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Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And this week I’m going to be reviewing the 50th issue in the main line Star Wars comic series!
It’s an INCREDIBLE issue and a masterclass in storytelling from Charles Soule. It’s also the last issue in this run, so let’s jump into it!
This issue is the culmination of the 50 issue run written by Charles Soule that has been an absolute masterpiece from start to finish.
It’s a run that will be remembered for a long time, and is definitely going to need a re-read VERY soon.
Star Wars #50 by Charles Soule (writer), Madibek Musabekov (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (letterer), Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr (cover artists) is a 50+ epic story told through the perspective of Luke Skywalker telling a tale to Jedi Padawan Ben Solo. So just for context, this takes place before he turns on Luke and turns to the darkside.
Luke tells the story to a young Ben Solo who is nearing the point where he is almost ready to take his trials and ascend to the rank of Jedi Knight. And Luke, ever the teacher, wants to teach Ben a lesson through a story.
READ LAST ISSUE’S REVIEW!
He tells Ben of a story that takes place in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Luke heads to Gazian, a planet he’s visited before, in an effort to retrieve more Jedi texts. He feels Obi-Wan & Yoda didn’t teach him everything he needs to know, and he’s on a quest to find that information. And boy does he find more than he bargained for.
Luke ends up getting visited by the ghost of Azlin Rell, a Jedi from the High Republic era who gives him quite possibly the most dangerous device ever devised in Star Wars history. He gives him the location of a device that can kill anyone ANYWHERE. Crazy right?
Luke heads to Niraya, a planet in the inner rim of the galaxy where this device is located. And after an impressive retrieval mission by R2-D2, Luke and company have the device. And what follows is like something out of the middle third of a James Bond movie. A little bit of espionage, a dash of disguises and a pinch of turn coat, and it blends into the best Star Wars comic I have ever read in my life.
I’d love to go into more detail, but this is really a story you need to read for yourself. And it’s one that you need to experience with as little info as possible, so I’m not going to say too much here. But suffice it to say, if Charles Soule never writes another Star Wars story again than this is one heck of a high note to go out on.
My favorite part of the story is all of the scenes that take place within Luke telling the story to Ben Solo. It’s a story that is a HUGE swing for Charles Soule in terms of size & scope. And he absolutely DID NOT miss, he hit a grand slam out of the park and cleared the seats in the back row.
FINAL POINT: Charles Soule pens what I consider the greatest Star Wars comic ever written, and it’s a story that took a big chance with the story and it connects in a big way. It’s quite possibly the best work Charles has ever done, and it’s under strong consideration for making it onto my Mount Rushmore of favorite comics of all time. This is an issue you CANNOT miss, and is an instant must read for all Star Wars fans. If it’s not in your pull list, do yourself a favor and go pick up this issue ASAP.
SCORE: 10 out 10
Thanks for checking out my review on Nerd Initiative. For more of my content, check out ODPHpodcast.com, follow me on Twitter, and check out more of my reviews here on Nerd Initiative: https://nerdinitiative.com/author/padawanj/!
