Bounty Hunters #4 Review
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Author: Paolo Villanelli
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
Well, writing this review is difficult. I've been pondering what to say, which is why it's taken so long. I haven't hidden my dislike of the series so far, the story and writing has been convoluted and it's filled with dozens of boring characters and gangs we're supposed to care about. This issue actually does a good job of not doing all that. It's easily the most easy-to-understand issue yet, and all the plot threads are coming together. But it ends on what's... a controversial writing choice, to say the least. But I'll get to that.
In previous issues, we've met several bounty hunters all on the trail of Nakano Lash, a bounty hunter that started a gang war years ago and has been in hiding ever since. All of them have their own reasons for wanting to find her, and while there are tons of them, only four matter: Valance, Boba Fett, Bossk, and T'onga. Boba and Bossk are of course mainstream Star Wars characters, and Valance is Marvel's flagship bounty hunter. T'onga is a new character made for this series; keep that in mind, it's important. Valance wants Lash because she was his mentor, while T'onga wants her for killing her brother T'ongor.
It's impossible to talk about this issue without spoiling it, so spoilers ahead: this issue sees our two main hunters, Valance and T'onga, find Lash. They find out that she didn't kill T'ongor and cause the mission to go wrong all those years ago. Instead, she found out that the heir of one gang was pregnant with the child of the other gang's heir... yeah. Lash chose to save the child, and T'ongor was killed in the escape. She went into hiding with the child, and has resurfaced just before the child comes of age so she can end the war between the two gangs.
And that brings us to the end-of-issue cliffhanger, the source of all the controversy... as soon as Lash finishes telling her story, Boba Fett arrives and kills T'onga. This started a huge controversy, as she was the only character in the series thus far that was both a POC and LGBTQ. The idea of Boba Fett killing someone to make an entrance isn't a bad thing itself. But there's an issue here: Star Wars, like other franchises, has had a huge problem with creating diverse characters and keeping them alive. Oftentimes it's the badass, edgy, male characters like Boba and Valance making cool entrances, while the very few female, POC, or LGBTQ characters are shoved off to the side, and worse, killed off.
One of the very few to not meet this fate is Doctor Aphra, Marvel's other flagship Star Wars character. But sadly she is the exception. T'onga is only the latest example. She's a person of color and a lesbian, and she was killed off for no reason other than shock value. What makes this even worse is that it's not shocking at all. Boba has appeared throughout the previous issues, his appearance isn't a surprise. But this issue treats him like his involvement is brand-new to us, and panels before the last page have him shrouded in shadows. There was literally no reason for this, and it makes the murder of T'onga all the more problematic.
That's the gist of this issue. It solved a lot of the problems it had before, but created a whole new one in the process. I don't see Sacks redeeming this in any way, T'onga was very clearly dead in that last page. Reading this series has been nothing but a chore, and it's only good factor (I can't say redeeming factor because it doesn't redeem T'onga's death in any way) is the still-incredible art, lettering, and other work done on it by the rest of the creative team other than Sacks. I can't recommend giving this a read, at least not yet. We'll see if my opinion changes in the next issue.
Author: Paolo Villanelli
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
Well, writing this review is difficult. I've been pondering what to say, which is why it's taken so long. I haven't hidden my dislike of the series so far, the story and writing has been convoluted and it's filled with dozens of boring characters and gangs we're supposed to care about. This issue actually does a good job of not doing all that. It's easily the most easy-to-understand issue yet, and all the plot threads are coming together. But it ends on what's... a controversial writing choice, to say the least. But I'll get to that.
In previous issues, we've met several bounty hunters all on the trail of Nakano Lash, a bounty hunter that started a gang war years ago and has been in hiding ever since. All of them have their own reasons for wanting to find her, and while there are tons of them, only four matter: Valance, Boba Fett, Bossk, and T'onga. Boba and Bossk are of course mainstream Star Wars characters, and Valance is Marvel's flagship bounty hunter. T'onga is a new character made for this series; keep that in mind, it's important. Valance wants Lash because she was his mentor, while T'onga wants her for killing her brother T'ongor.
It's impossible to talk about this issue without spoiling it, so spoilers ahead: this issue sees our two main hunters, Valance and T'onga, find Lash. They find out that she didn't kill T'ongor and cause the mission to go wrong all those years ago. Instead, she found out that the heir of one gang was pregnant with the child of the other gang's heir... yeah. Lash chose to save the child, and T'ongor was killed in the escape. She went into hiding with the child, and has resurfaced just before the child comes of age so she can end the war between the two gangs.
And that brings us to the end-of-issue cliffhanger, the source of all the controversy... as soon as Lash finishes telling her story, Boba Fett arrives and kills T'onga. This started a huge controversy, as she was the only character in the series thus far that was both a POC and LGBTQ. The idea of Boba Fett killing someone to make an entrance isn't a bad thing itself. But there's an issue here: Star Wars, like other franchises, has had a huge problem with creating diverse characters and keeping them alive. Oftentimes it's the badass, edgy, male characters like Boba and Valance making cool entrances, while the very few female, POC, or LGBTQ characters are shoved off to the side, and worse, killed off.
One of the very few to not meet this fate is Doctor Aphra, Marvel's other flagship Star Wars character. But sadly she is the exception. T'onga is only the latest example. She's a person of color and a lesbian, and she was killed off for no reason other than shock value. What makes this even worse is that it's not shocking at all. Boba has appeared throughout the previous issues, his appearance isn't a surprise. But this issue treats him like his involvement is brand-new to us, and panels before the last page have him shrouded in shadows. There was literally no reason for this, and it makes the murder of T'onga all the more problematic.
That's the gist of this issue. It solved a lot of the problems it had before, but created a whole new one in the process. I don't see Sacks redeeming this in any way, T'onga was very clearly dead in that last page. Reading this series has been nothing but a chore, and it's only good factor (I can't say redeeming factor because it doesn't redeem T'onga's death in any way) is the still-incredible art, lettering, and other work done on it by the rest of the creative team other than Sacks. I can't recommend giving this a read, at least not yet. We'll see if my opinion changes in the next issue.
A Look Inside
