Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Rose Tico #1

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The galaxy is full of heroes from all walks of life. This proves true in Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Rose Tico #1. 

Warning: This article contains plot points for Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Rose Tico #1

Star Wars: Age of Resistance – Rose Tico #1

Story: Tom Taylor | Art: Ramon Rosanas | Colors: Guru-eFX | Lettering: VC’s Travis Lanham | Production Designer: Anthony Gambino | Cover Artist: Phil Noto | Assistant Editor: Tom Groneman | Editor: Mark Paniccia

When Star Wars first met Rose Tico, she was grieving over the death of her sister Paige, who had died in the Resistance assault on the dreadnought that attacked D’Qar. Paige was a ventral gunner on the Resistance bomber Cobalt Hammer. Some of the Tico sisters’ story was told in Elizabeth Wein’s book Cobalt Squadron. That story, however, detailed more of the Ticos’ lives in the time just before The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. The story of how they came to join the Resistance was hinted at, but left largely untold. In Age of Resistance: Rose Tico #1, the backstory of the Tico sisters is revealed, and how much they meant to each other becomes abundantly clear.

Sisters of Otomok

Rose Tico #1 begins with the declaration that they are “Sister of Otomok” from the small planet of hays Minor. In the following pages, Rose and Paige, young girls at the time, seemingly pilot a Z-95. Paige is an adept pilot, and she takes the controls. Rose is eager for her turn, and despite her misgivings, Paige finally lets her have a turn at the controls of the ship. Just as Paige fears, Rose soon crashes the ship. Fear not though, it was a simulator.

When the simulation ends, their parents are there to greet them and comfort Rose. Readers quickly get the sense that they are a tight family. The Tico parents encourage their daughters to explore their talents and one day the world. Rose and Paige are fast friends and very loyal to one another. Where one goes, so does the other. This is a trait that follows them from their childhood into young adulthood.

The First Order Arrives

The story of how the Tico sisters eventually come to join the Resistance explains how the First Order brought on their rebellion. Years after the simulator event, the First Order arrived in the skies above Hays Minor. Rose Tico #1 reveals that the Empire wasted little time in harvesting every available resource from the planet. In the process, they choked out the sky with dirt and pollution. Eventually, they mined the planet to the core – a process they would perfect as seen with Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens.

Rose and Paige became insurgents, but despite their successes, their methods were ineffectual. Even though they didn’t know how best to sabotage the First Order’s efforts, they worked as a team. They found a way to strike a blow. However, after successfully sabotaging the First Order’s converted bombers (used to strip mine the planet), the First Order was running at full capacity again in just a matter of days. Acting on their own on Hays Minor wasn’t enough. They could only win minor, temporary victories.

Their parents encourage their acts of rebellion, and eventually pay for passage so they can get off-planet and join the Resistance. Together, they fought alongside heroes of the Resistance everywhere they could and stroke blows in the name of freedom against the tyranny of the First Order. Even that wasn’t enough though. While fighting the First Order with the Resistance, the Tico sisters received word that Hays Minor was ultimately destroyed by the First Order as they harvested all the resources from the planet. The sisters were left only with one another for comfort.

Consoling Words

Grief stricken, the Tico sisters decide to do something rash. They find a bomber and vow to find the biggest First Order target they can and blow it to pieces. They might have done just that, and died in the process, except for one thing: General Organa. Who better to know what they are going through than her? Leia’s past guides her in assembling allies for the Resistance time and again. Eventually, she calls on her traumatic past and sacrifices when recruiting the Mon Cala to her cause (see Allegiance #4).

Before they can leave with the bomber, Leia pulls them aside and offers an apology that the Resistance couldn’t stop that atrocity. She understands their desire for revenge, but she counsels them that they can throw a tantrum and strike a minor blow, or they can become a “constant, frustrating pain in their side.” Naturally, this is the choice the Tico sisters make.

Final Thoughts on Age of Resistance; Rose Tico #1

Age of Resistance: Rose Tico #1 has something of a twist. Readers and Star Wars fans are likely far more familiar with Rose than they are Paige. During the course of the The Last Jedi, Rose made several references to her sister, and extolled her wisdom and bravery. Over the course of Rose Tico #1, the narrator speaks glowingly of her sister. 

After Leia gives the Tico the options of striking one dramatic blow against the First Order or becoming a persistent threat, she tells them to take some time to grieve. Rose refuses. Her world is gone, but others need saving, and she wants to get started. The issue concludes with the narrator saying, “My sister is my hero. She always has been. I honestly believe Rose is destined for something great” (emphasis in original). That is the twist. Most likely, the reader was expecting the narration from Rose, but instead, it was Paige extolling the bravery of her sister. One must wonder if Rose knew how Paige felt before the older Tico sister died. Rose was the Tico sister that survived the Battle of D’Qar and spoke glowingly of her sister throughout the movie. Readers naturally could expect it was Rose speaking lovingly of her departed sister here. The feelings of respect and admiration were apparently mutual.