Synopsis: In Path of Light, DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR LEIA AND THE REBEL ALLIANCE! The last remnants of ALDERAAN have come under threat from an old enemy! LUKE SKYWALKER and LEIA ORGANA could save these few survivors of the destroyed planet, but the Princess of Alderaan must choose between her people…and the REBEL ALLIANCE itself!
The Story
Picking up from where the last issue left off. Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and a fellow Rebel pilot learned that the remaining fleet of the dead planet Alderaan had gone missing. When they arrived at the fleet’s last coordinates they learned that it was all a trap set by Commander Zahra of the Imperial Empire, who they’d thought to have died during their last encounter with her. Now believing that Zahra had finished off the Entire Alderaan Fleet. Leia and Luke must fight to prevent Zahra from taking them as her prisoners to the Emperor.
The Artwork
Jethro Morales does a fantastic job with the artwork in this issue. I loved the sequence of panels where we learn how Zahra survived her last encounter with the Rebels. In this sequence, we see Zahra’s struggle against a pretty nasty beast that spits venomous acid at her. By the end of this fight we see Zahra struggle to make her escape having lost a leg and an arm in the fight. This is an image somewhat reminiscent of the wound Anakin Skywalker at the end of ‘Revenge of the Sith’. Admittedly, Zahra is not quite is badly hurt as Anakin was, but the trauma of her injuries does make her just as bitter and spiteful as Anakin became.
Overall
The Path of Light, which is the penultimate issue of this Star Wars series sets everything up nicely for the final issue, which we’ll see next month. I liked some of the parallels between Zahra’s journey and that of Anakin. And how her severe injuries just made her double down on her belief in the Empires and her determination to hurt Leia. Hopefully, we’ll get a third run of Star Wars comics from Marvel that will fill in the 30 or so year gap of what happened to Luke, Han, and Leia between events seen in Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I believe issue 50 of this run is going to feature a young Ben Solo, so it will be interesting to see what that issue delivers in the way of backstory in regards to how he strayed from Luke’s guidance.
Overall. This was a solid issue.
- Covers9.8
- Story9.8
- Artwork10
- Lettering9.4
- Colours10
I’d like to see a Star Wars film set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens that shows Luke Skywalker building his Jedi Order (with some Legends characters making an appearance). And Ben Solo falling to the dark side and destroying it.
There is a rumor going around that Jon Favreau is pushing for some form of TV series with the OG Characters of Han, Luke, and Leia. With Leia recast for obvious reasons. But using the old actors and CGI to make them look like they did after Jedi. It’s just rumor though.