Review: Star Wars #38 - The Droid Scourge Takes Jabbas Palace in Tatooine Treason

Issue #38 of the main Star Wars comic run sees Lando and Lobot run into the Droid Scourge as they desperately attempt to find the old protocol droid they sold to Jabba several issues ago, in a bid to cure Lobot's ills.



The issue ends just as the story is starting to heat up, but there's enough progression in the plot that it can't quite be accused of stalling things until we get to the next issue of Dark Droids. The issue gives us another fun glimpse into Lando and Lobot's past, with plenty of Lando's old charm and stylish fashion sense to feast your eyes upon.



It's quite a difference compared to the action in the present day. The Droid Scourge is plenty horrifying, shambling towards organics like a zombie horde. At one point, a droid's head gets caved in and seeing its wires exposed beneath its disfigured faceplates brings up some disturbing reminders of The Walking Dead and other gorey zombie stories.



All aspects of this crossover event have done an excellent job of selling the scourge as a terrifying foe, and Tatooine Treason is no different. The plot generally moves as you'd expect it to, before ending on a cliffhanger that really traps Lando and Lobot between a rock and a hard place. It's a mildly frustrating cliffhanger rather than an exciting one, but I am at least looking forward to seeing what happens next.



Spoilers ahead...







The issue kicks off with the 'Talky' protocol droid about to be tortured and memory wiped by EV-9D9, only for the Droid Scourge to step in. It seems the scourge values the knowledge held inside the ancient droid, so it possesses the malevolent torture droid and beckons Talky to join them. Thankfully, Talky's value for self preservation kicks in and it hides from the scourge until help arrives.



Meanwhile, Lando and Lobot land outside Jabba's Palace and we get a reassuring confirmation that Han and Chewie never ditched Lando's impressive collection of capes over the years. It's nice knowing that Lando's capes are still on the Millennium Falcon throughout the entirety of the original trilogy.







The issue gives us another flashback to a younger Lando and Lobot on a caper, getting dressed up to gain access to a night club. Lando looks plenty stylish and suave, while Lobot looks ridiculous as Lando places a huge pink wig on his head to cover his implants. The pair of them are dressed to go to a disco in the 70s, which is apt considering the time period these movies were filmed in. Lando imparts some advice to Lobot about self confidence and we pivot back to the present day, where Lobot is really not looking so good.



They enter Jabba's Palace in Lando's guard disguise from Return of the Jedi (he procured the outfit at the beginning of this comic run), seemingly only admitted once the Droid Scourge spotted Lobot's implants. It seems it has designs on a human with droid intelligence, as you'd expect. They enter and are immediately pulled to one side by a Dowutin hiding from the droids, who have completely revolted and taken over the palace.



Lando uses some fairly harsh and unwarranted methods to get the Dowutin to tell him where Talky is, and they make their way to Jabba's throne room. Upon entering, they meet Boba Fett, who has decided the situation is far too hot and leaves the palace, advising them to do the same. If Boba Fett isn't up for a fight, you know it's bad.







Lando has just enough time to notice that Jabba has placed Han's carbonite slab on the wall like an art piece before his attention turns to the droids about to attack them. That's when Talky triggers a trap door underneath them to bring them into the rancor pit, where the droid is hiding. Thankfully the rancor is sleeping, so they're not in any immediate danger.



Talky refuses to cure Lobot until it is safely extracted from the palace, but as a compromise it fixes some of his issues temporarily, allowing Lobot to function semi-proficiently. Right after that happens though, the Droid Scourge walks into the pit and the rancor wakes up behind them.







With nowhere to go, it seems their best bet is to get out of the way and hope that the rancor kills enough droids for them to slip away, but they're certainly in a compromising situation right now. It's a shame the issue had to end right as the tension built to a crescendo, but what we got in this issue was fun and I look forward to next month's installment.


<p style='text-align: center;']Rating: 7/10</p>




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