Rebel Heist brings the main heroes of Star Wars to the forefront through new eyes and this third issue raises the bar on the point-of-view character. Chewbacca is the focus of this issue, and the adventure with Chewie is told from his mission partner, a defected stormtrooper. Spoilers ahead for Rebel Heist #3 (DarkHorse.com profile)!
Each issue of Rebel Heist has brought us a fresh face to serve as the issue narrator, and we’ve seen Han get captured along with a rookie Rebel, Leia sacrifice her freedom so that a veteran agent can hustle an Imperial code to safety, and now we see that mission continue, with that Imperial code (in the form of a stormtrooper with embedded DNA) getting passed to Chewbacca to infiltrate a backwater Imperial stronghold to use the code. At first the trooper views Chewie as a ferocious animal or brute, but eventually recgonizes what drives the sentient Wookiee agent – not the lofty goals of the Rebellion, but loyalty and friendship. And there’s that smell. This all comes from a trooper who once fought Wookiees on Kashyyyk and now has to trust one with his life.
The pairing of Chewbacca with the former stormtrooper is a great way to bring fresh eyes to the iconic Wookiee hero. It is a key reminder of how impressions can change when former enemies are made allies and how dehumanization in wartime can be overwhelmed by close contact and trust. There’s plenty of action in this issue as Chewie has to rescue the trooper from some natives and then has to deal with the local crime boss to get intel to get them to their final goal – the sewers and control rooms of the Imperial base. The two page spread of Chewbacca making his entrance is pretty epic. Big props to writer Matt Kindt, penciller Marco Castiello, inker Dan Parsons, colorist by Gabe Eltaeb, and letterer Mike Heisler for the team effort on that spread. Some good aliens with the introduction of the Gamorrean crime gang, and a bit of humor as well. Both the Matt Kindt and Adam Hughes covers are solid as well.
This series just gets better and better. Can’t wait for the end. Maybe it shouldn’t end so soon?