Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Star Wars Legacy #19
Dark Horse Comics
Ostrander, Duursema & Parsons

Bang, zoom, this issue was a knock-out-of-the-park home run. This issue concludes the Claws of the Dragon story arc that has seen Cade face to face with Darth Krayt and face to face with the dark side of the force. The arc has had a real solid build up to this moment and no punches are pulled. We even get a nice surprise ending that I never saw coming. Awesome issue. The only letdown was no R2.

This arc, and particularly this issue, has raised some questions. How does Cade fight without turning to the dark side? How can Krayt threaten to kill Cade if he needs Cade alive to heal him of the Vong affliction? The answers are as gray as the line that Cade walks. It’s not like this arc ends with Cade officially becoming a Jedi or a Sith. And it’s not as if Krayt lets up on Cade because he knows he cant really kill him. So what does this issue settle?

Well, for one, we learn that Cade has the rage of Darth Vader that can make up for his shortcomings of his Jedi training. We learn that Cade really isn’t interested in avenging his father’s death. We learn that Cade has self control. We also learn that Krayt has a plan and he intends to follow through with it, no matter how many iterations it takes.

The issue has Cade fighting Darth Nihl and using his rage to overcome him. That’s two Sith that Cade has taken down in this arc. Neither are dead, but Cade schools them. Krayt tries to get Cade to kill but he resists.

Next, Cade battles Krayt. This fight is more a psychological victory for Cade than a physical one. He has able to really push Krayt’s buttons by questioning him about how much the other Sith know about his illness and how afraid he really is about dying. This is all excellent interaction between the two and we see Cade is not just some Jedi flunky. He plays some of the same mind games that Obi-Wan played on Krayt when Obi-Wan took his hand.

Meanwhile, the crew of the Mynock blasts into the Sith tower to rescue Cade. Cade’s mother is leading the charge. Cade jumps out of the window a la Luke in Bespin, but did he know his ship was below? He escapes nonetheless.

Cade doesn’t get a reunion with his mother. In fact, they never even see each other. The ending is a very big surprise to me. Pick it up to find out what.

The artwork was excellent. The use of eye color is the biggest signature item in the artwork and I never get tired of it. The battles were as great as a lightsaber duel can be in a comic. I can’t say enough good things about the art. Issue after issue it’s made the story that much better.

This issue has fast action, suspense, mystery, great character interaction and a cool ending. I mean, what more do you want? I’m not sure how this all plays out from here, but I’m around for it. This is one of the best Star Wars comic series I have ever read. If you like this genre at all then I highly recommend reading this.

5 out of 5 geek goggles.


Star Wars: Legacy #19-Claws of the Dragon part 6 (of 6)