Comics Star Wars #38-43: The Ashes of Jedha (6/6 Released)

It does if your interest is in a long term readership.

In this story, he's unattached to anyone and is constantly giving out creepy "i'm gonna murder younglings" one day vibes.

Han keeps trying to pal around with him in this story but it's hard for me to understand why since Luke is doing his best impression of Anakin during one of his "Bare able to control my desire to kill everything that annoys me and interferes with my goals" moments. A dude who seems about to snap is not who I want to spend my time with.

 

Star Wars isn't going to be as black and white as it was under Lucas. We might as well get used to even the good guys showing a fair amount of dark side tendencies from time to time. Having one of the good guy Rebels murder another Rebel by shooting him in the back would have been one of the last things Lucas would have done onscreen.

 

It's not an issue of black and white or morality. (and black and white? Dark Empire didn't have Luke dabbling in the Dark?)

I mean that Luke has no characterization depth. He seems like Anakin from the prequels in this story and that's not quite how he seems at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back. And when I say that, I don't mean it in some simple "He's so dark side". I mean He has no joviality. He has no other interests or concerns other than being a Jedi. None of that lightheartedness that exists when he's talking to Han over comm at the beginning of ESB is there. In this story, he's gone from 0 to 60 in five seconds. From A New Hope Luke to zombie Dark Empire Luke without any stops along the way.

Darth Vader and the Emperor in Marvel have been shown to have a better sense of humor and camaraderie than this guy.

 

I guess I just see a character who has gotten here from where he was, and winds up where we know he does in ESB, as someone with depth to be plumbed.

Well I imagine Han has both known Luke for a while now, so isn't going to abandon him because he's in a bad place right now...but also Han seems sort of attracted to forthright action and operating outside of the Rebel Alliance's cleaner image.

 

True. But You'd think he'd want someone you can just have a beer with.

"Jedi Jedi Jedi somethin somethin light side"

 

Honestly none of the Dreamers seem particularly friendly.

 

True.

I'm hoping Luke's recent characterization turns out to be PTSD...ya know..he lost his best friend and parents within the span of a few days. He never sat down and mourned. I hope there is a story where he actually learns to accept this and starts to normalize.

 

This was already addressed in the Heir to the Jedi novel, which takes place before the comics.

 

I actually think he's dealing with this, like, enormous weight and responsibility. He's the last Jedi! I think he's letting it carry him away. Honestly I hope it's Han who helps him snap out of it.

 

Star Wars #40 - Ashes of Jedha Part III

Spoiler

This is kind of a clustered mess.

So the heroes of the Rebellion take out the bad guys and don't plan on killing them? Luke just blew up a Death Star of how many people? Come on! You can't judge Saw's people so harshly, but what's done is done and the drill is stopped.

Do the bad guys care? Nope. They have a giant ship named the Leviathan to get the job done. Why they didn't start with that, I have no idea.

So now that the rebels think they've won for now, I guess, Luke decides to go off with the priest guy for a spiritual experience because he has to. Before he goes, he gets an earful from Leia and we get some echoes of her last conversation with Bail during the events of Rogue One. It's pretty much a rehash of what Bail said to Mon Mothma, so it wasn't particularly heart warming or eye opening.

So Luke leaves and they run into a group of people in masks. I think it was a design from Rogue One but I don't recall. I'm guessing it's some holy men and women that survived the Death Star test?

On Wookieepedia, I found this information since Rogue One doesn't really go into depth -
The most notable structure in the Holy City was the ancient Temple of the Kyber—a great temple protruding high above the city wall that was held sacred by those who followed the teachings of the Church of the Force. Considered a holy site for followers of the mystical energy field known as the Force, the Holy City's streets were filled with priests, scholars, and holy men and women, many of them pilgrims, who could be recognized by their distinctive and often ornate robes.

 

Spoiler

I was excited to see the flashback scene of Leia and Bail Organa's coversation, that's something I've really wanted to see since first watching Rogue One.

 

Apart from Luke, who isn't a general by the time of ROTJ?
Because, really, Han, Lando, Leia, and Hera are all generals. Let's not forget Madine, Willard, Dodonna, Draven, Cracken, and Rieekan (provided that they're all still alive by that time). Too many cooks in that kitchen.

