Review: Legacy2, #5

Script: Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman
Art: Gabriel Hardman
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Cover Art: Dave Wilkins

When junk dealer Ania Solo and her friends agreed to help apprentice Imperial Knight Jao Assam locate his missing master, they knew they’d face dangers— not the least of which was the Sith warrior who had assumed the identity of the missing Knight in order to take over a communications array at the edge of the Surd Nebula.

With the help of Shifalan Governor Biala, Ania and company escaped the imprisonment ordered by the Sith and exposed him for the impostor he was. During the ensuing fight, Assam wounded the Sith but was unable to prevent his escape.

Unfortunately, Assam was also wounded, as were the Mon Cal Sauk and the assassin droid AG-37—Ania’s only friends in the galaxy . . .

The Plot: at AG-37’s urging, Ania heads out to track the Sith and find Master Yalta Val.  Governor Biala orders the communications array shut down only to find it’s being controlled remotely by the Sith-IK imposter.  Revealing that he holds Val prisoner, the Sith uses the holonet to taunt the galaxy and announces himself as Darth Wredd.  Still broadcasting via the com array, he attempts to execute Master Val but Ania, who’s tracks Wredd to the planet, intervenes and distracts Wredd by shooting at him.  He downs her with a Force shove, but Val is able to access the lightsaber Ania has hidden in her boot.  With the array out of control and about to collide with the planet, Ania returns to the array to rescue Sauk and AG-37 while Wredd and Val battle.  Wredd manages to escape, leaving Val to die in the collision, but Ania arrives in the nick of time to rescue him.  As AG-37 pilots the ship out of the Carreras Sytem, he discovers Jao Assam floating in space and being kept alive by the Imperial comm droid, originally launched by Val and last in the possession of Ania and Assam.

The Good: Honestly, pretty much everything about this issue is good, but I’ll list some personal favorite highlights.

The reveal that Ania’s family are royals.  I’m thinking Hapans here.

AG-37 telling Ania about Han Solo — probably my favorite, favorite moment.

Ania finally stepping up and becoming the hero.  When she gets it right, she really gets it right.

Sauk, AG-37, Jao and Yalta all surviving.

Ania throwing a hydrospanner into Darth Wredd’s plans on the holonet.

Ania having the lightsaber hidden in her boot.  She planned it.

Empress Marasiah witnessing everything and wondering who Ania Solo is.  Oh yeah, she knows the Solo name.  Distant cousins maybe?

The loyal Imperial com droid saving Jao.

Please note that in my last review I predicted the Sith would use the com array to hurl insults at Coruscant.

The Iffy: No iffiness in this issue.  Even the art worked well here.

The Bad: I got nothing.

Conclusion: I am delighted with what Bechko and Hardman have done here, and while I had my doubts, they’ve done exactly what I hoped they’d do.  In cases like this I’m very happy about being proven wrong.  I’m quite enthusiastic for the next arc in Legacy 2, which will see Ania and her compatriots go out into the wider galaxy and meet up with characters from the original Legacy series.

I can’t leave without saying this: by putting a hold on the EU books, Lucasfilm has deprived us of Jaina Solo, the Sword of the Jedi.  With this series, Dark Horse has filled the breach by giving us another fantastic female hero in Ania Solo.

I give this issue a five out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed by Geralyn for Roqoo Depot