Today saw the release of issue #40 in Marvel Comics’ ongoing title Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment.
Bounty Hunters #40 begins with Khel Tanna’s ship the Enigma Catalyst hurtling through space in the Outer Rim. Aboard the vessel, T’onga sends a message to her estranged wife Losha, apologizing for abandoning her and explaining why she did so– in order to rescue the mind-wiped cyborg Beilert Valance, who has now been corrupted by the evil Scourge virus– without putting Losha in too much danger. But Khel has had just about enough of pursuing Valance halfway across the galaxy, and she seems ready to quit the mission until T’onga lets her hold onto the electronic key to her savings account.
Arriving on the communications planet of Epikonia, the crew disembarks the ship and then the hulking Durge unleashes a sneak attack from behind on Zuckuss, kicking off a mutiny that Khel, Deathstick, and Bossk also participate in. Tanna gives T’onga a piece of her mind and then leaves her and Zuckuss for dead on Epikonia, where they are dragged away by a group of Scourge-possessed droids. Meanwhile in Imperial space, we see that Lieutenant Jyala Haydenn has copied all of her lover Valance’s memories onto a data stick, though her subterfuge is quickly discovered by another Imperial officer who threatens to report her to Darth Vader. A knock-down, drag-out fight breaks out between Haydenn and this officer, ending with Jyala triumphant and sneaking off to escape the Empire. But on her way out to the shuttle bay, she witnesses Vader himself getting called off to the events of his own comic.
The final page of this issue reveals T’onga waking up in captivity, immediately confronted by the corrupted Beilert Valance, who claims that “Valance as you knew him is gone.” And the Scourge, through Beilert, threatens to take over T’onga’s body as well, now that the artificial intelligence has moved on from possessing solely droids, cyborgs, and sentient hybroids into the possibility of inhabiting fully organic beings. It’s a great, tantalizing cliffhanger leading into the final month of the Dark Droids crossover event, and writer Ethan Sacks has nailed the suspenseful tone. Plus a huge amount of credit for the success of this issue goes to artist Davide Tinto and colorist Arif Prianto for delivering a kinetic, engaging visual style that carries the reader through the story.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #40 is available now wherever comic books are sold.