Review: Kanan #6

It’s another issue of Kanan but there’s no puppy dog padawan in sight. We’ve jumped forward in time again to rejoin the crew of the Ghost as they land on Kaller—the first time Kanan’s been back in over a decade. Overall, the issue is a fun read and a nice way to tie things back to the rest of the Rebels crew that we all know and love but I often found myself missing the Clone Wars era story about Kanan. There’s still so much that we don’t know about how Caleb really ended up becoming the Kanan that we met in A New Dawn.

One of the really fun things about this book is that Greg Weisman writes it in addition to having been an instrumental voice in creating Rebels. More than a few times, I silently marveled at how I could hear the voice actors reading the lines in my head and then subsequently chuckle at myself since obviously Weisman is going to have a damn good handle on who they all are.

Pepe Larraz takes a well-deserved break this issue and so we have Jacopo Camagni on art this week with colors by David Curiel. He draws a very nice Sabine and the colors of her hair stand out nicely without falling into anime territory thanks to Curiel’s good work. Camagni definitely seems to have fun with facial expressions and why yes, I do believe I caught a hint of puppy!Caleb in a panel or two.

At the end of the day, this was an enjoyable issue and a nice way to tie up Kanan’s history with everything that happened on Kaller. It’s definitely not an issue that you should skip simply because of the time jump. Your enjoyment level depends entirely upon personal taste. That said, I’m definitely looking forward to going back in time to the adventures of young Caleb… especially given the cover for issue #7!

Why The Rebellion Leaders Need to be in Rebels

Rebel_Leaders

Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels didn’t pull any punches when it came to raising the stakes. The season finale, “Fire Across the Galaxy,” changed the landscape of the show in several ways. It killed off the Inquisitor, setting the stage for Darth Vader as the new Big Bad of the series. It revealed Ahsoka Tano as Fulcrum, Hera’s contact in the nascent Rebellion, and established her as a recurring character. Most important, however, was the return of Bail Organa (in hologram form), in which he informed the crew of the Ghost that they were, indeed, their very own Rebel cell.  

Continue reading

Star Wars Rebels Returns June 20

rebels logoDidn’t get to see the Rebels Season 2 premiere at Celebration Anaheim? Good news — you won’t have to wait until fall to see it! IGN has reported that Rebels will return with the hour-long special, “The Siege of Lothal,” on June 20.

The bad news? The remainder of Season 2 won’t air until the Fall. Cue Vader Noooooooos!

If you need a Star Wars fix right away (and who doesn’t?), IGN is also reporting that Disney XD will be showing several specials this weekend in celebration of International Pun Day, also known as May the Fourth.

  • “Star Wars Rebels: The Ultimate Guide,” a half-hour special recapping the entire first season of “Star Wars Rebels” (Monday, May 4 at 8:00 p.m.)
  • Marathons of “Star Wars Rebels” season one and “LEGO Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles”
  • Sneak peek at “LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales,” an all-new series of event specials that will premiere on Disney XD this summer.
  • Star Wars-inspired episodes of “Phineas and Ferb,” “Kickin’ It” and “Lab Rats.”

 

What Celebration Taught Us About Rebels

rebels logoBrian and I weren’t able to attend the Rebels panels at Celebration, but Bria was there covering for White Hot Room and a bunch of other Twitter/blogger/podcaster friends were also in attendance.

Not only did Celebration give us a taste of what’s to come in Season 2 in the form of a fabulous trailer, but some lucky folks also got to see the season premiere. No spoilers for the episode here, but we’ll do our best to recap the trailer and speculate about what we might see in Season 2.

Continue reading

Barriss Offee Shouldn’t Be An Inquisitor

barriss offeeThe Star Wars fandom has a PhD in speculation and theories and we’ve certainly continued in that fine tradition with Rebels. One theory that’s come up a few times especially in the wake of the Season 1 finale is that it’d be interesting to see Barriss Offee resurface as an Inquisitor. Personally? I think that’s a bad idea.

I’ve said more than a few times that I strongly disagree with how Barriss was used in The Clone Wars Season Five finale. I don’t think it made sense for her character and didn’t have the intended impact since she’d rarely been in the show over the past few seasons. A different character could have better served the role of betraying Ahsoka. If you’re going to mess with a character to her very core than at least earn it through a well built arc.

However, this isn’t about The Clone Wars and what happened is canon. Although she fell to the dark side (I find this debatable) and blamed the Jedi for the war, we don’t actually know what happened to her. A good guess is that she was put in the Jedi’s prison basement which they (like the X-men and Avengers) totally have and after that, your guess is as good as mine. For all we know, Barriss was redeemed or maybe she was another casualty of Order 66. That said, I find it unlikely that she survived the Jedi Purge.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say she did survive.

Continue reading

Review – Star Wars Rebels: Fire Across the Galaxy

rebels logoSeason 1 of Star Wars Rebels has come to a close in a spectacular fashion. The three-part arc paid off in a huge way, with the return of some fan favorite characters and setting up high hopes for Season 2. Because it’s the season finale, all three reviewers are getting on the recap fun this week. Our spoiler-filled thoughts under the cut!

Continue reading