Luke, Leia, and Lando return to Cloud City, not only to find Luke’s lightsaber, but to also save a friend. Spoilers for Star Wars #3 follow.
The first couple of issues of this new Star Wars series have been nothing short of great. Charles Soule has a fantastic grasp on the Star Wars universe and Jesus Saiz can make anything look great. Three issues into a new series is usually when cracks begin to show though. So, is that the case here? Absolutely not. This is another great issue and ends on a couple of great cliffhangers that will make you want to read the next issue immediately.
In a surprising move, the best thing that this issue does is to slightly humanize the Imperials that are hunting the Rebels right now. Specifically, this issue humanizes Commander Zahra. This humanization of Imperials has occurred before in other Star Wars media, but Soule and Saiz do it differently here. They allow to very much still be the villain, as she understands what the Empire is, while also giving her proper motivation.
She’s a true believer in the Empire. A fanatic of sorts. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was a Sith cultist as showcased in The Rise of Skywalker. But above all else, she’s motivated by the loss of someone on the Death Star, as is her entire crew. This issue goes a long way in showing why Imperials are still willing to be part of the Empire and building Zahra’s character.
The bulk of the issue follows Luke, Leia, and Lando on Cloud City though. Luke’s there to find his lightsaber, Leia’s there to watch Lando, and Lando is there to free Lobot. And just as this issue fleshes out Commander Zahra and her troops, this issue fleshes out Lando in a great way. In a time period where the character is not very trustworthy, this issue goes a long way to show where his loyalties lie. And right now, they lie with Cloud City.
It’s clear that he truly cares about this place, even recognizing a pilot’s voice and said pilot’s kid’s name. It recontextualizes his betrayal in The Empire Strikes Back a bit and makes his actions a bit more understandable.
As for Leia and Luke, well, their lives got immensely more difficult in this issue. Not only does Luke have to return to the place that haunts him, he now has to find his lightsaber within mountains and mountains of garbage. As for Leia, she quickly gets captured by the Empire and, in a shocking cliffhanger, gets frozen in carbonite, just like Han. This is clearly a set-up for the next issue or two, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking.
As for Jesus Saiz’s art, everything in this issue is gorgeous. There aren’t a ton of truly standout moments, but there rarely is with him. He cares more about telling the story than flashiness. Because of that, his layouts are hit the nail on the head, telling the story in an efficient and purposeful. Every page flows well and every panel organically moves onto the next.
Because his linework is so great and his layouts are pitch-perfect, it’s not hard for your eyes to easily follow along as the issue goes on. And even though Saiz rarely does jaw-dropping moments, the final page of this issue is amazing. It will hit you right in the gut from the combination of horror and beauty on the page. How did he manage to make such a horrific splash page so beautiful? The world may never know-how, but he did.