Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars: Legacy #46Star Wars Legacy #46
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander, Duursema & Parsons

Legacy's latest arc concludes with this issue as the new alliance between the displaced Emperor and his loyalists and the Jedi hits a snag as the Sith invade their meeting. The issue's subplot involves the key character, Cade Skywalker, as he takes a step in yet another direction when faced with choosing between the light and dark of the force. The issue does what it always does best which is let the comic book get driven by its characters. Few comics approach that level of effort and when you toss in some amazing art you have a great read from a series that seemingly always cranks them out.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe issue opens with the space battle above the planet Agamar. This really doesn't get much play in the issue as it only serves as a means to present an escape, but one that is not a sure thing. Based on the cliffhanger and the panel count this battle received last issue I was a little disappointed we didn't see more of this, but it's really not essential to the plot nor does it contain the meat of the characters.

The issue launches into the battle on the ground as the Imperial Knights team with the Jedi to fend off the attack from the Sith. This brings an interesting battle because it's clear the Emperor's plan is to escape, but with so many Sith in one spot why wouldn't they try to take out as many as possible? While these scenes are actually light on the lightsaber battle considering the cast involved we do get quite a few moments where some of the characters showcase their personalities, like Morrigan, Draco and the Emperor.

The secondary plot involved Cade trying to rescue Blue from Darth Maladi and the Vong. While cavalry is on its way to help Cade the interesting portion of this plot is the hallucinations that Maladi and Cade have about life in a "What If" scenario. I found this aspect of the story to be fascinated as it tapped into their fears and played well off of their past characteristics. This all ties directly into Cade's struggle between the light and dark sides of the force. But which side does he land on?

The arc ends but creates a bit of a scatter effect. For the most part, the key players manage to survive the issue but they don't necessarily remain safe. The big shock comes on the last page of the comic that has very little to do with this particular issue. It's a great cliffhanger.

As always the art is a show stealer. This issue may very well have the most unique characters of any issue in the series, many of them are wielding lightsabers and the art blows it out of the water. Add in that the issue calls for force-lightning, Vong attacks and space battles and you have yourself an amazing comic book as every note is hit to perfection.

Legacy brings a good story together with some incredible art and complex character relationships in this issue. There might be a little left to be desired depending on what you expected to find in this book, but it's hardly much to complain about. As this outstanding arc ends I would say the story is actually heating up all the more. That's takes some talent to wrap up an arc and leave the reader wanting more. But then again that's the level of brilliance this title has mastered.

4 out of 5 Geek Goggles