Review of Marvel's Princess Leia, #1 & #2

Spoilers ahead! This review contains a synopsis along with commentary.

The Princess Leia series is Marvel's third release in the rebirth of Star Wars in comics. The series is set right after ANH ends, with the first panels showing the medal presentation ceremony. We are greeted with the familiar faces of Han, Chewie and Luke. Princess Leia then goes on to speak of the great loss of Alederaan and the death of her mother, Queen Breha Organa and Viceroy Bail Organa.

General Dodonna announces it is time to move the Rebel base off of Yavin, since the Empire is now aware of their location. Scouts will be sent out to try to find a suitable planet as others, Admiral Ackbar for example, are tasked with preparing the base for transport. Leia requests to scout, since she seems to have no duties to attend to. General Dodonna is against the idea since they have intercepted a transmission and a substantial bounty has been placed on her.

As Leia leaves, we are introduced to a female Rebel pilot named Evaan. This is the first new character the series offers us. Evaan Verlaine has a fiery temper and a quick tongue. She was mentored personally by the Queen in the heritage of Alderaan. She respected the Queen because of the person, not the position and it is clear she does not respect Leia. Word is spreading through the base the Imperials are hunting down all surviving Alderaanians. Doesn't take a genius to figure out what is going to happen next.

R2 delivers a hologram message to General Dodonna of Leia explaining she is off to gather all the remaining "sons and daughters of Alderaan". As the General reaches for the droid, we find out R2 is also a hologram and actually on board a shuttle with Leia and...what for it....you guessed it, Evaan. A pair of X-Wings show up to escort the shuttle back to Yavin. I'll let you guess who was piloting them. If you guessed Luke and Wedge, give yourself a gold star and a cookie (make it two cookies).

Evaan proves to be a savvy pilot and strategist. She hits one of the X-Wings, knocking off a piece of the shuttle. Luke and Wedge overhear Evaan on the radio saying it was a piece of the hyperdrive. Seem like a set up? Just when you think Leia is going to utter the first "I've got a bad feeling about this" of the series, Evaan jams the controls and they make the jump to hyperspace.

Here ends the first issue. Total number of new characters, other than random pilot #2 in a few panels, 1. So it seems Evaan is the co-pilot of this series. I am not exactly "wowed" by the story and it is also only the first issue. I shall press on.

Issue 2 opens with the shuttle in hyperspace. Leia has a flashback to her childhood. She wants to practice combat exercises instead of her language lessons. She wants to be "in on the action." Bail says soldiers are a thing of the past and Leia must struggle to keep the culture focused on creativity, love and life. "Whatever happens, you must keep Alderaan alive." We all know how well that worked out; Tarkin 1 / Alderaan 0. We snap back to the present with Leia apologizing for her failure to an empty room.
   
First stop, Naboo. Leia learned as a Senator of a cloister (interesting choice of words - if you need to look it up, I'll wait. I need another cup of caf anyway. Back? Ok, we journey on.) little known and long standing. They, Leia and Evaan , will pose as Imperial Auditors. When asked her name at the space port, Leia gives the fake name First Minister Solo. Seriously? Isn't Han supposed to be a famous smuggler? We get it, she likes him. At this point, I am going to give you a breakdown of new characters we will meet:

Lord Junn - well dressed businessman, seems to be of Alderaanian decent and knows Leia.
Mul Sanaka - owner of Club Deeja and does business with Lord Junn
Madame Pareece - oversees the performances of the Melodic Order (made up of Alderaanians) at Club Deeja
Snes - Doorman at Club Deeja
Tace - member of the Melodic Order at the Club
Tula - Tace's sister 

Lord Junn calls out to Leia in the square, addressing her as Princess. Evaan seems annoyed since they are trying to stay incognito. Leia explains they know each other and not to worry. Which, if you have ever read any spy novels, is exactly when you start to worry. Lord Junn places a call to Mul Sanaka on Leia's behalf, supposedly using her fake name.

Evaan and Leia show up at the club and are greeted by Snes and not too kindly I might add. Leia uses her fake name and Snes addresses her as Princess. Anyone else smell a set up? Leia headbutts Snes who then calls out to Mul Sanaka for help. He shows up armed ready to take aim at Leia and is then shot in the back by Madame Pareece. Madame Pareece is overcome with guilt because she has not told the other Alderaanians of the planets destruction. She was afraid it would distract them from their music. Leia makes an announcement and vows to protect them all.

We return to Lord Junn's residence where Leia confronts the kriffing piece of poodoo. He has been in the business of human trafficking and set up the Princess, hoping she wouldn't make it out of the club. He provides a ship to help transport the Alderaanians off world. We then find out their next stop is the Sullust System in the Outer Rim.

