I have to be honest, when it first started I wasn't sure if I really liked Star Wars Bounty Hunters or not. The lead was a character I'd never come across before, over some of the better known and popular bounty hunters that make up the Star Wars universe, and the story seemed a little slow. However, now that the Terminus Gauntlet story-line is coming to a close I really do enjoy this title, and getting to see Valance go through the captured Rebel ship taking out pirates from the shadows was a ton of fun.
Picking up where the last issue left off, we rejoin the captured Rebels as the New Ohnaka Gang have managed to board their ship and take it over. With the lives of the crew hanging in the balance, and their former commander having betrayed them to the pirates, all hope seems lost until a mysterious figure starts taking the pirates down one by one, vanishing into the shadows before they've had a chance to react.
With so many of the bounty hunters in Star Wars either having strong individual looks or specialist skills there didn't seem to be much to set Valance apart from most regular people in Star Wars. Even his extensive cybernetic parts didn't do much other than make him look like a Terminator, but, a bounty hunter who's like a ninja, who comes out of nowhere, takes his target down, and disappears just as quick? I think that's a Valance that I can not only get on board with, but one that I think makes him a pretty stand out addition to the large host of bounty hunter characters.
Ethan Sacks manages to make Valance into a fierce opponent in this issue, one who is using his smarts and his skills to tackle a group of opponents that they might not have been able to in a straight fight. This also plays into the backstory that we're learning about over the course of the last few issues, of Valance being a former Imperial cadet, someone who's been taught strategy and to think outside the box.
The flashbacks also seem to have been building towards something too. Whilst they've been giving us great insight into the character they've also been providing a connection between Valance and Han Solo, who was not only a fellow cadet, but someone who saved Valance's life. This seems to be building towards the upcoming cross-over event 'War of the Bounty Hunters' when Valance learns from Dengar that Boba Fett has Han prisoner, and is taking him to Jabba. It seems like the debt Valance feels he could owe Solo is going to be something that could spur him on into conflict with Fett, and lead to his inclusion in the upcoming event.
This issue of Star Wars Bounty Hunters is a fast paced and fun one, it manages to balance some interesting character developments, as well as some great action sequences. We also get to see even more of the fun things that Valance's cybernetics allow him to do. Overall this might be one of the best issues of the series yet, and sets our lead onto a path that will take him into conflict with Boba Fett himself.
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