Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020-) #9 by Ethan Sacks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Valance has as much depth as one of the space pirates from a packet of 1980s Space Raiders.
That might a be a little harsh, but still… The most interesting part of this issue was a flash back to scenes we’ve seen before in the Han Solo: Imperial Cadet series, which reintroduced Valance into the canon.
The rest of the story is just…frustrating. What’s the point of the Ohnaka gang without Hondo? Why is Dengar here when he literally does absolutely nothing? And, the “twist” in the tale makes no sense. Valance was turning the tide against the pirates, and then he seemingly speeds off into hyperspace, abandoning the people he was rescuing. But, wait, no, he somehow ejected from his X-Wing before it made the jump to lightspeed and is making his way back into the ship the pirates are now boarding, presumably so next issue he can take them out Die Hard style. Why? What does he possibly gain from doing this other than feeling like he’s Bruce Willis?
That’s who should play Valance in a movie: Bruce Willis. He too used to be cool back in the day but is a complete irrelevance now.
When it started I thought this book was going to be a limited series, I really wish it had been.
That said, there’s definitely room for a Bounty Hunters series, just not one that has Valance as the main character. Of all the Legends characters to bring back, why him?
I’d drop this book if I wasn’t a compulsive Star Wars completist…and an eternal optimist.
Random Ramblings Of A Ragamuffin 