Star Wars: The Force Awakens #6 Review

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Rey and Finn duel Kylo Ren in the final act of the comic adaptation.

Warning: This review contains spoilers for The Force Awakens #6.

The Force Awakens #6

Writer: Chuck Wendig | Artist: Luke Ross | Colorists: Frank Martin & Guru eFX | Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles | Cover Artist: Paolo Rivera | Editor: Heather Antos | Supervising Editor: Jordan D. White

The Death of an Icon

This issue commences with the death of a Star Wars icon. The previous issue ended with Kylo Ren running Han Solo through with his lightsaber. The Force Awakens #6 handles Han’s death right. Where pacing and reactions were rushed in previous issues for other pivotal moments, this scene was illustrated perfectly. Han’s reaction to Kylo’s betrayal whereby he gently reaches up to touch Kylo’s face is touching and heartbreaking. The page acts as the backdrop for this sequence, and Han plummets to the depths of Starkiller Base as Han dies.

This first page also offers the extra material readers look for in an adaptation. The reactions to Han’s murder in the previous issue were abrupt. Leia’s reaction comes to the forefront here. As Han strokes Kylo’s face in an act of forgiveness and farewell, Leia stumbles into grief on the other side of the page. In the film, her reaction was brief. Han’s murder shakes her to her core here. This is perhaps the one moment in this series where the comic surpasses the movie. This might be some of the best work from Chuck Wendig and Luke Ross in this series.

 

A Wounded Kylo is Dangerous

Much of the final act of The Force Awakens concerned two lightsaber duels. The first is between Kylo Ren and Finn. What immediately captures the reader’s attention is how bloody Kylo is at the beginning of the fight. After Kylo killed Han, Chewbacca reacted by shooting Kylo in the side and detonating the explosives he and Han had planted. The film didn’t shy away from Kylo’s injury. It obviously hindered him. In fact, Kylo psyched himself up by pounding on the wound repeatedly. However, the film didn’t accentuate the amount of blood the way this comic did. The blood flows freely from Kylo’s side. The lighting and the fact that Kylo’s uniform is black most likely hid the blood from Kylo’s injury in the film. Still, this is far more than I expected to see.

If Wending and Ross wanted the reader to believe Finn was over matched in this fight, they did a great job. After knocking Rey unconscious by force throwing her into a tree, Kylo confronts the former stormtrooper. Kylo looks far more confident than Finn. Other than a glancing blow by Finn, Kylo dominates the fight. The result is that Kylo appears far more menacing and capable than he has anywhere else in this series.

The Power of the Force

Having defeated Finn, Kylo attempts to summon Luke’s lightsaber through the Force. However, much like the sword in the stone, the lightsaber chooses its wielder. In this case, that is Rey. The lightsaber sails past Kylo into the outstretched hand of Rey. Initially, she too is overmatched. She begins the fight by retreating until backed against the cliff’s edge. Then Kylo’s offer to teach her the Force reminds her of Maz Kanata’s advice. So, she closes her eyes, and when she opens them, the Force flows through her. The tide of the battle turns, and she defeats Kylo.

Like Kylo’s duel with Finn, Kylo’s fight with Rey was spectacular. For one, the action was well illustrated. Due to space constraints, this series hasn’t always had the opportunity to shine when it came to battles. It seems that issue six, which was added to the run, gave Wendig, Ross, and the editorial team the space needed to do these fights justice. Second, the characters’ likenesses were the best in this issue. Ross captured the look of Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega during these fights.

The Attack on the Oscillator

The other key moment from this issue was Poe’s attack on the oscillator. The previous attack by Poe Dameron and Black Squadron on the oscillator failed. The destruction of the oscillator is the key to the plan to destroy Starkiller Base. Once Chewbacca detonated the bombs, a new avenue of attack opened. Poe demonstrates why he is the best pilot in the galaxy and flies into the oscillator’s superstructure to destroy it from the inside.

Overall, this sequence was well done. If there is one thing that could have been improved, it would have been the trench run leading to the opening. It seemed rather brief and might have benefited from an additional panel highlighting the danger.

The Return to D’Qar

With Rey’s victory over Kylo and Poe’s successful attack run, the Resistance needs to escape Starkiller Base. Chewbacca arrives with the Millennium Falcon just in time to retrieve Rey and Finn, who is unconscious. General Hux receives orders from Supreme Leader Snoke to retrieve Kylo and evacuate. The First Order lives to terrorize the galaxy another day.

The arrival at D’Qar is another moment where the comic prevails over the film. J.J. Abrams, the director of The Force Awakens, received a plenty of criticism when Chewbacca seemingly walked right past General Organa in the film. The two had a shared grief. Leia lost her husband. Chewbacca lost his longtime smuggling partner. One would think they would grieve together, right? The adaptation solves this problem when Chewbacca delivers Finn to the medical team. The panels, as framed, avoid the apparent snub.

As the Resistance celebrates its victory over the First Order, R2-D2 reactivates. From there, R2-D2 and BB-8 complete the map to Luke Skywalker using data from Artoo’s memory banks. With Leia’s blessing, Rey and Chewbacca set off to find the last Jedi.

 An Abrupt Ending

Despite the excellent flow, The Force Awakens #6, and the series, comes to a sudden stop. Granted, any reader that has seen the movie will know that is how it ends. As a reminder, the movie, and this adaptation, ends with Rey completing what originally was Poe’s quest. She finds Luke Skywalker. The movie, of course, has the benefit of music. This comic does not. Therefore, it ends with a couple of panels. A figure is seen from the back. Next, a mechanical hand reaches up to pull back a hood. The big reveal of Luke Skywalker comes next. After that Rey has an anxious expression. A distance shot with the two follows. Finally, it ends with a panel of Rey’s hand holding Luke’s lightsaber, and another panel of a close up on Luke’s eye and nose.

This is a dramatic interpretation of the movie for sure. However, there is no “the end” to close the series. It is more than likely that anyone reading this issue has seen the movie. Assume for a second that the reader did not. Also, assume this was the reader’s only introduction to The Force Awakens. Would that reader be confused? This ending seems a little abrupt.

Conclusion of The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens #6 brings the adaptation to a close. Unfortunately, it seemed the end came just as the adaptation found its footing. For one, the art was at its best in this issue. Han, Finn, Rey, Kylo, Leia, and Luke all looked incredible. Second, the story moved at a crisp pace. The pacing during the duels brought the cinematic feel to the page. Third, the tone was perfect. Han Solo’s death resonated. Kylo Ren displayed his unpredictability and savageness. Rey and Finn fought heroically.

The movie industry adapts comics routinely. Therefore, they can speed up the pace, and viewers are pleased. However, The Force Awakens adapted a movie. Wendig and Ross operated with a handicap. They have no motion. In addition, they have no musical score. Capturing the tone, pace, and feel of the movie was difficult, especially since so many readers saw the movie so many times. Despite this, they performed admirably. This series will not go down as the best Star Wars series since Marvel began releasing comics in 2015, but it was a fun adaptation of the film.

Favorite Panel of The Force Awakens #6

 It is hard to pick against the opening page. Wendig and Ross provided an excellent take on Han’s death scene. However, the lightsaber duels were the climax of this series. Furthermore, they were excellent. Therefore, I chose the panel featuring Rey igniting Luke’s lightsaber as the favorite panel of The Force Awakens #6. This was an Excalibur moment, and it was nearly perfect.