Marvel Comics’ spirited adventure with the newly introduced Starros clan continues in Star Wars: Sana Starros #2, which was released this week.
As Sana Starros #2 begins, Sana’s cousin has been taken hostage by her own husband, a dastardly Imperial officer named Cerasus Ehlio, aboard his personal vessel.
Ehlio is so controlling that he won’t even let Aryssha leave their room, but little does he know that she has her own motivations up her sleeve. She sneaks out and sends a message to her family members– namely Sana, Grammy Thea, and Aryssha’s mother Mevera– who are in pursuit via their own starship, the Vector Bundle. Thea explains the plan to Sana– they’ve allowed Aryssha to be captured so they can retrieve a family heirloom that has been stolen by the Empire, but first they’ve got to evade Marl Jibs of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild. Jibs remembers Sana from her stealing his girlfriend, though we learn via flashback that it was really Doctor Aphra using Sana’s name, but he’ll have to catch up with the Starros clan before he can exact any kind of revenge. Grammy Thea shows off her ship’s sweet new ion cannon by disabling Marl’s craft, and then we’re treated to a bit of a history lesson connecting this story back to the era of The High Republic and this family’s ancestor Avon Starros. Those who have read writer Justina Ireland’s contribution to that Lucasfilm Publishing initiative will recognize Avon and her fascination with the power of crystals, which carries over into the data cube that has been snatched by the Imperials. Avon didn’t want her research falling into the wrong hands hundreds of years earlier, and the current members of the Starros family are intent on following through on that precaution.
Back on Ehlio’s ship the King’s Ransom, Aryshha tries to convince her husband to make a pit stop on Neral’s Moon– all part of the plan– though the Imperial officer is hesitant to accept. Then we get a dream sequence of Sana remembering the young-love early days of her relationship with Chelli Aphra during their time at the University of Bar’leth. Interrupted by Thea, Sana is informed that they’re making their own pit stop at an asteroid-based space station where a Gran named Lutha brings them to bounty hunter Deva Lompop– a character for her High Republic novels and Marvel’s War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event a couple years ago. That’s the cliffhanger ending for this second issue, and we’re left wondering what else the Starroses have planned for their ongoing mission, and how exactly Deva will make herself useful. I thought this was another fun, energetic issue that successfully continued the spirit and sheer likeability that Ireland brought to this title’s debut last month. I’m finding myself more and more invested in Sana’s family, now that we’ve gotten to know them a little better, and I think artist Pere Pérez has done a great job of executing the proper tone for both the settings and the looks of the characters. With Sana shown riding a Rancor on the cover of the next installment, I’m genuinely very curious to see where things go from here.
Star Wars: Sana Starros #2 is available now wherever comic books are sold.