art is excellent and, I think, quite appropriate to this series since he also did the art for the excellent Darth Maul mini-series.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Dooku as a Jedi, Assaj Ventress (Bounty Hunter)
Score:
I was torn on whether to give this collection a score of 3 or 4; storywise it is at least a 3, and based on the consistently good quality of the art, I am going to say: 4 Skulls.
