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Star Wars Annual #1 Review!

Jondee here on Coruscant,

STWANN2015001_DC11 Star Wars Annual #1 cover.

The first annual of the new Marvel Star Wars line is written by Kieron Gillen, writer of the Darth Vader comic, with art by Angel Unzueta who is known for his DC work. The cover by John Cassaday features the Rebel spy, Eneb Ray, in front of the looming figure of the Emperor bathed in Force lightning. The title crawl for the comic has this story taking place after the destruction of the Death Star. It explains that Eneb has taken the identity of Tharius Demo. The last names are a little too spacey. A splash page shows the streets of Coruscant under the rule of the Emperor with holograms of Palpatine and scrolling propaganda. Tharius is giving the increased taxes on exports by an older pilot. The pilot backs down and Tharius heads off to his room. He enters code Epsilon Blue and activates a hologram. It’s Princess Leia who urges a mission to save senators on Arrth-Eno. Excellent likeness of the young Carrie Fisher. Eneb takes his drink from a red protocol droid. He is reluctant, but ends up heading for Arrth-Eno prison complex, a tall spire, in a ship shown in a splash page.

Star-Wars-Annual-3-600x911 Coruscant during the Empire.

Eneb clings to the ship with electrified gloves, leaps off, and uses a grappling gun to ascend the spire. He throws in a freezing charge into a vent and smashes into the prison. Eneb yanks up a stormtrooper and then opens the cell for the captive senators. One alien woman, yellow with metal tentacles for hair, says that the Emperor will be coming to the prison. He opens another door to get the drop on Imperial officers and orders them to remove their blasters. One of the officers stays with Eneb, revealing herself to a mole named Coleet. They contact Princess Leia and tell her their plan to assassinate the Emperor. A splash page has the Emperor on his throne surrounded by his red-robed Royal Guard. The robed prisoners approach and throw off their cloaks to blast the Royal Guard and stormtroopers. Coleet is monitoring the situation with the senators. I thought the point was to rescue them. Eneb hits a Guardsman in the helmet with an electrified blade with his gun. The Emperor is not impressed and lifts his platform. Eneb tells the others to leave and uses his grappling gun to lift up with the platform into the stormy skies.

4945817-tharius-demo-1 Eneb Ray.

A shuttle descends and Eneb blasts stormtroopers and the Emperor. In the shuttle, the Emperor is disappointed that his decoy has died, learned from Amidala. Eneb leaps and clings to the shuttle with his glove. He fires at the Emperor who deflects the blasts. The Emperor points back at the prison and Eneb looks to see…it destroyed. The Emperor strikes the spy with Force lightning and he falls, but is able to use his grappling gun. Eneb is able to reach a rooftop and later makes his way on the streets of Coruscant. The Emperor broadcasts that the senators were brought to trial, but Rebels destroyed the prison. Eneb makes his way to the older pilot shows a hologram of Princess Leia and says, “I was naive.” His shuttle takes off as the looming hologram of the Emperor’s broadcast says the Rebels will pay for their crimes. This is actually a brilliant explanation of why the Emperor dissolved the Senate except one thing, if this takes place after the Death Star’s destruction, it doesn’t make sense. The senators had no real power or place, it’s a senseless gesture to set them up when their positions were already taken away. The Rating for this issue: Modern Age.