Star Wars: Lando: Double or Nothing collects the five issue mini-series written by Rodney Barnes with art by Paolo Villanelli. It was published as a trade paperback collection on November 6, 2018.
Synopsis
Lando and L3 discuss important matters.
Lando Calrissian and L3-37 are approached by Kristiss, a Petrusian smuggler and freedom fighter. She needs Lando’s help in order to smuggle arms to her father and other fellow Petrusians who are enslaved by the Empire and forced to work in the droid repair facility on Kullgroon. The outpost’s security force will be turning over in three days and, when the Stormtrooper’s numbers are at their lowest, the Petrusians will have a shot at freedom. Lando initially refuses to involve himself in a potential fight with the Empire. However, Kristiss’s credits and his need to pay off some debts, convince him otherwise. They arrive on Kullgroon and land the Falcon in the wastelands, away from the eyes of the Imperial garrison. Lando and Kristiss search separately for a way in, while L3 simply joins a line of droids entering the facility. Kristiss ends up getting captured by the Empire, and Lando falls into the hands of some of the ruffians who inhabit the wastelands. They know who he is (probably because of the cape), and are determined to profit from their discovery by turning him over to one of the many individuals/organizations in the Galaxy who have been on the receiving end of his shenanigans. Lando makes contact with L3, she causes a disturbance in the factory in order to get back to the Falcon and rescues Lando as he is fighting against multiple opponents in an arena. Having discovered a way into the factory, Lando sneaks in and meets up with Kristiss and her father. Unfortunately, the rest of the Petrusians have suddenly developed a case of the “I don’t want to risk getting killed today; let’s just stay enslaved-itis”. Lando, sensing his life and credits are in danger, gives the Petrusians a rousing speech about..getting caught banging some guy’s girlfriend…hey, go with what you know. Anyway, it works, and the Petrusians rise to the occasion. With the help of some droids that were surreptitiously reprogrammed to fight, they make it out of the factory. Sadly for Lando, the Millennium Falcon has been over-run by Stormtroopers and he is forced to abandon her and escape with hoi polloi onboard a stolen Imperial shuttle. L3 tells Lando that the Falcon has been impounded on Vandor, and they head there to plan their next move. So now, if you were wondering, that’s how that happened. I hope you enjoy being able to sleep at night again.
Review
Inside the Imperial outpost on Kullgroon
You know how a lot of people say that, even if it was a pretty good movie, ultimately Solo: A Star Wars Story was quite unnecessary? That we didn’t need it and it really didn’t add anything; well, you can pretty much say the same thing about Lando: Double or Nothing. I’m not saying that makes it bad or that I don’t recommend reading it; in fact, I personally try not to let judgments of necessary or unnecessary come into play when judging a story. If it is competently made and entertaining, then that is really the only raison d’être it requires. So, where does that leave us with this story? Well, it’s never really boring. There’s a lot of action, in space and on the ground. One of the things I definitely liked about this was that Lando is a skilled and dangerous fighter, not someone who is all talk and no action. He would rather not fight, but when he does he employs the same smoothness with which he woos the ladies. Works every time. The subject of talk, however, brings me to one of my criticisms of this here thing. Lando can be a bit much. It seems as though someone confused being a smooth talker with being a profuse talker. Lando’s self-congratulatory verbosity is such that, at times, he actually comes across as over-compensating. That doesn’t feel like a Lando quality, even if this is supposed to be a younger version of the character. L3-37, on the other hand, actually gets a fairly restrained portrayal. She says and does all the things you expect her to, but it never really feels over the top. Her sarcasm and cut the crap attitude in reference to Lando really help to make his portrayal more bearable. Kristiss is likable and sympathetic as our guest protagonist; her desire to free her people and stand up to the Empire contrast with Lando’s concern for money and superficial trappings. If this story took place 10 years later she might be able to turn to the Rebel Alliance for help, actually she would probably be a part of the Rebellion; but at this time the Galaxy seems to only have isolated uprisings like this, and idealists and freedom fighters must turn to scoundrels like Lando to achieve their goals. Of course Lando doesn’t come out of this story a changed man because he is, by necessity, still a long way from placing the needs of the Galaxy over his own desires. We do see him have some inkling that there can be real satisfaction obtained from helping and inspiring other people, though.
Lando cool under fire.
Paolo Villanelli’s art is quite good. It’s vibrant and dynamic. The many action sequences are rendered coherently and he really seems to have a talent for drawing young Lando in either heroic or laid-back cool poses. I won’t say that the art carries the story, because it really doesn’t have to; but it does enhance it and make Lando’s sometimes slightly obnoxious dialogue easier to take. Overall, I’d say this story, like Lando himself, has a certain joie de vivre that, despite its flaws, raises it above the more unsatisfying of our previous mini-series like Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Mace Windu.
Notes
Kristiss
Rodney Barnes, the writer of this series, was also the executive producer and head writer for the animated series The Boondocks. I dearly love that show; well, the first three seasons anyway.
As mentioned, this story ends just before Lando’s appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The last shot is Lando at the Sabacc table wherein Therm Scissorpunch is clearly visible.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Kristiss; of course we need a super articulated L3-37; unfortunately Lando appears in the same basic outfit he wore in the movie, so nothing new there. Why not Therm Scissorpunch?
Score:
Lando: Double or Nothing isn’t exactly a royal flush, but…oh, who am I kidding, I don’t know enough about cards to make this analogy work. 3 Skulls.
