What makes this elite hacker tick?
Warning: this review contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
The biggest drawback with the current crop of Star Wars novels and comics, compared to the Expanded Universe days, is that these stories have far less freedom in which to operate. The days where where you could resurrect Emperor Palpatine in a comic or kill off Chewbacca in a novel are well behind us. That's the trade-off to having a new, Disney-sanctioned universe where every new story has its carefully chosen place in the larger scheme of things. Nowhere has this problem been felt more than with Marvel's meager offering of comics set in the post-Return of the Jedi era. It too often feels like creators are being constrained by Lucasfilm and prevented from venturing away from a very narrow path. Star Wars: The Last Jedi - DJ - Most Wanted #1 is no exception, sadly.
The second of Marvel's Last Jedi one-shots, DJ: Most Wanted shines the spotlight on Benecio Del Toro's self-interested scoundrel character. Writers Ben Acker and Ben Blacker and artist Kev Walker are tasked with exploring the character's sordid history and lending new insight into what motivates him. That's an appealing prospect, especially given how much the viewer's perception of DJ changes between his debut and his ultimate betrayal of Finn and Rose in the film. I'd certainly like to know more about a guy who simultaneously comes across as noble and the most selfish jerk in the whole galaxy.
But much like Marvel's ongoing Poe Dameron comic, DJ: Most Wanted does little to flesh out the character beyond what we already got in the movie. The takeaway from this issue is basically, "There are no good people in the universe, so I'm just going to worry about getting mine." The script is competently written, bringing a bit of crime noir flair to the Star Wars universe, but it never shows much ambition beyond that. The setting remains confined to the casinos of Canto Bight and the plot fixated on the period immediately leading up to The Last Jedi. There's no attempt to explore DJ's past or the family history and personal relationships that shaped his worldview.
Acker and Blacker also make the questionable choice to rely heavily on narrative captions, which goes against the example set by many Star Wars comics in this new Marvel era. Captions have their place, but too often they break the cinematic feel of the story without actually contributing much in return, and that's the case here. Worse, the captions are used to explain a major plot point rather than allowing that development to unfold naturally over the course of the story.
If nothing else, it's always a treat seeing Kev Walker dabble in the Star Wars universe. DJ and Doctor Aphra operate in very similar circles, so Walker was the obvious choice to tackle a comic all about the wealthy elite and the shady gamblers of Canto Bight. Walker's diverse, eclectic character designs really capture the melting pot nature of the Star Wars universe. Together with inker Marc Deering and colorist Java Tartaglia, Walker is able to paint Canto Bight as an alluring place with a very seedy and dangerous undercurrent. In a way, this interpretation of the planet actually feels more traditionally Star Wars-y than the one seen in the film. So that's one point in this book's favor.
The Verdict
There was plenty of potential for this comic to flesh out and enhance the title character. But as with all of Marvel's post-Return of the Jedi comics, the story never deviates from a narrow, established path. Apart from the always pleasing art of Kev Walker, this comic has too little to offer hungry Star Wars readers.
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