Story: Kelly Thompson
Art: Marco Checchetto
Colors: Andres Mossa
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Covers: Paul Renaud
Star Wars created by George Lucas.
Captain Phasma created by J. J. Abrams.
Captain Phasma was the new character from The Force Awakens who failed to impress the fans. This lukewarm reception was a byproduct of the disconnect between the hype surrounding her during the lead up to the film, and the limited screen time which ended with her being KO’d by Chewbacca, then tossed into a trash compactor by Han Solo after being easily forced to disable the Starkiller Base shields. What a pushover! Where was the badass we were promised? And what’s the point of casting Gwendoline Christie to play the role when Phasma is just as useless (and anonymous) as every other stormtrooper? With the next Star Wars film on the horizon, the character’s rehabilitation is in full swing. This year’s Journey to Star Wars comic focuses entirely on Phasma’s actions starting from the climax of The Force Awakens. Since it’s known that she will be back for The Last Jedi, how did she get of Starkiller Base? The answer given certainly paints her as a larger than life, if somewhat ludicrous figure.
The Shatterred Empire art duo of Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa make their return, this time teaming up with writer Kelly Thompson. The concentration on a smaller cast and shorter time frame results in a much tighter story. But as in the older comic, it still begins with the final battle of the last film. Checchetto and Mossa display their usual prowess in portraying chaotic space combat with the Assault on Starkiller Base. Phasma escapes the compactor thanks to the Resistance attack inadvertently blowing a hole in its side. With only six minutes to go before the planet destructs and her troops in total disarray, Phasma’s first act is to cover her own ass by wiping the computer logs of any record of her disabling the shields. Computer logs that I presume won’t even be around for much longer.
Still, they provide her a motivation for the rest of the comic. Phasma discovers that a certain lieutenant Sol Rivas had accessed the shield systems a few minutes later. Because she can’t have Rivas tattling to anyone about who switched off the base defences, Phasma runs around looking for Rivas so she can exterminate him. It’s quite a sight as she dodges falling debris and multiple explosions. She even ziplines through a chasm like Captain America from his first film. At one point, Phasma even spots from a distance the lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Rey. Pffft! Who cares when there’s someone else who needs to be killed? Remember, all this wackiness takes place within those measly six minutes.
Like any First Order officer possessing a healthy survival instinct, Rivas has already escaped to outer space. So the remainder of the story is about Phasma tracking him down with the aid of a TIE Fighter pilot and a BB-9E droid. It’s not a spoiler to say that these throwaway characters won’t survive her wrath. And since she’s still in the First Order’s good graces by the time of The Last Jedi, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that neither does Rivas. But the trail of destruction she leaves in her wake is absurd and horrendous. A planet’s population is sacrificed to her scorched earth policy, including a bunch of merfolk and a few sea monsters. On the one hand, her single-mindedness is practically superhuman. But it’s also a testament to the First Order’s brainwashing (or Lucasfilm’s attachment to her) that Phasma doesn’t just follow the simpler path and become a deserter. It worked out for fellow soldier Finn.
