Happy Friday, everyone,
Hope all's well. I'm closing out this series with a summary of Star Wars #108, which was published by Marvel in July 2019. This was a continuation of the original title that ran from 1977 to 1986, and included contributions by writers and artists who worked on that series as well as the current runs, including Andrea Broccardo, Kerry Gammill, and Jan Duursema. There were several cover variants, but I like the version that I picked up at my local comic book store, which was a drawing of the bounty hunter Valance squaring off against Darth Vader by Walt Simonson, with a nice tribute to the late former Star Wars writer and editor Archie Goodwin.
The tale was broken into eight parts. Chapter 1 was called "The Legend of Valance the Hunter!" It went into Valance's history, from his days as an Imperial soldier who was injured by a bomb dropped from a Rebel X-Wing, and later became a cyborg who no longer fit the Empire's needs, to his days as a feared bounty hunter. This included his first encounter with Luke Skywalker and C-3PO, when the hunter learned that some droids were not afraid to sacrifice themselves for their human masters.
Valance had last been seen on the planet Centares, where he engaged in battle with the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. Both villains were fighting for access to whom they thought was the man who'd destroyed the first Death Star (but was in fact another Rebel who'd fled his cause before that skirmish). Valance fell into the Rubyflame lake and was supposedly destroyed.
Several years later, a group of mercenaries was scavenging that area. The lake had long since dried up, and the crew was gathering whatever had been left behind in the lake bed. They even talked about it being the sight of Valance's last known battle. Little did they know just what they had uncovered.
The second chapter, titled "Near Misses & Narrow Escapes," began with Han Solo and his Wookiee counterpart Chewbacca in a tavern on the planet Stenos. They were talking with a rather unsavory character named Slider, who had the lead on a job that they wanted. After some cajoling, their associate pulled the Orakny bloom from a pocket, which needed to be delivered safely to another world. Unfortunately, the Correllian and his co-pilot weren't the only interested parties.
A fight broke out shortly after several others arrived on the scene. Our heroes had just left the cantina when Solo received a hearty kick in the face from his old ally Jaxxon. He and Amaiza were wondering why their former employer was looking for work after advancing to the rank of General in the New Republic. Han learned that Domina Taage was involved, a scoundrel who was best known in the galaxy for trying to spread the deadly Crimson Forever.
Jaxxon shot a greedy Hiromi before more gun-toting aliens followed. The quartet quickly fled, heading toward the Millennium Falcon. Like it or not, they were now partners.
In Chapter 3, which was called "A Scavenger's Mistake," the mercenaries were delivering their cargo to their customers. They stood in front of a ship that bore the New Republic logo, but their clients didn't appear to be affiliated with that particular organization. Their boss talked to his superior via comlink and confirmed that he would let them know when he was certain they had enough and that what they'd acquired could not be traced back to his leader.
Chapter 4, entitled "Old Worries in the New Republic," took place in the Alliance's base on the planet Noquivzor. Princess Leia Organa stood by Threepio as she talked about the Tof threat with the Zeltron males Bahb, Jahn, Marruc, and Rahuhl. She was in the middle of a sentence when she instinctively ducked to avoid sniper fire from above. Leia pulled the blaster from her holster and returned fire, taking out the would-be Tof assassin.
Guards rushed to her side, but the princess was fine. She'd sensed the impending danger and reacted accordingly. Just then, Plif the Hoojib ran to inform the princess about an incoming ship that was nearing them. It was not responding to radio messages and did not have a landing clearance. He then said that ship was the Falcon. Leia went to meet it. The Falcon was soon suspended in mid-air by Leia's brother, Luke Skywalker.
Luke used the Force to guide the ship down safely. A few moments later, Han, Chewie, Jaxxon, and Amaiza exited the craft. Leia admonished Han briefly before welcoming him home warmly. Jaxxon then informed her of the news he'd heard about Domina. The Taage had been recruiting spicers for a mission, and the four of them got mixed up in things and had been chased by several bounty hunters.
Leia remembered how Domina had blamed both the Rebellion and the Empire for her brother's death and had tried to retaliate in her attempt to spread the deadly Crimson Forever disease. The House of Taage had fallen quite some time ago, and Domina was last known to be somewhere in the Asteph'skaff system, where she'd mainly kept out of trouble. Threepio affirmed that, adding that Leia had sent the Zeltron Dani and a peacekeeping faction from the New Republic there, but that the crew had not reported back yet. He wondered if that might be related somehow.
Chapter 5, which was called "For Fear of What Might Wake," took place in deep space. The mercenary leader was reporting to his boss, Domina, that they'd taken care of the crew and that they'd cleaned the scrap. They now had plenty of durasteel, which was to be brought to her immediately. The Tof resistance was funding their expedition, so money was not an issue. However, the captain wasn't aware that part of what he'd purloined was activating at that very moment, and soon attacked him.
The transmission ceased shortly thereafter. Domina was not able to determine just what had happened, but told a subordinate to send Slider to investigate. The lackey replied that Slider had stated he was being pursued by bounty hunters when he last checked in. The bounty hunters were after Domina, but Slider was attempting to hire smugglers to bring the Orakny bloom to her. They had now lost contact with Slider, the smugglers, and the bloom.
