Star Wars Volume 4: Last Flight of the Harbinger collects issues 20-25 of Marvel’s Star Wars series. We’ve already looked at issue 20 as part of the Journals of Old Ben Kenobi. Now, let’s delve into the titular story written by Jason Aaron with art by Jorge Molina.
Synopsis (Part I)
SCAR Squad
A Rebel ship, being pursued by an Imperial shuttle, is shot down and crash lands on the formerly inhabited but now volcanic surface of the “Ghost Moon”. On board the Imperial ship is SCAR Squad, also known as Task Force 99 (yes, they are purposely named and modeled after the Bad Batch). SCAR Squad lands on the moon and begins their relentless pursuit of the Rebels. They literally track them high and low, from the top of a towering skyscraper and down into the sewers. All the while their leader, Sgt. Kreel, narrates his life story and tells how he came to lead this Special Commando Advanced Recon squad. We have already met Sgt. Kreel as he was the Imperial spy who infiltrated Grakkus the Hutt’s operation on Nar Shaddaa and was known as the “gamemaster." It was there that he met Luke Skywalker and came to be in possession of a green-bladed lightsaber courtesy of Grakkus’s collection. Kreel was born on Chagar IX, a brutal world where he was convinced by the age of 6 that he would die in the fighting pits there on the planet just like his parents had. Then, one day, the Empire came to Mereen--er, I mean Chagar IX, and toppled the Overlords. They brought peace and security to Kreel’s home and he immediately became enamored with the Stormtroopers who represented Imperial power. Kreel joined up and on his first mission. His only friend was killed by Rebel mortar fire. For Kreel, the Rebels are terrorists threatening the security of law and order. SCAR Squad eliminates all but the last of the Rebels from the crashed ship. The lone survivor, now in their custody, is revealed to be an admiral travelling incognito. The group speculates that it should take less time to make him crack than to break the encryption on the ship’s computers.
Check out the bottom left corner
The Millennium Falcon and Red Squadron (with Wedge, we finally get to see Wedge in this comic!) is in the midst of an attack on the Imperial Star Destroyer Harbinger. As the Imperial command crew speculate on what kind of idiots would ambush a star destroyer, the Falcon, with Han piloting and Leia shooting, manages to breach the hull of the ship with a proton bomb. The breach is near the main reactor, so Wedge swoops in and takes another shot at the reactor itself. When his shot is ineffective, it’s Luke’s turn. In a move that Wedge will one day imitate, Luke decides that shooting into a hole is now too much trouble for him and just goes ahead flies his X-Wing right through the breach and down the shaft leading to the reactor. A few point blank shots into the reactor and it starts to overload. The Harbinger’s one-eyed Admiral orders all personnel to abandon ship since his officers inform him that they can’t get a repair crew down to the reactor in time. At this point, and I $#i+ you not here, we see Willrow “Ice Cream Maker Guy” Hood making a mad dash to a shuttle. Seriously; and, yes, he is in his orange jumpsuit and carrying the ice cream maker. What is he even doing there? Was he on the SD because he just had to flee a planet in the wake of some disaster? Now he has to flee the Harbinger. Soon, he’ll settle on Cloud City and then have to flee from there. What was his next stop, the second Death Star? This guy and his ice cream maker just can’t seem to catch a break. Alright, I digress; but I think we can all agree that it was necessary. Anyway, the plan is that as the Imperials evacuate the doomed Destroyer, the Rebels get on board, shut down the reactor and take over the ship. Well, Han, Chewie, Leia, and Sana make it aboard in the Falcon; and Luke is already in the main reactor room after having crash landed his X-Wing there. They are unable to keep the reactor from exploding, however they do eject it into space before it does. That was the plan all along. To the departing Imperials it looks as though the ship has indeed been destroyed.
He should have worn a coat
In a flashback we see the motivation behind this daring mission. The planet Tureen VII has been providing aid to the Rebel Alliance in the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star. The Empire has learned of this and is now blockading the planet, and starving its populace. There are TIE bases on both the planet’s twin moons and all attempts to break the siege have failed. In a meeting with Adm. Ackbar, Gen. Dodonna, and Mon Mothma, Luke and Leia suggest stealing a Star Destroyer. Mon Mothma gives them the go ahead, but says if anyone else had come up with this idea she would have referred them for psychological testing. Now, a week after stealing the Harbinger, the Rebels are flying along with the backup reactor only and a fried hyperdrive. In danger from Imperial patrols, Han wants to take the ship to the Monsua Nebula where they can hide and make repairs before facing the blockade of Tureen VII. Leia insists that they stay on course for the besieged planet. The two of them get into a heated argument about which of them should be the captain of the ship. See, they were supposed to be joined by an Alliance admiral who would’ve taken command, but he never arrived. Probably because he was the one that SCAR Squad captured on the Ghost Moon. Han suggests that they settle this with a race to the bridge, whoever wins is captain. Leia balks at this immature suggestion, then kicks him in the shin and takes off. Han commandeers a speeder bike, while Leia dons a space suit and goes outside the ship to successfully beat Han to the bridge. Meanwhile, Luke and Sana have each taken a TIE fighter to investigate an approaching ship. It’s an Alliance vessel, and strapped to the front of it is the very dead Admiral that they have been waiting for. With no life forms detected in the ship, the message is clear to Sana and she fires on the ship, destroying it. This was not just a message, it was a distraction. We see SCAR Squad board the Harbinger undetected, determined to take it back from the Rebels.
Review (Part I)
Star Wars Issue 22 Cover A
Another Star Wars story arc and another artist pairing up with writer Jason Aaron. This time it’s Jorge Molina, and it’s not bad except that it can come off as a little cartoony sometimes. The real issue with the art in this series is that there was not a regular penciller during the entirety of Aaron’s run. I feel like having the same artist throughout the series (or, again, at least when Jason Aaron was writing) would have added a level of continuity to the book that was otherwise not present. I think it would have been perfect if John Cassaday had been able to stay on. His style was very well suited to this comic. Again, I’m not crapping on Molina here; the art is good. It’s clear, the layouts are good; and the “cartoony” thing doesn’t really come up in issue 21, but in the subsequent issues. As for the story, I like this one a little better than its predecessor Rebel Jail. That’s not to say I didn’t like Rebel Jail, but this is classic OT era Star Wars: the gang’s all together, they’re taking on a crazy mission, and Luke is optimistic. Sana is in it; and she is utilized well when she and Luke take a couple of TIE’s on a flight and have a conversation about the things she’s seen and why she is still hanging around the Rebels. Issue 21 is a concise and very effective introduction to SCAR Squad; their ruthless efficiency and take no prisoners attitude toward the Rebels is made very clear. Best of all, the good guys have an Imperial enemy now that is not Darth Vader. Next week, the conclusion.
Trivia Note:
In addition to Sgt. Kreel, the members of Task Force 99/SCAR Squad are: Aero, Cav, Mic, Misty, Shrap, and Zuke.
