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Star Wars (2020) (Single Issues)
Star Wars #11
OPERATION STARLIGHT GOES SUPERNOVA! The mission to reunite the REBEL FLEET is countered by a deadly trap sprung by the cunning COMMANDER ZAHRA! How will WEDGE ANTILLES, SHARA BEY and the other elite pilots of STARLIGHT SQUADRON survive? And then there’s LANDO CALRISSIAN... forced to choose between THE REBELLION and one of his oldest friends!
22 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2021
10 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Charles Soule
1,522 books1,692 followersCharles Soule is a #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist, comics author, screenwriter, musician, and lapsed attorney. He has written some of the most prominent stories of the last decade for Marvel, DC and Lucasfilm in addition to his own work, such as his comics Curse Words, Letter 44 and Undiscovered Country, and his original novels Light of the Jedi, The Endless Vessel, The Oracle Year and Anyone. He lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 3, 2021
Lots of good ole Star Wars action. We get a different look at Lando these past couple of issues. He is a loyal guy and does sticks up for his friends. But he feeling slighted in a big way. Good story and great art.
February 4, 2023
Star Wars (2020)
#11 – “Activate TRACOT BEAMS.”
#11 – “Activate TRACOT BEAMS.”
February 5, 2021
Okay, so one character I'd never thought I'd become attached to was Lobot, I mean, he doesn't speak, he does practically nothing, yet somehow Charles Soule has managed to make Lando's attachment to him into something that I'm really invested in, and I spent a good portion of this issue hoping that he was going to be okay. That's definitely a sign that Soule is doing some damn good things with the series.
Issue #11 picks up where the last one left off, with Starlight Squadron unable to contact the Rebel fleet, and being engaged by Commander Zahra and her Imperial forces, whilst Lando tries desperately to save his friend's life. It's a high stakes issue for sure, and one that never slows down or gives the reader a break in the tension until the final moments.
What makes the issue really goo, even better than the last one, is that you really feel like you get a lot from it, and the book uses its twenty pages well. We get great character moments, like Lando trying to risk his life for Lobot, or Leia putting Lobot at risk in order to achieve her goals; which ultimate lead to Lando feeling like he can't trust the Rebellion and doesn't belong there. There's clever action beats like Starlight Squadron using the tractor beam on Tarkin's Will to propel themselves into the hanger bay where they'd be safe from the ships guns, and can steal an astromech so that they can escape. Plus the issue manages to set up some exciting things to come with the obvious eventual rescue of Shara Bey that has to happen, as well as Lando's deal with Jabba. And all of that managed to happen without the issue feeling crowded or rushed.
With some of the issues leading up to this point having felt like they've taken a while, or been pretty thin on the ground, it really feels like Star Wars has found its feet, and has settled into a decent storytelling rhythm. The important characters and plots have been introduced, and now we get to see how it all plays out.
What I've been enjoying with the series is how it's going out of its way to give the smaller characters a chance to shine. Whilst Zahra is driven by her vendetta to get Leia it doesn't mean that Leia has to be the focus, and it's people like Shara, Kes, Wedge, and L'Ulo who get things to do, who get the heroic moments and the emotional beats. As we've seen time and time again with things like Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian, Star Wars is about more than the Skywalker family and their friends, and that by giving other people in that universe the chance to shine makes for more diverse and interesting tales.
That being said, one major character that is getting some development in these issues is Lando, and it's making him such a better character. Yes, he's always been a fan favourite (mainly due to people just being unable to to hate Billy Dee Williams), but his change from reluctantly selling out the heroes in Empire Strikes Back to being on their side in Return of the Jedi was always a pretty quick thing, something that seemed relatively easy. These issues are showing that actually, this was a pretty long process, and as much as he had to show the Rebellion that he could be trusted, they also had to show him they were worth fighting for too. It's adding a whole new layer of depth to the character that I didn't even realise I wanted.
The issue ends with the possible betrayal from an important character, and this just opens more avenues to more dramatic stories to come; and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what Charles Soule does next.
Issue #11 picks up where the last one left off, with Starlight Squadron unable to contact the Rebel fleet, and being engaged by Commander Zahra and her Imperial forces, whilst Lando tries desperately to save his friend's life. It's a high stakes issue for sure, and one that never slows down or gives the reader a break in the tension until the final moments.
What makes the issue really goo, even better than the last one, is that you really feel like you get a lot from it, and the book uses its twenty pages well. We get great character moments, like Lando trying to risk his life for Lobot, or Leia putting Lobot at risk in order to achieve her goals; which ultimate lead to Lando feeling like he can't trust the Rebellion and doesn't belong there. There's clever action beats like Starlight Squadron using the tractor beam on Tarkin's Will to propel themselves into the hanger bay where they'd be safe from the ships guns, and can steal an astromech so that they can escape. Plus the issue manages to set up some exciting things to come with the obvious eventual rescue of Shara Bey that has to happen, as well as Lando's deal with Jabba. And all of that managed to happen without the issue feeling crowded or rushed.
