Science Fiction

Star Wars: Rebel Heist #3

/ / Comics

Star Wars: Rebel Heist #3Chewbacca takes center stage in the latest issue coming to the rescue of the Imperial officer Leia rescued last month whose codes the Rebellion desperately needs. Although initially not impressed with his Rebel contact, who he sees as little more than a dangerous trained dog, the Imperial officer soon gains grudging respect for the Wookiee who puts his life on the line to reach the destination where the code can be transported back to the Rebellion (and to Han Solo stuck in a cell awaiting its arrival).

Star Wars: Rebel Heist #3 continues the trend of the series of letting the newbie narrate the action from his/her perspective allowing Chewbacca to shine without attempting to translate what exactly is going on in Chewie’s mind at the time.

Next month adds Luke Skywalker to the mix and should also put Han Solo back in play as the final issue of the mini-series will hopefully put the various pieces together and reveal just what the Rebellion deems so necessary that they’ve sacrificed some of their very best to get the job done. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Samurai Jack #9

/ / Comics

Samurai Jack #9“Villainous Vortex” pits Samurai Jack against a gravity-manipulating machine which, not surprisingly, turns out to be controlled by the evil that is Aku. Samurai Jack #9 delivers a fun story featuring Jack in action against one of Aku’s mechanical soldiers, but for the second straight issue the comic gives us no character interaction between Jack and anyone else. It’s not a bad thing, but I think it would be very easy to see the comic fall into that template that ignores one of the strengths of the television show which spawned it.

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Star Wars #18

/ / Comics

Star Wars #18With an Imperial blockade appearing above the planet and an explosion near the palace where Princess Leia was to wed, Arrochar‘s betrayal of the Rebellion to the Empire is revealed in the final issue of the arc. Given the amount of chaos in the midst of various characters fighting off both local and Imperial agents Star Wars #18 doesn’t have a chance to highlight much in the way of character interaction other than Leia’s sorrow over how the entire matter played out.

In the midst of the action the issue does introduce the first use of a powerful weapon of the Rebellion as they make use of the stolen Ion Canon technology for the first time to allow their ships to break through the blockade and slip through Darth Vader‘s fingers yet again.

Star Wars #18 offers a satisfactory ending to the marriage that might have been while fueling Vader’s rage and offering a nod to technology the Rebels would make later uses of on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Star Trek – The Enemy Within

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Trek – The Enemy Within
  • wiki: link

Star Trek - The Enemy Within

In the first of what would be several transporter accident episodes (a staple of every Star Trek series) a transport accident creates a duplicate Kirk (William Shatner), a fact which goes unnoticed for most of the episode. When the more savage captain attacks Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) suspicion falls on Kirk who pleads innocence. Given the clues, including an evil duplicate alien dog from the planet below and a pair of Kirks strolling around the ship at the same time, it takes the Enterprise crew quite a while to come to terms with what exactly is happening aboard the ship. Kirk’s decision to hide the double’s existence from the crew (informing them that the man is simply an impostor) is problematic as well, although the episode will find away to explain some of the captain’s decision making when the truth about the doppelganger is revealed.

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Star Trek – Where No Man Has Gone Before

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Trek – Where No Man Has Gone Before
  • wiki: link

Star Trek - Where No Man Has Gone Before

After the first Pilot, “The Cage,” wasn’t picked up by the network Gene Roddenberry and crew went back to work crafting “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” The second Pilot recast the role of the ship’s captain bringing in William Shatner as James T. Kirk, but “Where No Man Has Gone Before” still shows signs of early growing pains and a show in transition as the role of ship’s doctor was played not by DeForest Kelley but by Paul Fix, and the uniforms on display match those of “The Cage” rather than more vibrant (and less sweatery) Starfleet uniforms which would become the show’s trademark going forward. The episode also puts both Scotty (James Doohan) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in gold-colored uniforms rather than the trademark red and blue they would wear going forward.

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