Domina was obviously upset by the failures, but still ordered that a course for the unknown regions be laid in. The pilot agreed, but wondered if they would make it without the durasteel to deliver the jewels or the bloom, which could counteract the symptoms. Domina assured him they would improvise.
By then, the resurrected Valance had reformed and taken out the humans on the ship, which he now occupied. He came across a translation droid designated FR-D 8T-KA, who informed him that the Emperor had long since fallen. He went on to talk about the storied life jewels of the Great Nebula, which intrigued the cyborg. Valance was informed that they could restore life, which he was very much interested in. FR-D said that the items were last seen in the unknown regions. Along the way, Valance asked for synthflesh, which would not be used for the now-deceased crew.
Chapter 6, "On the Way to Forever," took place in the Falcon's cockpit. Han and Chewbacca were pushing things to the limit until they were pulled out of hyperspace by the sun that was being partially blocked from view by the Star Destroyer, where the aforementioned jewels were last seen. Solo narrowly evaded the larger craft just before Domina's personal ship arrived. Han had a plan. They just had to keep out of Domina's sight for a while at first.
In Chapter Seven, called "Snatched Away From the Sun," the Falcon's escape pod launched toward the battered Imperial command ship. It landed with a crunch, and its passengers, Luke, Leia, Artoo, and Jaxxon, got out. The humanoids were decked out in space suits, and the four of them began searching their surroundings on foot. They came across a deserted TIE bomber, which might serve as an escape craft.
Han and Amaiza were working on repairs to the Falcon and spotted Domina's fighter touching down near their friends. A firefight broke out, during which a well-placed thermal detonator took out the bridge the allies had just crossed. Jaxxon found the first jewel before spying the second in the hands of a long-deceased occupant of the ship.
Jaxxon was about to guide his comrades to safety when Domina stood in front of them, flanked by several gunners, including the bounty hunters Dengar, IG-88, and Bossk. Luke charged at their foes and held them off with his lightsaber, while Leia, Jaxxon, and Artoo retreated the way they came. Jaxxon was able to leap across the chasm and seemed about ready to betray his comrades.
Luke used the Force to pull a pipe down that would serve as a makeshift bridge. He and Leia crossed while he kept his trusty astrodroid suspended behind him until they reached the other side. Jaxxon had reached the bomber and was leaving his friends behind, but Leia was more concerned about how he might react to the Crimson Forever. Han then informed them that they were about to have more company.
The final chapter was listed as "The End of the Hunt." The company Han was describing was the mercenary ship now commanded by Valance. The pirated TIE bomber quickly crashed into it right before Valance jumped out. Domina and her hired guns attacked. They were the first to recognize the cyborg.
Jaxxon jumped Valance, but his foe was well prepared for him. Luke pleaded for Jaxxon's release. Valance remembered Skywalker, a bit surprised that the young farmboy he'd once known was now a Jedi. He was right about Luke, and was only there for the jewels, which Jaxxon was more than willing to surrender.
Valance thought that the gems could help to restore what life he still had left. Perhaps they could even return his human aspects to their former conditions. Things were starting to change until Domina shot him from behind.
While Domina was trying to get her revenge against the Skywalkers, FR-D emerged at Valance's side. The droid decided to sacrifice himself by overloading his power core in the hopes that it would restart the cyborg's battery. He soon rose up and tore Domina off of Leia.
By then, the gems had been pitched into space. Valance explained that Luke had saved him once before jumping out for the jewels. He floated until he could grab a gem with each hand and slowly brought them closer toward his body. Luke explained to his friends how he'd once shown the bounty hunter how humanity was really the total of a person's actions. Although Jaxxon thought it was too late to save Valance, Luke countered that he had actually saved himself. Valance would go on to be a featured character in the Bounty Hunters series and, most recently, in the 2025 Star Wars title.
The remaining content for this issue included a brief cover gallery and excerpts of interviews with writers Jo Duffy and David Michelinie, editor Louise Simonson, and artists Walt Simonson, Ron Frenz, and the late Tom Palmer. I felt like this issue was a nice way to tidy things up a bit. They ignored most of the mess that was the series last year or so, and brought back fan favorites like Jaxxon, Amaiza, Domina, and the bounty hunters. It also provided some closure to the Crimson Forever affair that was first chronicled in issue #50. I enjoyed the collaborative efforts from the past and present Star Wars creative teams, as well as the reflections on the original run that I remember quite fondly and am very proud to have finally collected in full. The only thing missing was Lando Calrissian, but by then, I was seeing plenty of that character in the most recent Marvel Star Wars books.
With that, I bid adieu to this series of blog posts. I may cover the more recent Star Wars titles at some point, but that probably won't happen until 2027 at the earliest, as I've already decided upon the next several titles that I want to discuss. I will begin a new set on Monday, which will feature George Lucas' second most popular adventure franchise, one whose main character was well known for digging up treasures from the past and brandishing his signature bullwhip. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
