Crimson Dawn Hires Bossk's Crew In 'Star Wars: Bounty Hunters' #28

Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #28 Cover Art

Image Source: Wookieepedia

Ethan Sacks’ Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #28 picks up immediately after the events of the previous issue. Despite being hired to protect Omel Sampak, a high-ranking member of the Pyke Syndicate, Tasu Leech ultimately decided to kill the Pyke himself after learning about his horrific killing of the child recruits of Kanjiklub. As a result of Tasu killing Sampak, the remaining Pykes on the Accretion Disco space station turned on him and the rest of T’onga’s crew. They quickly surrounded and attacked T’onga, Losha, Tasu, Bossk, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM.

Meanwhile, Beilert Valance, Jyala Haydenn, and the Revengers were summoned to the Executor by Darth Vader. As they entered a turbolift, Haydenn attempted to fix Valance’s collar, warning that the Dark Lord noticed every detail. Once they reached Vader, he chastised them for arriving early. Out of patience, Valance demanded to know why they had been called. In response, Vader used the Force to fix Valance’s collar, saying that he expected those who served him to be held to a certain standard.  

Darth Vader fixes Valance's collar

Image Source: YouTube

Valance and the others were then informed by Admiral Piett of their next mission. As a gesture of Imperial goodwill, a shipment of medicine was being sent to the people of Bestine IV. To maintain the planet’s opposition to the Empire, Crimson Dawn planned to destroy the shipment before its arrival. Therefore, Valance and the rest of his team were to go to Bestine and stop Crimson Dawn from destroying the shipment. Vader warned them not to disappoint him as he would be watching them. 

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Back at the Accretion Disco, the crew of the Edgehawk continued to be overwhelmed by the Pykes. After determining that there were just too many Pykes to overcome by themselves, 4-LOM headed for the station’s engineering chamber. As they fought off the Pykes, Losha lost control again and repeatedly struck a killed Pyke out of anger towards her inability to stop Vukorah and save her nexu. While T’onga tried to calm her down, 4-LOM reached the engineering chamber and smashed the watching droid into the panel which controlled the station’s thrusters. Knowing the station would soon be falling into the Crseih Black Hole, 4-LOM advised the rest of the crew to return to the Edgehawk.

Elsewhere at the Unbroken Clan Palace on Corellia, Vukorah confronted Skormarra, a clan member who had taken the former leader’s position after Vukorah had killed him. Vukorah proceeded to kill Skormarra and take the throne from him, reemphasizing her new position as leader of the Unbroken Clan. Once she took the throne, however, she began to break down as she remembered a past trauma brought about by her killing Losha’s nexu. 

With the Accretion Disco heading toward the black hole, the Edgehawk crew blew past the scrambling Pykes and came upon the station’s support staff. Despite Tasu’s suspicion that they might be Pyke loyalists, T’onga decided to bring them along rather than let them die on the station. Upon returning to the Edgehawk, T’onga and her crew barely managed to escape as the Accretion Disco was crushed by the black hole.

Image Source: YouTube

Once they jumped into hyperspace, Losha told T’onga that she understood if she wanted to take the job from Crimson Dawn. Knowing how desperate they were for credits and that the Pyke Syndicate might be after them now, T’onga activated the communicator given to her by Qi’ra. She was quickly contacted by Qi’ra’s associate, Margo. The Imroosian then gave T’onga the mission of destroying the Empire’s medicine shipment to Bestine. This would put them in the crosshairs of Valance and his team of Imperial mercenaries.

Bounty Hunters #28 is an enjoyable issue that sets up the Edgehawk crew for a fight with Valance and the Revengers. Valance’s attitude towards Vader and Vader’s subsequent threat via fixing his collar demonstrate Vader’s power in a passive-aggressive and demeaning way. The follow-up with Vukorah is also a nice touch, showing her lingering trauma from her encounter with the Edgehawk crew even as she takes control of the Unbroken Clan. The escape from the Accretion Disco is fun and action-packed, with the station’s destruction being a visual highlight moment of the entire comic series.

My big critique of the issue would be the lack of character progression aside from T’onga deciding to take Qi’ra’s offer. The rest of the character moments in the issue are either banter or reaffirming their previously established conflicts, such as with Losha and her guilt over losing to Vukorah, which is repeated from the previous issue nearly word for word. Still, Bounty Hunters #28 is an entertaining read and sets the stage for a thrilling clash between the Revengers and the Edgehawk crew on Bestine. To that I say, may the Bestine bounty hunters win.

Rating: 6/10

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The Rebellion Discovers The Second Death Star In 'Star Wars' #28