Force Matters: ‘Hunt For The Falcon’ #5 Shrugs Its Way To A Limp Conclusion
by Austin Gorton
The slow wind down of the current era of Star Wars comics continues in the books out January 7th, as two miniseries come to a close — one in a more satisfying way than the other.
Han Solo: Hunt For The Falcon #5
By Rodney Barnes & Ramon Rosanas
Han and Chewbacca escape Unkar Plutt, but must leave the Falcon behind.
- If you were dying to know, this issue reveals that the blaster Rey uses in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which Han gives her) was taken off one of Unkar Plutt’s guards by Han while escaping. Which, given Rey’s connection to Unkar, is a mildly fun little detail.
- To say that the series concludes with Han and Chewie failing in their mission to retrieve the Falcon is hardly a spoiler, given they don’t have it in Force Awakens. But the issue kind of fails to give a compelling reason for why. After getting caught by and escaping from Unkar Plutt across two issues, they just kind of give up after their last escape and call it good.
To say that a prequel series like this ends off in the same place it began isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We all know picking up issue #1 that Han is ultimately going to fail, but there can still be an entertaining story in the telling of that failure. This … isn’t really that. Not only does the failure feel arbitrary, but the conclusion literally drops Han back where he started. Rather than, say, having him fail in reacquiring the Falcon but leaving him one-step closer to where he is as Force Awakens opens, the series ends with Han having undergone very little in terms of character growth. Even Chewie gets put back in the toybox where he was found. Far beyond just not getting the Falcon, this series ultimately does nothing to further anyone’s arcs.
Hyperspace Stories: Tides Of Terror #4
By George Mann & Luis Morocho
Kit Fisto and Nahdar Vebb receive unexpected help in their mission to save the underwater Axil Research Station.
- There’s a great two page spread early in this issue in which Kit Fisto is exploring the ocean around the station, depicted via a series of bubbles (which resemble comic book thought bubbles) laid over a static backdrop.
- The ultimate solution to the problem of the sinking station — turning the seeming sea monsters into allies — is a very Jedi solution to the problem.
A solid conclusion to a slight but satisfying miniseries. The resolution in particular strikes the right balance between “teaching younger readers a lesson” and “saying something broader about the Jedi.”
Cover Of The Week
Give this one to Miguel Mercado‘s variant, which captures the way I felt after reaching the end of the Hunt of the Falcon miniseries.
