End of One War, Start of Another
First Look for January 17, 2018
Today’s first look at Star Wars #30 and Avengers vs. X-Men #1.5 both look at war. We finally see the conclusion of Yoda’s Secret War and how that story line with the stomrepower flows into the rest of the Star Wars universe. Since the portions of the story with Luke as our protagonist take place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back we gain insight into how Luke evolved after blowing up the Death Star. It also shows us that Yoda knew of Luke well before he met him on
Dagobah and was gauging his movement along the path of the Jedi quite early in his development. In the Infinite issue of Avengers vs. X-Men #1 we see how things in came about that cased Nova to crash on Earth. This digital only issue features an interesting method of presentation that works pretty well for a first attempt. Both issues were pretty good and showed development for all the protagonists.
I had this post all ready to go yesterday but had a computer fart and wasn’t able to get the post from my cloud storage. So many tools are enhanced by syncing to the cloud but when it doesn’t work, it sure gets frustrating.
Star Wars #30
Yoda’s Secret War, Part 5 by Jason Aaron and Salvador Larroca. Published by Marvel Comics, 2017.
In this issue we have both Luke and Yoda on the planet in the Vagadarr system but they’re separated by years (if not decades). And we see what’s become of Garro. He was corrupted by the dark side when he taught the Rockhawkers about the Stone Giants and they in turn taught the giants hatred. He actually confronts Luke in the future time slice and we see how Yoda dealt with the mountain and the Rockhawkers in the past. This issue really brings things together as we see the two armies of children trying to influence the giant – the Muckwhackers showing the beast the power of the light and the Rockhawkers trying to destroy with the power of the dark side. Garro is struggling on the dark side as he helps the Rockhawkers try to overcome Yoda and in the future he tries to destroy Luke. He’s got some serious issues with the Jedi. He wants to finish the war and is determined to use Luke’s life force to to end it. As we see Yoda end the war in the past, Garro must decide how to end his war in the future. Will he be redeemed or become an even stronger avatar of the dark side? Regardless of how things are resolved in the Vagadarr system, we see that a future Yoda believes Luke might be ready soon. Ready to humble himself so that he can become a powerful Jedi.
You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January Reading List.
I rate this issue a B.
Avengers vs. X-Men #1.5
Avengers vs. X-Men #1: Infinite by Mark Waid, Stuart Immonen, and Marte Garcia. Published by Marvel Comics, 2012.
This is the first comic of the Infinite imprint of Marvel Comics which focuses on digital issues. It’s not technically in the reading order I’ve been following for my Modern Marvel exploration but I saw the issue listed in the Marvel Unlimited app and since it’s listed as Avengers vs. X-Men #1.5 I figured this was the spot for it. Actually, it turns out it kinda takes place slightly before and concurrent to the beginning of the last issue I read in which Nova arrives on Earth.
But before he gets there, he’s being chased by something we find out is the Phoenix. And as the mighty force follows Nova, it’s devouring any planets in it’s path. Nova is going as fast as he can…hyperspeed…but he’s new to the superhero thing and when it comes time to land on Earth, things go wrong. He basically misses the turnoff and fails to slow down fast enough. Using the Chrysler Building (and a couple others unfortunate enough to be in his way) to slow his descent, he manages to barely stay alive upon crashing down to earth. He made it! The Avengers are there and before he passes out he warns them…it’s coming! Too bad he didn’t stay conscious long enough to tell them what was coming.
You can find first looks at other issues in this title linked in my January Reading List.
I rate this issue a B-.