With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens only 99 days away -- but who’s counting? -- we have been inundated with all manner of toys, books, and games to keep us occupied until we can watch the feature. Marvel Comics’ contribution to the Journey to the Force Awakens -- an initiative designed to fill the gap between Return of the Jedi and TFA, and to tease us to no end -- is Shattered Empire, which picks up in the final moments of the Battle of Endor and follows the path of skilled A-Wing pilot Shara Bey.
Unlike Marvel’s other Star Wars comics, Shattered Empire moves at a steady, deliberate pace, never in a rush to show an action scene or give a glimpse of the original cast, although it does both with great satisfaction. The opening pages thrust us into that climactic battle between good and evil, but because we already know how it ends, we instead focus on Shara’s role and where she winds up afterward. That’s when we meet her husband Kes, a Rebel soldier, and learn how these two characters are related to TFA. I won’t spoil it here, but suffice to say that it becomes a compass needle pointing to December’s big release, yet the story has a pleasing amount of freedom to operate on its own and include surprises between now and then.
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Unlike Marvel’s other Star Wars comics, Shattered Empire moves at a steady, deliberate pace, never in a rush to show an action scene or give a glimpse of the original cast, although it does both with great satisfaction. The opening pages thrust us into that climactic battle between good and evil, but because we already know how it ends, we instead focus on Shara’s role and where she winds up afterward. That’s when we meet her husband Kes, a Rebel soldier, and learn how these two characters are related to TFA. I won’t spoil it here, but suffice to say that it becomes a compass needle pointing to December’s big release, yet the story has a pleasing amount of freedom to operate on its own and include surprises between now and then.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...