Comics Star Wars #21-25: The Last Flight of the Harbinger

The Inquisitors are a whole different thing... they're not stormtroopers.

 

Stormtroopers that work directly for Vader. These aren't regular grunts, they're part of Vader's Fist, the Imperialized 501st.

 

Vader's Fist are still, by & large, "regular grunts". They don't have fancy limited-edition armor.

 

Not according to this comic arc. New canon etc.

 

I was not expecting a completely 100% Stormtrooper-centric issue without any of the Big Three. That was a fun surprise! Art is killer, too. Looking forward to this arc!

 

And... as expected Aaron continues the trend of making his run even more cartoony than Rebels. Still not seeing any reason to continue to pick this up after Vader ends.

 

A theme of the new canon is: those Stormtroopers you see in the movies and in Rebels? Those really are the general grunts, the danger by sheer quantity, not quality (very much the battle droid replacement). BUT - the Empire DOES has specialized forces all over the place, and they are, by necessecity, a bit more rare, and not nearly as ubiquitous. We've got a lot of stories about the grunts. Now it's time for some stories about the Special Forces who were always Out There Doing Important Stuff, but didn't happen to fit into the previous stories being told.

 

Stormtroopers that actually succeed at something, well that's new.

 

They were a cool team and it was nice to get an understanding about Kreel's loyalty to the Empire, but Molina's art made some of the action a little unclear. I'd gladly read an ongoing with this squad!

 

So are these guys the ONLY SCAR troopers in the entire empire? Or are there other SCAR squads out there.

I ask because one of the things I loved about Republic commando was that they were just ONE squad out of DOZENS. I mean if one squad is badass you can only imagine what the others are like

 

I loved this issue. Had to re-read it a few times to follow which trooper was which. Here's what I came up with for Scar Squadron:

Spoiler

Mic (blue thing on his arm and antennae on his helmet, probably the communications expert)
Cav (the knives guy)
Misty (the one in the cape)
Sarge (the one with orange shoulder thing aka Sergeant Kreel aka Gamemaster)
Zuke (the biggest one)
Aero (the one with the tubes going into his helmet, hot-wired the speeder)
"Unnamed" (the one with the flame thrower?)

***
Like I said, I loved this issue. I especially loved the end as I forgot about Kreel being proficient with a lightsaber. Loved getting his backstory and how he saw the Empire as the good guys because they were his salvation and represented law and order in a galaxy of chaos.

 

Spoiler

I love this issue. Loved reading all the praise for the Empire and how they view the Imperial rule, employment and stability vs chaos and terrorism.

Task Force 99 is really like the Imperial version of TCW Bad Batch but even better. They seem less goofy, and their gimmicks are more interesting.

Kreel is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters and I want to know more about how he got himself a lightsaber and who taught him. His backstory so far is great.

Oh and the coloring here is lovely; this intense darker atmosphere is very aesthetically attractive to me. Though the drawing was a bit confusing is some panels, it's not always obvious what is going on.

 

Competence is so nice.

Spoiler

Poor Admiral, though.

 

I really enjoyed this issue, the art was good and it was awesome to see some cool stormtroopers. I'm looking forward to the next issue!

 

This was one of the best issues of this series so far. Definitely had a Battlefront feel but just from the Imperial perspective. Only complaint would be that the Rebels looked about as tough as Shaggy.

 

I loved this issue. We have been getting lots of interesting looks into the mind of the officers recently but not really the troopers. I also love how Kreel is not really sympathetic or misunderstood. He is an evil SOB but one with a very understandable (yet wrong never the less) outlook on things.

 

Man, that was a fine issue! The story, the art, pacing.. All perfect! Stormtrooper with a lightsaber is an epic concept! Love it all the way! I wish they keep the story centered on the squad for as long as possible!

 

For those who have read this issue:
Are the members of Task Force 99 clones? Is Kreel a clone?

 

Glad I didn't read the OP and discovered it on my own. It made me appreciate it a little more and reading the issue more than once is something I should do more often.

 

Loved the art, loved the design, and loved the story. This main Star Wars line has a great opportunity to tell some really fantastic stories through smaller arcs and I'm pretty happy with what they've done so far. To be totally honest, the comics have kept me happier than the novels thus far.

 

Good read. A bit outlandish and exaggerated, but fun nonetheless. Looking forward to this arc a lot.

 

Cool issue, it was cool to see stormtrooper's POV. Also it was nice to see competent imperials for once... Art was mostly great, and it was cool to see the Rebels using Trade Federation tech. Is it possible Kreel is slightly force-sensitive? Or does he just like the lightsaber?

Pretty sure the flamethrower guy is named Shrap, they mention him in the first few pages along with Mic.