Lando Double or Nothing Part V Review

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Lando leads the Petrusians to victory with some unexpected help in Lando: Double or Nothing Part V.

This review contains plot details for Lando: Double or Nothing Part V.

Lando: Double or Nothing Part V

Writer: Rodney Barnes | Artist: Paolo Villanelli | Colorist: Andres Mossa | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Logo Design: Summer Lacy & Carlos Lao | Cover Artist: W. Scott Forbes | Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman | Editor: Mark Paniccia

In part IV of Double or Nothing, Lando set aside his profit motivation long enough to make good on his mission. Kristiss hired him to deliver weapons to her people on Kullgroon, and despite the heightened risk, that is what he did. Then things got more complicated. Lando summoned all his bravado and inspired the people into rebellion. The situation grew more dire when stormtroopers rallied and attacked. In Lando: Double or Nothing Part V, Lando, Kristiss and L3-37 finish their mission with some unexpected assistance as this series ends at a surprising spot.

Freedom Fighter

To be certain, Lando never completely sets aside his profit motive. However, he does gain a healthy respect for the role of the liberator. On the very first page, he discovers empathy, and he notes it is energizing to help “those enslaved gain freedom.” He is also honest with himself and confesses he is protecting his own interests. One can’t lose sight of the fact that these epiphanies are also entries in the “Calrissian Chronicles.” Therefore, the reader can take all of this with a grain of salt.

Double or Nothing Part V foreshadows Lando’s destiny in this regard. When the Petrusians make their escape, Rythus notes that the other side of a door is their future. In response, Lando states, “I hope the future is holding my credits.” That is shortly followed up with his notation that people give life meaning, and he could get use to fighting for freedom, “Maybe one day.” So, although he won’t commit to Rebellion now, it is something for the future.

In the end, he is still something of a scoundrel. When Kristiss invites him to help rebuild a home for the Petrusians, he declines. Much like Han refusing Enfys Nest’s invitation in Solo, Lando turns Kristiss down here.

Unexpected Allies

Although the Petrusians gain the upper hand in the battle against their Imperial slavers, the tide turns against them. Many of the Petrusians perish under the Imperial assault. All is not lost though, Kristiss and her father, Rythus, have a plan. All the time they spent on Kullgroon wasn’t spent just destroying droids. As Rythus put it, they were preparing them. Upon Kristiss’s signal, the droids rise up, move on the Imperial factory, and take the fight to the Empire.

L3-37 loves every minute of this. She declares to Lando that she is leaving the Falcon to fight alongside her kind in the name of freedom. On its surface, this is a predictable response. The Empire oppressed the droids on Kullgroon just as much as the people. Therefore, their liberation from the Empire is a cause L3-37 can get behind. However, is that all that is going on?

Aren’t Kristiss and Rythus using the droids for their own ends as well? The droids aren’t so much liberated as sent to attack and distract the stormtroopers. Did the droids even have a choice? Their fate is unclear. None are seen after their initial assault on the stormtroopers. L3-37 doesn’t mention what happened to them. In fact, this droid rebellion is similar to the droid liberation L3-37 later leads on Kessel in Solo. Whatever happened to all of those droids?

Concluding Thoughts on Double or Nothing Part V

Lando helps the remaining Petrusians escape. Unfortunately, the Empire recovers from the assault when more stormtroopers arrive. Even though the Petrusians get away, the Empire seizes the Millennium Falcon. Lando runs off in a murderous rage to destroy them all before L3 talks some sense into him. They can always steal it back later.

This brings the reader to the conclusion of Double or Nothing Part V and the series. The Empire has the Falcon. Lando gets paid, and he says his goodbyes to Kristiss and her people. This is just the beginning though. L3-37 finds the Falcon’s location. It is on Vandor. If that sounds familiar, it is because it is the planet where Han Solo, Chewbacca, Beckett, Val, and Rio attempted the robbery of the conveyex. Indeed, Lando finds the Falcon impounded there. He ends Double or Nothing Part V, settling down in the lodge to play some sabacc. This is where audiences find him when he is introduced in Solo. He wears the same clothes no less.

Marvel has done well with their Solo tie-ins. Readers already got Beckett’s backstory in a one shot. The Solo comic adaptation arrives soon along with a miniseries telling the story of Han’s time in the academy. Although this story ends on a pleasant enough note, there is a bit of melancholy when one realizes L3-37 is doomed. She perishes on Kessel within a day after this. That is a bit of a downer.

Overall, Lando: Double or Nothing is a fun read. This is a fun tale of how Lando ended up on Vandor playing cards and why exactly the Falcon was impounded there. This series also adds a little more comedic effect to Lando’s response to Qi’ra concerning his retirement and his shock at the Falcon’s restraints. Barnes, Villanelli, and the rest of the creative team delivered on a fun Star Wars adventure.