Review: Star Wars #33

Star Wars needs more crossovers. The Disney era has seen an absolute end to parodies, crossovers and a feeling of the unpredictable in Star Wars. Charles Soule smartly seems to understand this and has been quietly building bridges to allow for a crossover within the Star Wars universe. He has been building up No Space as an area outside of time and space which would allow for Jedi and others across eras to interact. This could mean that Jedi and enemies from the High Republic era could crossover with Luke Skywalker or indeed anyone from any era.

This arc directly references the High Republic era as Luke and the team are only able to escape No Space using a Nihil Path engine and a group of survivors from the bygone era. The issue itself is excellent with massive jumps forward in power for Luke Skywalker, and a massive jump forward in characterization in Holdo. Holdo got so much pushback from fans during The Last Jedi that seeing her used so well here shows there really are no bad characters. She also works incredibly well as a foil for Lando, who finally embraces the Rebellion as his own.

The issue begins with Luke, Holdo, Chewie, Leia and Lando in No-Space, grabbing the Nihil Path engine from a droid army. Luke’s lightsaber and robotic hand have been fully crushed. The battle and this entire issue have the best art we have seen in this entire series. Madibek Musabekov is an absolutely brilliant artist and every page of this book has energy and excitement.

Luke finds he is suddenly able to access the Force even more strongly than in the past and absolutely crushes the droid army and retrieves the Nihil book. They return to the Kezarat colony in No-Space and tell the crowd of their victory and show them the Path Engine. Leia tries to sell them on all returning and fighting with them against the Empire. Lando interrupts to insist on being honest about the challenges and risks involved before these people leave No Space. Leia agrees with this and the Kezarat are impressed enough with their honestly that they provide the fuel and some manpower to go with the Rebellion. The art with the crowd gathering is incredibly detailed and well done here. Most artists would have just drawn a few rows but Musabekov gives us full depth.

The Rebels return to normal space with their new allies, the Kezarat hint that they can now use the Nihil Engine to travel about more. Lando and Holdo talk through their respective dedications to the Rebel cause. Luke has his hand repaired and plans to craft his new lightsaber. This issue packs in a lot of content, action and characterization but it is all done with incredible skill and you can feel the energy building back up in the Star Wars universe as we enter a new phase for Star Wars comics.

Writing: 4.5 of 5 stars
Art: 4.7 of 5 stars
Colors: 4.2 of 5 stars

Overall:
4.5 of 5 stars

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.