Star Wars, Vol. 5: The Path to Victory

Star Wars (2020)

by Charles Soule, Andrés Genolet (Illustrator), Ramon Rosanas (Illustrator)

The Rebel Fleet is reunited at last! Leia Organa, Mon Mothma and the other Alliance leaders send a message to the galaxy that resistance to Palpatine's rule remains as strong as ever. Meanwhile, Crimson Dawn has activated their sleeper agents across the galaxy - and two of them race to deliver a dangerous secret to the Rebel Alliance. But the Empire knows what they have stolen, and the entire Imperial Navy is in hot pursuit! Meanwhile, Threepio enters into aggressive negotiations, Luke embarks on a mission that will test his growing Jedi skills to the limit, and the rebels come to understand the true scope of the threat they face!

Collects STAR WARS (2020) #26-30.

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Marvel, Fantasy

120 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2023

About the author

Charles 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.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good fun, even if the art was a little lo-fi for a main line STAR WARS title.

Also, doesn't this retcon the whole "Many Bothans died to bring us this information" deal? Not that I mind all that much, though it certainly places the events of Episode VI in a different light.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent volume

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. I freely admit my bias of Luke having the spotlight, which probably helped my enjoyment of this book. I would have given this it 4.5 stars a a couple of things seems a bit too rushed.

The Rebels re-announce themselves to the galaxy with a resounding victory. Then Luke must follow his feelings when the Rebles are contacted by an Imperial defecting officer and his family.

The second story arc was also great. I love the continuity with the High Republic books and comics. It's also great to see Leia's old friends in action as well. I do think this adventure could go a long way to showing how Lando comes mors into the fold.

This is a great book for any fans of Luke Skywalker. It shows his progress in the Force. He is still a way off from where he is in Return of the Jedi, but he is getting there. Once again, I love the link and continuity with the High Republic. Also, I was very glad to see the Rebels on the offensive again. The book finishes with the varient (toys) cover gallery.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best volumes of the new Star Wars books that I’ve read. This one separates itself from the events it has been held to (War of the Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign) and sets up a story that puts the Rebel, namely Luke and Leia as the heroes of this story. Really good stuff here!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The countdown to Return of the Jedi is looming large here. The first two issues are leading directly there, focusing on a family of Imperial defectors trying to get word to the Rebellion that the second Death Star is being built. We still haven't met the many bothans, but I assume they're coming up. Anyways, these issues had the perfect amount of action, and the new characters were appealing and surprisingly well developed for people we'll never see again. The third and fourth issues start a new story that is apparently referencing The High Republic. I'm not keeping up with that timeline, so I'm behind there. It's ok. I'm not invested in this storyline yet, but I don't have any real issues with it.

The art quality is variable, to say the least. The first issue feels really rushed. Several of the characters are only recognizable because of their costumes. I think the biggest miss is Wedge, who is completely unrecognizable. Not even his helmet is accurate, and that should be easy. I'm also kind of over the comics giving Luke very yellow hair.

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two different stories here. One that should lead to Return of the Jedi but somewhat too cartoony in plot and art to be taken seriously. I like Andres Genolet art but it somewhat feels off in a Star Wars comic book. And colors are waaaay too garish for my taste.

The other one doesn’t fare better. There’s this vague comedy feel in the beginning followed by this absurd no-space concept which simply left me unimpressed.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this volume. We have some a family that works for the Empire that is part of the Crimson Dawn that attempts to escape the Empire by offering the Rebellion information. Then we find the alliance pursuing a legendary fleet of fuel tankers in order to find much needed fuel for the rebel alliance. That doesn't turn out to be as easy as they thought. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, however.

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

high republic and hera syndulla crumbs so i can’t be mad

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Path to Victory is functional Star Wars, lacking the excitement or characters we love, instead intended to "fill in the blanks!" which is, I suppose, exciting to the completionists. The first arc in this volume finds a pair of Crimson Dawn agents on the under-construction Second Death Star. They're activated by Qi'ra, which means they must alert the Rebel Alliance to the existence of a new Death Star.

This leads to a frantic chase across the galaxy (with kids in tow!!), which is all very exciting, but seemingly contrary to the whole "many Bothans died" line from Return of the Jedi. It all feels rather perfunctory, particularly the simple conclusion to the storyline.

The second arc follows our mainline Star Wars heroes as they take a vacation - sike! Actually, they obtain a Path engine (hello, High Republic references) and get zapped to No-Space. This seems like a cool idea that is tragically underexplored, in this volume at least. No one seems particularly curious about where they've ended up, somehow still just eager to get fuel for the Alliance when they might actually be stranded outside the galaxy.

I guess we'll find out next time!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

3-4 ABY

This graphic novel is the part five collected volume of the 2020 run of the main Star Wars story, taking place after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. This volume contains issues 26-30 and features two parents working on the new Death Star, a major weaponized secret. The new Death Star is so secret, that no one who works there is allowed to leave. It's a for-life job. Well not for Jon and Bev. They want a better life for themselves and their two children, and they think they can find that through the Rebel Alliance. With a daring escape and a hot pursuit by the Empire, they offer intel on the new Death Star in exchange for a safe haven. The next section of the book involves a scheme from Holdo to find an old High Republic myth, a place fabled to have endless fuel, so she bids on an old Nihil ship at auction, losing, Leia, Luke, and Holdo (along with Chewbacca and Lando) steal the ship and seek the fabled fuel transport to gain resources for their cause.

With a touch on some new characters, a slice-of-life when working for the Empire, makes for quite an intriguing deviation from our main heroes. It was very interesting to see that perspective and how the Rebel Alliance handles the situation. General (Hera) Syndulla is becoming a very prominent player, which is nice to see in this part of the timeline, relatively close to the fall of the Empire. The way the creative team is weaving in High Republic era is likewise intriguing, making connections to a part of the newly devised canon that many people don't care much for. By incorporating the Nihil ship and a colony over 200 years old into the main story of traditional Empire-era Star Wars adds intrigue to this newly created past, making it more plausible for fans to want to branch out and explore the High Republic era. Overall a great installment, one of the best in the series to date!

[Zettifar · Rating 4 out of 5]

definitely my high republic bias showing in this one lol

Love the connection to the high republic and not just a 5 second reference but built into the main plot structure, as always when it comes to the main comic run it's a fun time spending so much time with legacy characters and the banter between lando , luke and leia never gets old.


Interested to see where the story goes in the next volume as we leave the cast in this volume in a space outside of normal space and with massive droids with high republic nihil symbols.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two nice shorts and two stinkers in Soule's anniversary issue (not hard to guess that material from the new films is worse than the old), and in the main story a nice tale is crafted with some new characters...and then the story is immediately destroyed by once again shoehorning in unwanted Disney creations into a classic tale.

[Mateusz Surowiec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierwszy wątek był dużo za krótki, szczególnie że był super

W drugim jest ta ścierwo postać z sequeli, i jej relacja z Leią jest jeszcze bardziej ścierwowata

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 5 is divided into 2 main storylines.
1) As the Rebellion scores a great victory over the Empire on Bar'leth, a call goes out across the galaxy from Qi'ra, waking Crimson Dawn sleeper agents. Two such agents, Jon and Bevelyn, are stationed in an Imperial Black Facility that develops weapons, and they decide that they need to take their two kids and run, hoping to hook up with the Rebellion. They are barely able to escape, and need a final rescue from Luke to get safely to the Rebels. Their most valuable info? The existence of a second Death Star.

2) Needing a vacation, Leia and crew (Luke, Chewie, Lando, Lobot, and Holdo) head to Spira for R&R. That's not all Holdo has in mind for them as there is an antiques auction being held. Her target, an old High Republic era Nihil Strikeship. She wants the Path Engine from it, which she hopes will give her the coordinates to the Kezarat Convoy, a lost "treasure" ship of sorts. Losing the auction, but liberating the Path Engine, they use it to jump to hyperspace.... but end up in No-Space, a Nihil stronghold only accessible by Path Engine. They find the Kezarat Colony ship, but are told they'll never leave No-Space because no one ever has.

Overall, another good Volume from Star Wars.... should be getting closer to RoTJ. Still want to see the building of the green lightsaber...

Recommend. Most Star Wars stuff is really good.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars Vol. 5 The Path To Victory collects issues 26-30 of the Marvel Comics series written by Charles Soule, art by Andrés Genolet and Ramon Rosanas, and colors by Rachelle Rosenberg.

A family of Imperials who are Crimson Dawn sleeper agents make a break from their top secret military facility, the second Death Star, to defect to the Rebellion. Lando, Luke, Leia, Cherie, and Holdo go on a mission to secure fuel resources for the Rebellion.

Did issues 26-27 break continuity? In RotJ Mon Mothma states “Many Bothans died to bring us this information,” but these two issues show it was just a family defecting that gave the Rebellions that data. Possible continuity errors aside, this is still a great collection storyline wise. Charles Soule loves tying in High Republic storylines and events into his post-ESB comics. I was not a fan of the overly cartoony art in this arc. That kind of style has been popping up in the Star Wars comics occasionally over the last few years and to me it feels like a very kiddy/young reader art style and doesn’t capture the essence of the Star Wars universe. I’m sure it’s quicker to draw as there isn’t much detail in the scenes.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 5 of the series set between Episodes V and VI.
Luke undertakes a mission to rescue a couple of Imperial deserters who are carrying vital information to the Rebellion; that the Empire is building a second Death Star. Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewie and Amilyn Holdo then attempt to track down a long-lost supply convoy that disappeared during the High Republic Era.

I actually rather enjoyed the first half of this book, with the idea of two Crimson Dawn agents deeply embedded with the Empire risking everything to seek sanctuary with the Rebellion.
However, it held two downsides for me, the first of which was Luke's role in the story. There's nothing wrong with how it unfolds but it feels way too contrived that Luke is the one who brings the discovery of the Death Star to the Rebels (and it also seems to totally ignore the many Bothans who died to bring us this information).
The second problem was just how the Rebel High Command react to discovering there's another Death Star. You'd think that, having lost the entire planet Alderaan and all its people, the Rebel leaders would dread this new superweapon (that's the feel I always got from 'Return of the Jedi' too), but whilst Ackbar and Hera both looked shocked for a moment, Mon Mothma is basically of the opinion that it's no problem. It felt a really jarring end to an otherwise engaging tale.

The second half of the book is definitely the lesser.
The continued inclusion of unsubtle High Republic links in the Rebellion Era stories feels very forced and I didn't like the cliffhanger that the book ends on. I'm not a fan of 'to be continued...' in general, but here it didn't even feel like the kind of cliffhanger that keeps you hooked and waiting for the next instalment, instead just feeling like the story is incomplete.
Far worse, however, is the inclusion of Amilyn Holdo. Here she drags the main characters off on an irrelevant sidequest, following an absolutely terrible plan which she refuses to tell to her companions even though they absolutely need to know, but everyone continues to treat her as if she's not totally incompetent. If that sound familiar, that's because it's the same god-awful plot that the character was given in *holds-down-vomit* 'The Last Jedi'. I don't know if Soule was simply trying to establish continuity of character but, for me, it just reinforced what a terrible character Holdo was from the start (I feel sorry for Laura Dern, who I otherwise adore).

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okayish I guess and taking place parallel-ly to the events of the hidden empire and vague references to the events of that story are done like Luke feeling something being wrong with the force and yeah its cool that way, the first part focuses on Luke trying to rescue these two former Empire members (linked to Crimson dawn) who have info. about a big Imperial weapon and I love what its setting up second death star and like it will lead to interesting stories down the line and the way the rescue happens its so awesome and I love Melton and Bevelyn both and hope they are seen in future issues also!

It then sets up sort of a break from everything type of story like the rebellion on some planet auctioning a Nihil thing and how that brings concepts of High republic here and how that in turn leads them to some No-zone and yeah this part will confuse people who have not read THR stuff.. so i will recommend googling some stuff.. its not the most. imp or that confusing but still if you wanna know more you can google and all that. But it leads them to some interesting places and it will be interesting to see how the rebels basically escape from there and what Luke's next adventure will be!

It feels like we are almost at the end of Soule's run and leading to Episode 6 and that should be pretty exciting!

[Joshua]

Love Soule’s contributions to Star Wars… still not convinced I need to know this much about the period between Empire and Jedi.

To me it feels pretty apparent that Star Wars isn’t a priority for Marvel and I think someone somewhere ran the numbers and realized that the number of people reading the main Star Wars book is the same as the number of people reading EVERY Star Wars book, which is to say completionists, rather than readers who are drawn to the book for its inherent quality. And so you get this sort of thinly spread Star Wars wherein on top of Star Wars comics being limited in how impactful they can be to the galaxy writ large by movies and shows you now also have books being limited by other books.

All this to say, why weren’t War of the Bounty Hunters, Crimson Reign and Hidden Empire just the main Star Wars book? Nothing in here is offensive but nothing in here feels essential and I guess I know that going in because I’ve already seen Return of the Jedi without any of this context and I was fine but I suppose there’s a certain amount of import you want to feel from a Star Wars story that I just couldn’t pull from this one.

Will by Vol. 6 the day it comes out. Will by Hidden Empire the day it comes out.

I am the problem.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soule manages to do a pretty deft job of juggling a number of characters and settings within Star Wars here - he borrows Holdo from the Sequel trilogy (and giving some additional depth to her relationship with Leia), and the second half of the book wanders into High Republic technology and locales (which can be pretty confusing if you're not at least marginally aware of happenings in that era). But much of the first half of the book focuses on new characters, loosely connected to the Crimson Dawn happenings, and may or may not contradict Return of the Jedi some. Luke gets a moment here, but everyone else is in the background for the first half. And while it leads to a big reveal, the story immediately takes a left turn in the second half, and then leaves on a cliffhanger there. So even though there's a fair bit to like about the issues collected here, neither story feels particularly memorable. And the art doesn't help either - it's serviceable but a lot of the humans aren't distinctive, and the style is a bit too loose for my tastes, especially when it comes to spaceships.
In all, it's a very mediocre entry in the series. Subtract another star if you aren't familiar with The High Republic, because you'll be very much in the dark for the second half.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I'm not sure if this volume actually includes #30, since that's the start of a new arc, but 4 issues seems short for a Star Wars trade so maybe they're just collecting the arcs weirdly again.]

This arc of Star Wars also ties into Crimson Reign like the last volume, with a pair of sleeper agents embedded in the Empire trying to escape to the Rebel Fleet. Like most of the other Crimson Reign tie-ins, it's kind of not really a tie-in at all, just kind of happening concurrently with the main Crimson Reign mini-series. Still, Soule has a decent way of bringing the two stories together (which, given that he's writing both, makes sense).

The art's fairly solid, Andrés Genolet and Ramon Rosanas have been double-teaming the title for a while now so you know what we're getting on that front.

Not a whole lot to say about this one, honestly. It's still solid Star Wars fun, and it looks good doing it.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I read a lot and so little happened! I know the Bothans got the technical readouts for the second Death Star, but how did this random couple who escaped the “imperial black site” where it was developed not being any similar details with them? There’s a lot of nebulousness in this volume that I think is chalked up to an expectation that reads have read all the Crimson Dawn crossover content as well as some of the High Republic stuff, and while I have read chunks of both, I felt often like I wasn’t quite as grounded here as I typically am reading Star Wars content. I love that Lando and Holdo are hanging around and would love a brief relationship between them. Something I’ll headcanon into the sequel trilogy since god knows it never had the foresight for such things.

