Star Wars Legacy #17 Review: Sith vs. Sith

During the first arc of Star Wars Legacy, readers were introduced to a compelling villain named Darth Wredd. Until the last issue, he had unfortunately been gone for quite a long time. Most of the issues of the series have been quite good, but they didn’t have the “big bad” that is memorable (and even likable). Darth Wredd seemed to have that the type of presence, so it’s nice to see him return in the last two issues, especially because his current motives are so murky.   Wredd recently kidnapped Jao Assam, a Jedi Knight who abandoned his post to aid Ania Solo in searching the galaxy to find a person they considered to be the biggest threat – Darth Wredd. Wredd seems to be trying to get Jao on his side, to be his apprentice. Early in the series, Wredd assassinated a number of Sith lords and claims to only want to rid the galaxy of them.     When Ania and her friends Sauk and AG-37 show up to rescue Jao from Wredd, they assume the biggest threat is Wredd. However, they are soon attacked by Fanoste and a fleet of Sith. These Sith are searching for Wredd and will attack anyone in their way, which happens to be Jao, Ania, and the others. Wredd ends up helping Jao against the Sith, but it seems he planned this whole thing, drawing the Sith so that he could then help Jao.   A strategic villain is a pretty fascinating element for a comic book. Star Wars Legacy has spent a long time successfully developing the heroes of the book: Ania, Sauk, AG, and even Jao have turned into strong characters. Now bringing Darth Wredd to mess with them is a great move by writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman. It’s clear that Wredd has some master plan, even if it’s unclear so far what it is.     The art in this issue is by Brian Albert Thies rather than Hardman, who normally does the illustrators. While most artists would suffer in comparison to Hardman, I felt like the distinction between Thies and Hardman was especially noticeable. Hardman has a style that’s almost painterly. Thies’ art, on the other hand, is much more sketch-like. He handles some of the panels well, especially those of background or faces like Ania and Jao. However, the battles scenes feel stilted and his facial depiction of Wredd is inconsistent and distracting.   In spite of art that is below the normally-high mark of this series, Star Wars #17 is still a good issue, mainly because of the way Wredd manipulates the situation. He may not be on the level of Vader, but he has an important role in this series. I’m glad to see he has returned. As Star Wars Legacy starts to wrap up, perhaps we will see what he has been working towards this whole time.