With some of the issues leading up to this point having felt like they've taken a while, or been pretty thin on the ground, it really feels like Star Wars has found its feet, and has settled into a decent storytelling rhythm. The important characters and plots have been introduced, and now we get to see how it all plays out.
What I've been enjoying with the series is how it's going out of its way to give the smaller characters a chance to shine. Whilst Zahra is driven by her vendetta to get Leia it doesn't mean that Leia has to be the focus, and it's people like Shara, Kes, Wedge, and L'Ulo who get things to do, who get the heroic moments and the emotional beats. As we've seen time and time again with things like Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian, Star Wars is about more than the Skywalker family and their friends, and that by giving other people in that universe the chance to shine makes for more diverse and interesting tales.
That being said, one major character that is getting some development in these issues is Lando, and it's making him such a better character. Yes, he's always been a fan favourite (mainly due to people just being unable to to hate Billy Dee Williams), but his change from reluctantly selling out the heroes in Empire Strikes Back to being on their side in Return of the Jedi was always a pretty quick thing, something that seemed relatively easy. These issues are showing that actually, this was a pretty long process, and as much as he had to show the Rebellion that he could be trusted, they also had to show him they were worth fighting for too. It's adding a whole new layer of depth to the character that I didn't even realise I wanted.
The issue ends with the possible betrayal from an important character, and this just opens more avenues to more dramatic stories to come; and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what Charles Soule does next.
February 11, 2021
Eh... not going to lie, this new story arc has been something of a letdown. I LOVED Charles Soule’s work on the Vader series. The Operation Starlight story here is not my cup of tea. I liked the backstory of Commander Zahra, but other than that it’s been challenging to find any dramatic moments that define or redefine this world... moments that fill in the blank edges of the galactic map... which Soule absolutely did with Vader. I can’t stress strongly enough how much I adored his “Dark Lord of the Sith” story, so I naturally hoped for that same mind-blowing gravity here. The story is much more light-hearted (but I guess most comics juxtaposed with Vader probably would be), but I also don’t dig the art. Again, I’m happy for those who are thrilled with both. Just not for me right now. I’ll be dropping this book for the time being in hopes that it finds its footing soon.
February 3, 2021
Well, this is a cracking little comic and a return to form after the last issue...although I think maybe I was a little harsh on the last one.
Still, I always love some fighter pilot action, and Starlight Squadron certainly don't disappoint here. I get the feeling that Charles Soule has read the old X-Wing books as the manoeuvre that the X-Wings and A-Wings employ to defeat the Star Destroyer's tractor beam was straight out of those novels.
That's not a criticism, because I loved those books!
So, yeah, this very much feels like Star Wars to me.
Still, I always love some fighter pilot action, and Starlight Squadron certainly don't disappoint here. I get the feeling that Charles Soule has read the old X-Wing books as the manoeuvre that the X-Wings and A-Wings employ to defeat the Star Destroyer's tractor beam was straight out of those novels.
That's not a criticism, because I loved those books!
So, yeah, this very much feels like Star Wars to me.
May 25, 2021
The story lines that we don't already know about are ok
I don't like the arc that they are going on with Lando, because we KNOW that just a year or so from now he is going to be so trusted by the rebellion that he is going to help save Han, and be a senior officer in the fleet that destroys the 2nd death star. There is no "good" ending that can come from this "he might betray the rebellion" arc, because we know that he either won't, or he will do something big to make up for it.
I don't like the arc that they are going on with Lando, because we KNOW that just a year or so from now he is going to be so trusted by the rebellion that he is going to help save Han, and be a senior officer in the fleet that destroys the 2nd death star. There is no "good" ending that can come from this "he might betray the rebellion" arc, because we know that he either won't, or he will do something big to make up for it.
February 25, 2021
I’ve never been a huge Lando fan, I still haven’t fully forgiven him for the whole carbonite thing, but that being said, I find myself siding with him in this issue. Kes’s whole the sacrifice is worth it, but not if it’s my wife, is selfish at best. I get that sacrifices had to be made at all costs, but the message isn’t pure and I hated to see Leia’s indifference to Lobot, even if she did voice her regret later on in the book. Also, Shara and Zahra? Why???
February 7, 2021
Ready to move on to the next arc.
April 11, 2021
Just a synoptic of the series so far, very good, great art, great expansion on empire strikes back and awesome rebel and imperial action.
July 4, 2021
Ehhhh this one was OK I guess. Retconning the Dameron Family into the Saga??? Suuuuuure 3/5
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews