REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy,’ Issue #3

Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3 is written by Ethan Sacks while Will Sliney provides art, Rachelle Rosenberg colors, Joe Sabino letters, and E.M Gist rounds out the team as the cover artist. The miniseries, based on the Galatic Starcruiser experience at Walt Disney World,  features a main plot and a subplot that expands the lore before the fabled luxury vessel. In the main story, the marauding space pirate Crismon Jack continues his assault on the ship while Captain Keevan desperately tries to save the cruiser by flying dangerously close to a star. Meanwhile, D3-09 continues to provide the story of the subplot. This time, readers experience a battle between Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, and Asajj Ventress.

Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3 has the very accurate title of “A Cause Worth Fighting For” and it is very fitting. As Crismon Jack bombards the Halycon Legacy, it is made known that the pirates are searching for a First Order bounty on a Resistance spy. To this point, the spy hadn’t made themselves known but as the pressure mounts, all signs point to Shorr Komrrin.  As Shorr approaches a crossroads of whether exposing himself is worth the risk to his granddaughter Cimina, D3-09 shares yet another story. This time, Shorr is a part of the story. Little is known about Shorr’s connection to the Resistance but it isn’t his first time tangling with oppressive forces on the Halycon Legacy.

This flashback takes readers to a time during the Clone Wars. The Halycon Legacy is owned by Hutts and looks about what you would expect:  Hutts overindulging themselves, all manner of scum and villainy, and of course rancor in the middle of the ship. What you might not expect is a visit from Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. The duo attempts to uncover a plot by a Republican senator who plans to defect to the Separatists.  Unfortunately, they have to get through the Sith Assassin Asajj Ventress first. Ventress, who is there to intercept the senator for the Separatists, battles with Anakin and Padmé in a flurry of beautifully intense panels by Will Sliney and the rest of the art team. The panels are bright and exciting as the rest of the series has been and both Anakin and Padmé have their moments to shine. Padmé herself saves a young boy who is caught in the middle of the action, none other than Shorr Komrrin.

While the action is very fun to flip through, I found myself more entranced in the panels that happened before all the fighting. While the star-crossed lovers are waiting for the senator, they take a brief moment to just live. Which characters in the Star Wars universe know more about the division between duty to a cause and protecting the ones you love more than Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala? So often do we see these two hiding in the darkest shadows of the Jedi Temple to sneak a kiss or traveling to secluded planets away from wandering eyes. Here on the neutral Halycon Legacy, they get to just live in the moment. Even their conversations in Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3, show their hesitation to enjoy themselves as they both bare the weight of the war on their shoulders. However, when Ventress rears her head, the love story is over and it is down to duty. These connect back to what Shorr Komrrin is dealing with in the main story in a very strong way that made this issue my favorite of the series so far.

Overall, Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3 hits all the right notes for a quality Star Wars story. The exploration of Anakin and Padmé’s secret relationship has shown up in many of the recent novels including A Queen’s Hope and Brotherhood. It is great to see writer Sacks bring those same themes to an easily accessible form of media by the way of comics. He is able to invoke the same feelings that E. K. Johnston and Mike Chen are able to do in their novelizations. That is a marker of a quality comic and I am ready for more stories on the Halycon Legacy.

Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy #3 is available wherever comics are sold.