Published: August 20, 2025
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Alex Segura
Artist: Phil Noto
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Phil Noto
The synopsis;
LEIA ORGANA – IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE ZANTARRK STORMTROOPERS!
• An assassin unmasked – and it’s not who you expect!
• The Millennium Falcon – cornered!
• And a message from the CLONE WARS ERA sends shock waves in the present!
The review;
I didn’t shy away from the fact that the last installment of Star Wars just did not work for me. It felt too all over the place, too unsettled and was trying to say too much in too short a space. It was a stark contrast to issue two, which had done everything right. I’m hoping that part three was just a blip and we’ll be back to the high standard set by issues one and two. Leading the charge is Alex Segura, who has demonstrated just how much Star Wars he knows by linking the story to the Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Roleplaying Game. With him is artist Phil Noto, who has done a fantastic job in capturing the faces of the different characters. Let’s dive right in and see what they deliver to us this month.
As always with Segura, there is a lot in this comic. Unlike last issue though, the pacing and the flow of the story is much more coherent. While there are several stories all going on at once, they all feed together to come together at the finale, as you would expect from a Star Wars story. Let’s start with the main villains, the Fenril Consortium. We get to learn more about Reyna Oskure, who is the assassin that killed Garlev in the last comic. Segura does not keep this secret, and I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of her. She is the one that gets things done, that gets her hands dirty. What is interesting is that the consortium is not unanimous on how they believe they should maintain their power. While Oskure is happy to get dirty, some of the others in the political circle worry that getting dirty is the equivalent of mob rule as opposed to rule by government. That in itself is a layer to delve into. Do the ends justify the means? Because on that line of enquiry, we can also see that this is exactly how the New Republic got to power. They were Rebels, who had to do unsavoury things to make sure that the Empire was eradicated. Now, they are having to form a government. They have to become legitimate and be seen above that. The Fenril Consortium seem to be having to take the same path. What I enjoy is that this is not some force wielders trying to take over the galaxy. This is a political power who are trying to do it, using politics and diplomacy to achieve their ends. It’s a different type of villain.
This brings us to Leia. While Mon Mothma is desperately trying to establish a new, better government, Leia is reverting back to thinking like a Rebel, rather than a politician. Mothma is extremely experienced and wants things similar to how they were with The Republic. When issues arise, she looks to diplomacy. While Leia is technically a politician, she has spent so long as a Rebel leader, that she doesn’t want to be patient and wait for diplomacy to work, she wants to act immediately. It’s very similar to how Luke was impatient to face Vader, and I like the similarity with the twins. Segura is very much showing us growing pains with a terrorists group becoming a valid government but that those opposed have to become the thing they are trying to destroy. It’s a never-ending cycle.
As always Noto nails the faces of all the characters that we come across in this comic. It is stylised but it’s a style that’s very well known in a galaxy far, far away. The battles on Kaltrais look fantastic and I love the creepy atmosphere he is able to create with a fantastic pace to them.
Of course, Han and Valance – with Luke – have to come and sort of save Leia, meaning the group is back together. All the threads that Segura has sown come together at the end of this comic and it really helps the integrity of the story. Issue three didn’t work for me, but like every issue there is so much going on. It’s impressive just how much story Segura fits in. But with that, there is the problem of how that story gets divided into the comic format. I have a sneaky feeling that the problems that I had with part three might very well evaporate when this story arc is read as part of a graphic novel.
While issue three ended with a downed trading vessel, we hear nothing about it until the end of this issue. I appreciate why Segura places it in part three, but I also thing that it was perhaps unnecessary, and it would have been better just to hear that commlink message playing in on the speakers in the Falcon.
All in all, this is a much stronger issue than last month. It feels more coherent, the pacing better set and just overall a much better read. I think there is so much going on that this story will be better read as a graphic novel, rather than in monthly slots. I love this cycle that Segura is starting to show us of government versus the usurper. When does that cycle break? Can it be broken? It will be interesting to see how this will be addressed in future storylines. I’m glad to see Segura is back on form and I’m quietly optimistic about the next story; I mean who doesn’t want to see original trilogy characters attacked by battle droids!?
Availability;
Star Wars (2025) is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available from comiXology and your local comic book store.
The post Comic Review: Star Wars (2025) #4 appeared first on Jedi News.
