"The Empire has been defeated. Its body prone on the floor, shuddering a final breath. For all intents and purposes, the Rebels have won. But my people don't need to know that. Shouldn't know that. A lie is only a lie when discovered. Before then--for as long as you can stoke the flame of deception--a lie is your truth. And I will share my truth with my people. I am Moff Ubrik Adelhard. I rule this sector. Once in service to the Emperor, now in service to the Empire's flickering memory. A memory I will keep alive. By any means necessary." Ubrik Adelhard's thoughts on the Empire's fall
What started as a promising, ambitious story became one of the biggest disappointments this year for Star Wars. It's a shame that the Battle of Jakku maxiseries was one of the most disappointing experiences I had with a Star Wars comic. Some good aspects make me hopeful about Alex Segura's (the writer of this comic) run in the mainline comic, but for this comic, it's clear he needed more time to write this than with 12 issues. If you want the story of how the Galactic Civil War ended at Jakku, read the Aftermath Trilogy.
The premise of the comic is truly one of the most exciting ones. A story that not only answers what Luke was doing during the Aftermath Trilogy but also resolves the Uprising storyline. The first arc gave me hope, and it was written pretty good for the most part. To say the next two arcs were disappointing would be an understatement.
A major issue is how Alex Segura tried to connect to the Battle of Jakku, since it led to some awkward and conflicting ways it tried to force Luke and Adelhard to Jakku. Not to mention the actual Battle of Jakku is only two issues long. They should've just confined the storyline to the Anoat Sector and leaned into resolving the Uprising plot threads. I always wanted to see a Noble Court Throneship, and that'll never happen now. We also still have no idea of the relation between the Purge Troopers of Uprising and the Inquisitorius.
Another major issue is that for 12 issues, there's little going on in Republic Under Siege, and so much happening in Last Stand because of the limited number of issues. It's very hard to tell what to care about, as we don't spend enough time with characters and understand the stakes of the plot. The Iron Blockade is just casually lifted, and it's a pretty underwhelming end to that plotline.
The biggest issue has to do with the continuity errors of this comic. The most egregious continuity errors have to do with Gallius Rax and Rae Sloane. Gallius Rax told the Shadow Council and Sloane about the Contingency, which, as I mentioned before in my Republic Under Siege thoughts, not only contradicts the Aftermath Trilogy but also Rax's character to keep all the cards to his chest. Rae Sloane continuing to work under Rax after Liberation Day is also egregious since Sloane was no longer working for Rax after Liberation Day and was going on a revenge quest against him for months. This error really conflicts with her character journey in the Aftermath Trilogy. The sad thing is that the entire comic has a lot of continuity errors, and it's really hard to reconcile some of them. I wonder what Lucasfilm Story Group was doing during the comic's run.
Segura did do a great job with Luke's characterization, mostly. I was a bit thrown off by how Luke acted in Last Stand Issue 3. He embodies the noble last Jedi characterization RotJ defined him as. His compassion and concern for his friends and the New Republic shine through the comic despite its many faults. My favorite scene is how he tried to save Adelhard despite everything he did, wanting to try to save his soul from the dark path he was on, and sadly, Adelhard's soul was far too gone for him to save.
While the execution of Adelhard's arc wasn't great, I do like the concept of Adelhard going insane and retaliating with death to every faction after realizing he's nothing compared to the machinations and influence of Rax and Sloane. I just wish he had only focused on locking down the Anoat Sector and inflicting a brand new Operation Cinder, which forces Luke to stop him. Adelhard's stories in the first issues of each arc are also pretty good. They really do a good job of establishing him as a credible threat and his mental state in each arc.
I don't care much for the new characters, and Renya really got on my nerves by the end. The biggest sin was not including the Aftermath protagonist cast at all.
Note: I will say Gallius Rax in the comic looks like Matthew Rhys, and I hope Matthew Rhys portrays Rax in either live-action or animation. It's also funny how Belos (Matthew Rhys' character in TOH) has a lot of similarities with Rax.
Well, on to better things with Alex Segura's run on the new mainline Star Wars comic (the image of Luke Skywalker is a variant cover of the first issue of that run). Let's hope the mainline comic will be where Alex Segura's writing thrives.
"The fighting on and around Jakku continued for several months after the Ravager dropped from the skies--but the war was over in every meaningful way. What remained were the final spasms of a beheaded monster. But some monsters scratched and scraped for even the slightest chance at...revenge. While the remaining creatures skittered into the darkness, a bright new peace arose to light the way. A year after the Battle of Endor, the destruction of the Second Death Star and the deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the Galactic Concordance was signed--formalizing the surrender of the Empire. But the treaty wasn't the only major change brought into our heroes' world. The birth of Ben Solo, the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo, seemed to sound out across the galaxy--a peaceful echo to the new era of peace. And an affirmation that the dark days were over--and would not return." The conclusion of the Galactic Civil War
