You know what book I would read? I would read a book about Leia, Sana, and Aphra running around the galaxy as a rad girl gang who kick butt and take names and take no crap from anyone. This story arc has been so much fun because of the interactions between the ladies and I have loved every minute of it. Yes, even those minutes when Han and Luke were literally herding nerfs.
If you thought like I did that the Star Wars Annual #1 was a throw away story… we were wrong. I’m sorry for doubting you, Marvel. We won’t go into specifics here but everything about it is very well handled. Speaking of which, Jason Aaron’s handle on Luke has been a highlight of the book especially in this issue. He actually feels and sounds like a 19 year old kid. He doesn’t feel quite as seasoned and worldly (galaxyly?) as the rest of the trio because, well, he shouldn’t.
This has really been Leia’s chance to shine. She got some fantastic moments in Vader Down but this arc has been 100% about her ability to take charge and kick butt in a crisis. More importantly, it does so without making her feel out of character. This just feels like another aspect of her in addition to her political side instead of being a completely different character as some writers have been prone to do.
Oh and hey. Let’s chat a little about how this issue essentially confirms that Sana is probably bisexual and Aphra is either bisexual or lesbian. I am 100% here for non-straight ladies of color so thank you very much for this, Jason Aaron and Marvel. I would also be 100% here for that backstory that Sana tells Leia not to ask about… wink wink. It’s really nice to see that the commitment to diversity is something that’s consistent across all Star Wars mediums and I’m glad we live in a world where we can no longer count all of the LGBT characters on our fingers.
We get another Kenobi issue next month and then it’s on to some very dangerous looking stormtroopers. As always, I can’t wait to see where the creative team goes with this! Truly we live in a golden age of Star Wars comics.