 

Luke at the end visits

Spoiler

the Central Isopter death worshiping cultists .

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Central_Isopter

Its good to see Luke is making good on Maul's revelation:

 

The artwork in this latest issue was terrible and it's hard to know just what is going on.

Luke's continued disloyalty and disinterest in the Rebellion is infuriating. This is the 3rd or 4th time now that he's run off to do his own thing and not given a damn about the Rebellion. I greatly prefer the old EU on this, where Luke actually gave a damn about the cause. Quite frankly, that Luke was a lot more fun than the disloyal at every opportunity, religious fanatic Luke. Luke running off to Dagobah made sense in the Empire Strikes Back...he got visited by Obi-Wan personally. Apparently though, it was just par for the course for Luke who never misses an opportunity to become derelict from his duties. The ongoing Star Wars title continues to be a major disappointment, regardless of the talented writers who anchor it.

 

Could this characterisation of Luke who abandons the cause when it suits him be echoing TLJ?

 

DAMN, can the artist STOP using pictures for faces? The faces are the worst and are really distracting! The art can be really good, like this panel http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqnmUTJTp...YvxsVvsJrzncj6RTG5kLDQCHMYCw/s1600/RCO021.jpg, but overall the faces are just awful....

 

So much this! The new Crait comic also uses rotoscoping. It's lazy and diminishes the story.

 

I am really bummed out about the art issues which this series is having because I loved Gillen's Vader work and I'm enjoying the way this story ties into Rogue One.

Although, doesn't the revelation of Leia's conversation with Bail actually contradict what we see in R1? Here, he is asking her to ensure the plans get delivered safely whereas in the movie he was going to ask her to recruit Obi-Wan and it seemed like her ending up with the plans was more of a last resort.

 

It makes so, so much sense to me that the former farmkid who blew up the Death Star due to the revelation of his special destiny and who knows almost nothing about Jedi would think it's his personal responsibility to save the galaxy and that, before he gets to The Empire Strikes Back, he is more obsessed with this than with the Rebellion. It's hubris. He's wrong.

Considering that we've known where Luke winds up in the next movie for nearly forty years, I think it's premature to complain that his characterization is off, here. But ultimately that's the issue, here: the characters aren't being treated as static.

 

Yeah in various interviews, Gillen has suggested that Aaron's run focused heavily on Luke and the 'Jedi' side of things and he wants to focus much more on the Rebel/military side of things, including with Luke, to bring him to where we see him in ESB.

 

So, the new issue is out and, in light of TLJ, I really enjoyed it. The art was hit or miss, as always, but this Ashes of Jedha storyline has all the feelings of an actual Star Wars movie (or cartoon at the very least).

 

Spoiler

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you here. I just re-read this title recently and it had a great start. Then the Yoda arc happened and this title has been downhill ever since. I had a hard time following some of the recent story because the art is horrible at conveying what is happening. And the faces... Uggh. In the recent issue, the whole "Stare into the abyss" scene was confusing and having Chulco try to kill Luke came out of nowhere. At least it looks like Luke is now going to be a Rebel full time instead of running around trying to learn how to be a Jedi. I think the current writer realizes this has been a mistake.

 

Honestly, there’s very little reason for me to be interested in the main Star Wars comic right now, let alone buy it.

It seems like every few issues follow the same pattern: Luke and company go off on some side mission. The mess around for a few issues with dangers and threats that aren’t that engaging. Ultimately, the adventure has no impact on the Galactic Civil War at large. Sometimes Luke might learn a Jedi thing or two but that’s the only sense of plot progression you’ll get.

It feels like a cartoon where every episode has to be a self-contained story, and the status quo is law, with no character or plot progression allowed.

 

You should pay attention to it now as Gillen is writing it. This current arc is just getting Luke on track to where we see him at in ESB.

 

Sadly it seems so.

Looks like Luke will now be written in a way to support his characterization in TLJ, which doesn't make me very happy...

And the main Marvel SW series almost became a chore for me to read at this point and is the one I look least forward to to reading each month. Really hope it will get better this year...