Star Wars Dark Droids #1 (2023)

The next big Star Wars event is here! Are you surprised how many of them occurred between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi? I am, especially since it is the shortest time frame between movies. To think that the force would be broken top to bottom, the Empire would nearly fall to an insurgency, and now that all droids would be taken over by the Spark Eternal (as seen in Doctor Aphra), it just feels like some of this might HAVE to be mentioned by characters during ROTJ.

Since we can't dine on what should be, we have to go with what is actually on the plate here, and it is a pretty good meal. Covering droid sentience is an area ripe with possibilities for a Star Wars story. I don't know if turning them into the X-Men, or at least the Star Wars/X-Men parallel for 'the other' will really fit in this universe (or at least this time frame in this universe). We're going to have a group of 'good droids' going against the spread of the dark droids moving forward, and the odds seem high they'll defeat the Brotherhood Of Evil Metal before Han is thawed out.

If this was set after Return of the Jedi where there might be some possibility of not knowing the outcome, it would get more Grahams (but basically the same review).

Career best work by Luke Ross (Darth Maul, Thrawn, War Of The Bounty Hunters). Nice to see him not phoning it in on these guaranteed sellers.


If you'd like a droid tale with similar themes that's tighter, and with a quicker emotional connection, be sure to check out the C-3P0 one shot set before The Force Awakens that explains where his red arm came from.