[Iván Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia transcurre tras la batalla de Hoth. La flota rebelde estaba dispersa y los heroes de la rebelión han trabajado para unirla de nuevo y minimizar las pérdidas. Ahora entramos en un momento crucial porque la segunda Estrella de la Muerte se está construyendo y dos agentes del Alba Escarlata han vulnerado su posición en ella por lo que deben escapar. Creen que lo mejor para poder salvarse es ofrecer la información de que disponen a la rebelión...
Material que va creando vínculos entre el episodio V y VI añadidos al material previo de los comics. Está bastante interesante aunque el dibujo no me parece demasiado bueno.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume mainly contains two story lines. In the first, a couple who are Crimson Dawn undercover members escape with their children from the new Death Star under construction, seeking asylum from anyone, but especially the Rebels. In the second, Amilyn Holdo takes Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and Lobot on a vacation. But she really has plans to obtain a device that may help them find the fabled lost fleet of the Kezerat. Her scheme gets the bunch trapped in a different dimension, No-Space.
The series continues to have entertaining, if somewhat over-the-top, adventures for the Rebels in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

[Cannon Qorson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more then the previous three volumes, it was pretty fast paced and engaging, some pretty solid character moments mainly towards the beginning. I liked the whole Death Star 2 plot in the first half, but the ending was somewhat anticlimactic. I liked the second half a bit less, its not bad but it focuses on Holdo and, while I didn't mind her in the Last Jedi, I didn't like her here. The whole no-space thing is really cool, but as someone who isn't really familiar with the High Republic I felt a bit lost. I liked Luke in this volume a lot, my favorite part was his brief interaction with Hera.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something is screwy in the Goodreads writeup on this volume. 25 is the issue with the short stories in various time periods and I'm pretty sure that is included in the previous volume. I LOVED the "Good People" storyline but man, I was so panicked something would happen to them the whole time. Now we are messing with some High Republic Nihil tech which.... I'm ok with. I'm having fun with this series but I like the Vader and Aphra series(es) better, right now.

[Stephen Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no self-contained story arc here. Just two unconnected tales: one of a family of Imperial defectors bringing news of the Death Star II to the Rebel Alliance, and the other a quest for fuel that revisits the Nihil from the High Republic era and brings a welcome return for Amilyn Holdo. The second story ends on a cliffhanger, but this volume is really just about moving pieces on the Galactic chessboard as we inch closer to Episode VI.

[Luana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half is a war thriller about a family of imperial defectors trying to find refuge in a suddenly hostile galaxy and the turning of the gears in the rebellion ranks before they can be vetted; the second is a Doctor Who-esque adventure into no-space which, as I understand it, is the bit between hyper and regular space?? (My not getting it but I won't be sweating the details is also very "Who".) I'm a broken clock but "just let Charles Soule run Star Wars."

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story wasn't essential, but I still found it quite enjoyable. It can only be a good thing for Star Wars to focus on the individual citizens of the galaxy making the choice to stand against fascistic tyranny. As a volume, though, this doesn't really hold together because it seems like the series is transitioning between major story lines.

[Martijn Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no hopes for Soule's Star Wars run when it was announced that it would take place between 'Empire Strikes' en 'Return of the Jedi' but the story he is building so far is really nice and adds to the overall Skywalker Saga. It's a pity the artwork isn't a constante good. Curious where Soule will take us next.

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the major back-to-back crossovers of War of the Bounty Hunters and Crimson Reign, it's nice to have some standalone issues that don't require extra reading to make sense of. While the art isn't as detailed as I like, and a bit on the cartoony side, the story was good and kept me reading. We start with a surprise rebel attack on a high profile imperial target, then we move on to a couple fleeing both the Empire and Crimson Dawn with their kids. Finally, we get our main heroes and the future Admiral Holdo getting trapped in No Space after stealing an old Nihl ship. It's a fun collection, and I'm interested in seeing how our heroes make it home.