SPOILER Marvel's Star Wars: C-3PO The Phantom Limb

Hey guys,
Sorry about the delay in posting my review here. This issue surprised me. After watching a few of the bonus features from TFA Blu-Ray last night (forgive me, it has been the first chance I had all week), it made sense when JJ explained they wanted to give 3PO his red arm to mark him as the 3PO of a new era. Han, Leia, and Luke are very much damaged when we meet them in TFA; Han and Leia scarred by the loss of a son, and Luke, his haunted eyes conflicted by the Force calling to him and the Jedi trainees he lost. 3PO got the same treatment, a lost limb, and JJ mentions there is a story behind that a "comic is going to tell". This is that story. There are no grand revelations in the book, but the insight it provides into the fundamental nature of the artificially intelligent cultures in the SW Universe is something Star Wars fans should treat themselves to. I highly recommend this book.


We heard about it before The Force Awakens. Fans poured over any images they could get their hands on before December 2015. Now that the Blu-Ray or digital copy of the first entry into the sequel trilogy plays on your television, many questions remain unanswered. Sure, we fans bounce theories of Rey’s parentage or where Snoke comes from around in our heads on a daily basis while smaller questions, like C-3PO’s red arm, take a way back seat to those questions of cosmic relevance. Nonetheless, the folks at Marvel and Lucasfilm’s Story Group thought we deserved an answer to one of the questions concerning the protocol droid’s appearance, and they put together a very touching story to give us one.

C-3POhantom Limb is a very unique and thoughtful book. There are some SPOILERS ahead, but I will say the story is very much contained and has few implications to the larger Star Wars Universe.







Let’s take a second to reflect on C-3PO, the droid himself. I apologize for assigning gender to where it may not be necessary, but I think 3PO deserves much more than me writing it. Since the voice comes from a male actor I’m going to take the easy route and go with he. 3PO makes up a duo of droids that have seen the Skywalker saga from start to finish…so far. I think it’s safe to assume both C-3Po and R2-D2 will be along for the ride through Episode IX. Throughout both trilogies, we have seen little insight into what exactly a protocol droid navigating a turbulent galaxy and watching the battle between good and evil may be thinking along the way.

This comic lets us get a glimpse into the “souls” of not just 3PO, but droids in general. There’s some heavy stuff in this short story. It’s like Blade Runner’s Roy Batty meets Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Data, both asking the question of what it means to know your creator and how your consciousness may or may not exist to serve them. The story itself is a pretty generic one. 3PO is a passenger on a ship of droids who crash land on an environmentally hostile planet. The droids are carrying a prisoner, a droid called Omri, who has knowledge of the whereabouts of some Resistance officers taken prisoner by the First Order.







3PO and the droid crew make it out of the crash unscathed, just before the remains of the ship explode, killing whatever sentient beings may have survived. Quickly we learn that the protocol droid is Chief Communications Officer for the Resistance, leaving him in command. The crew of droids include a military/battle droid, a medical droid, a construction droid, and Omri, who seems to be the First Order equivalent of 3PO. 3PO doesn’t exactly take charge, he more or less states they are in a predicament and need to stick together to survive. 3PO states he has seen his fair share of battle to be a resource to the strengths of each droid.







The dynamics between this reluctant group of droids is interesting. The medical droid is the most cynical of the bunch, hinting it has seen the most carnage through several wars and that sentient beings lose their courage once they are faced with the brutalities of war. The cynicism of the medical droid strikes me as something we haven’t seen much of in Star Wars droids. We have never been given much of a history on how the artificial intelligence of droids came to be and we don’t yet know how restricted droids are by their programming. It seems to vary droid to droid, but each one of this bunch have an underlying doubt about their fate on the planet they will try to survive, which tells me there is a sort-of existential protocol to their programming. I would love to get a backstory on how droids evolved throughout the SW Universe.







Between blasting the indigenous, hungry creatures called spice spiders and building bridges, our team of droids pull through the obstacles of this foreboding planet. Again, the generic scenario of survival is not as interesting as the dialogue between the droids. They speak basic language, as opposed to communicating through more binary methods. Omri, the First Order droid, brings up how strange it is their programming intrinsically instills the nature to survive. This is the beginning of a bigger conversation that eventually dominates the story.







The droid detail is eventually eaten away with only 3PO and Omri left. Thus, our droid discussions begin…







3PO launches into some pretty self-reflective thoughts. The droid existence is one of servitude, but 3PO seems to have reconciled this truth. While Omri assumingly has much different experiences to draw from, 3PO expresses that his existence is not simply of servitude, but that he will ultimately make his master’s life a better one. 3PO also seems to know at one point his memory was erased. The droid recalls faint memories or “flashes” of things he experienced in the prequels. I had a thought while reading this frame that it could be argued R2-D2 is something of a steward of the Skywalker legacy. He knows where everyone began and will most likely see where they end.

These artificial beings, their consciousnesses being constructs of their creators, serve as reflections for what came before in the universe. Omri ends up making a sacrifice of his own to save C-3PO. As soon as it is apparent both of them cannot survive the planet, Omri gives up his red limb to stop the fluid draining from the limb 3PO lost. Omri makes a choice to save someone who is, for a simplistic definition, his captor. He had never been exposed to other truths of the universe and sees 3PO as some part of the greater good.







Comic fans will notice this issue is a reunion for writer James Robinson and artist Tony Harris. Robinson should be commended for making a fairly inconsequential detail a very moving story about the self-awareness of droids. It was also nice to see Poe Dameron and BB-8 pop up towards the end. I’m guessing Poe’s own comic may crossover this one, as we never get a resolution about Ackbar’s capture.

 

I'm really happy you guys all enjoyed it. It's a pretty cool interlude in the SW Universe.

 

Thank you very much! I was hoping someone would let me know. I try to be gender neutral whenever possible and I always welcome ways to improve my language and terms in regard to gender identity. Thank you for taking the time to share that.