Review: Star Wars - The Destiny Path (Marvel)
The events here take place between those related in the second and third films of the original trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. One of the most dramatic moments in cinematic history has recently taken place: Luke Skywalker has battled Darth Vader within the depths of the cloud city Bespin... and lost, Vader severing Luke's lightsabre-wielding hand...
... but sparing his life and dropping the bombshell that turns Luke's universe upside-down:
"I am your father."
As deadbeat dads go, Vader has to take the crown. Neglecting your offspring for his whole life is one thing, but topping it off by becoming the most evil member of the oppressive Galactic Empire? That's a special kind of bad dad.
Skywalker chooses death over dishonour, plunging to his doom from the sky city, only to be rescued by the Millennium Falcon. The first issue opens with him sitting dejected, receiving medical attention, recent events echoing in his mind. He has lost more than his hand and his weapon, he has also lost his faith in himself. Reaching out with the Force for guidance to Obi Wan and Master Yoda, he is greeted by a stony silence. Why is no-one taking his call?
Meanwhile, events around him are mounting dangerously. Han Solo has been frozen in carbonite and parcelled off to Jabba the Hut, leaving the man who betrayed him - his friend Lando Calrissian - on board the Millennium Falcon with Princess Leia, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO. Having only partially redeemed himself by helping to rescue them, he is treated with suspicion by Leia, who takes control and orders a hasty retreat to the nearest Rebel Alliance base.
She has more on her shoulders than the command of one ship, however. After their defeat at the ice planet Hoth, the Alliance is in disarray. Has the Empire cracked their coded communications? Leia has to decide what to do next, and her actions could decide the fate of the galaxy...
So begins a story in which our heroes leap once more into the breach, with space battles and a personal quest or two to pursue. It is certainly entertaining, if not exactly ground-breaking stuff; Soule is after all restrained here by fitting his narrative into a fairly narrow gap between two very well established movies, so he does not really have the freedom to go off at too great a tangent. Nevertheless his writing is true to the spirit of the films and he captures the personalities of the central characters very well: Luke's struggle with his identity, Leia's determination to hold everything together, Chewbacca's surliness, Lando's smooth hustling, Threepio's comical faux pas...
Saiz also renders their likenesses excellently and also conveys all the right emotional tones on point at every step. One of my favourite things about Star Wars is the guts-n-bolts style of the spacecraft and droids; little details that add a nice hint of realism into the fantasy mix. The artist succeeds here also.
The Star Wars universe continues to expand with movie after movie plus series (both live action and animated), so a comic revival is in good company. Next time you feel like having a movie binge of the original trilogy you might consider fitting this in between 2 and 3 to give a little extra dimension to the story, a nice addition to a saga that has already expanded way beyond its beginning decades ago, and which shows no sign of slowing down.
Star Wars - The Destiny Path on Comixology
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Zak Webber
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