For the most part, I’ve liked Tom Taylor’s one-shot stories. Some are nice revisits of characters and others reveal bold moments that can shift how you think about characters. Of all these one-shot stories, the Snoke focused one is probably the most appealing since we still know barely anything about the villain. Prepare yourselves, folks, as this one goes places.
So what’s it about?
Read the preview.
Why does this matter?
We may never learn a new thing about Snoke on the big screen again seeing as he died in The Last Jedi, but that is where comics come in. This week Leonard Kirk and Tom Taylor dive into a lesson Snoke gives Kylo Ren that takes them to a familiar place you won’t want to miss.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Snoke…the teacher.
Credit: Marvel Comics
This issue opens with Snoke pushing Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo to become a better Sith. Taylor and Kirk show some pretty harsh training that reveals how powerful Kylo can be. It’s not completely clear when this takes place but in some panels, Kylo Ren looks to be a teenager. As the issue progresses Kylo goes through another test that many will love thanks to it connecting to The Empire Strikes Back. I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers, but it’s quite a cool callback that’ll have fans reeling.
I’m also impressed with the emotional story Taylor is telling here. It’s quite clear Kylo isn’t pure evil and he knows the path he is walking is quite bad, and yet he only has Snoke to turn to. In a key scene late in the issue, we get a good sense of his self-doubt that was explored in The Last Jedi and it’s clear he could go fully evil or purely good if only he was taught correctly.
Kirk does a good job with the art, effectively capturing Snoke’s creepy head. Cory Hamscher is on inks and he keeps the book looking dark and evil as it needs to be. GURU-eFX keeps the colors muted and cold with a spark of light and color when it comes to alien worlds or lightsabers. All of it looks great.
FIGHT!
Credit: Marvel Comics
It can’t be perfect, can it?
This isn’t much of a Snoke story, but more of a Kylo Ren coming-of-age story. We certainly get to see Snoke as the master and as a teacher, but aside from seeing him train Kylo, we learn very little about the character. It’s neat to see him interacting with Kylo in person, but he’s more of a guiding force to the side more than a direct influence on Kylo in this story.
Is it good?
A good issue, although it probably should have been dubbed “Kylo and Snoke” since it’s more about Kylo. Still, it’s an enjoyable little tale that connects well to the original trilogy which is enough to get most Star Wars fans cheering.
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