Tace calls her sister from the shuttle and wants to do whatever she has to do to reunite with her, since their home world has been destroyed. Tula explains her duty is now to the Princess and serving Alderaan in anyway. Instead of reuniting, Tula tells Tace to call every night and explain what they are doing and where they are heading. Does it seem like Tula is interested in more than just her sister's well being? I agree. The final panel reveals Tula is an Imperial Officer! Dun Dun Dunnnnnn....

I'm still not entirely on board with the story line. It seems like it has the potential to become redundant very quickly. For your sake, noble reader, I shall persevere.    

Boeing Patents 'Star Wars-esque' Deflector Shield

Hold on to your power converters folks. We won't be seeing military vehicles unharmed by missiles and bullets as they lay waste to enemies anytime soon, but according to Popular Science, Boeing has got some sound research on a defensive system that can be adapted to air, ground and sea units, as well as military and civilian structures.....and they've been awarded the patent to build this device.

Just to clarify, it won't shield units from direct fire and shrapnel, but it will provide an extra layer of protection against an indirect blast such as a nearby explosion from IED's, Air to Air, Air to Ground, and/or anti ship/submarine ordinance by deflecting and absorbing the shock waves created by the blast

Let me break it down for you.

Say you're in a Humvee on patrol in a hot spot and you miss an IED. The system mounted on the vehicle detects the blast via sensors and estimates distance and time from detonation. Then, using microwaves it super heats the air between the IED and your ride, creating a plasma shield that provides additional protection against the shock wave from the explosion. The system would work the same way in detecting incoming missile or mortar fire by calculating the point of impact, provided it's not a direct hit. That extra layer could mean the difference between the Humvee flipping on it's side from the force of the explosion, or just lurching up and down as if you just ran over a dead deer in the road.

Depending on the magnitude of the blast, the shield strength would fluctuate to provide maximum deflection.

Visual Diagram

Component Diagram

Here is a brief video explaining the technology as well.

Give us a shout on our Facebook page and let us know about what you think.

Return of the Masters?

By:  Mandalore the Wise, Contributor

As we count the days until the next installment of Star Wars, we scour the trailer for any additional information we missed the first 10 (or 20) times we watched it. There are “spoilers” all over the internet citing “reliable sources” or “sources close to the project”. Starting in September, we will be flooded with information under the “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” publishing program. It seems we will finally have some canonical information to bridge the gap between ROTJ and TFA.

As we wait for the powers that be to guide us, I would like to offer an idea for you to ponder while you are stuck in traffic. Will we see any of the old masters return in the new canon? Since we can only speculate (at this point) what has happened over the decades between installments, Luke had to learn from somewhere. Let’s be honest with each other, at the end of ROTJ he still had a lot to learn. Good thing all those Force ghosts came to hang out at the Ewok celebration, yub nubbing with all the living.

Let us think about that for a minute. Up until this point, speaking in order the movies were released, the only other being shown as a Force ghost was Ben. At the end, when we see Yoda and Anakin, I just believed anyone Force sensitive could become one. Yoda was believable – a 900 year old Jedi Master who was..well…Yoda! So we have Ben and Yoda, I can hang with that. Oh but wait, there’s more. Anakin. So Darth Vader has a last minute change of heart and pitches the Emperor over the railing, redemption and Force ghosthood bestowed – but I digress.

Think about all of the current canon. Qui-Gon spoke to Yoda in the novelization of Revenge of the Sith.

"Eternal life…
The ultimate goal of the Sith, yet they can never achieve it; it comes only through the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. Love is the answer to the darkness."

There is this amazing moment, which clearly didn't make it into the movie, where Yoda becomes Qui-Gon’s apprentice to learn the ways of keeping his consciousness in the Force after death. In the overall timeline, this is first touched on in the final arc of The Clone Wars on Netflix, when Yoda starts hearing voices. This is huge, especially if you think back to TPM when Qui-Gon went against the Jedi Council to train Anakin. Ok, so Qui-Gon teaches Yoda. Next we fast forward to the end of ROTS (movie) when Yoda chats with Obi-Wan and gives him his task while in solitude on Tatoonie, “How to commune with him, I will teach you.” You want to blow people’s minds in the super special edition of ROTJ? Throw in Qui-Gon at the end.

So clearly, there are those Jedi who have been able to maintain their consciousness in the Force after death. They were taught – unless you are Anakin, then apparently you just know how to do it. There always is the possibility it is something the Emperor knew how to do and passed on the knowledge. This is not clarified in the canon.

So, as we prepare for the future to be revealed, who would you like to see make an appearance as a Force ghost or even in a holocron? Or perhaps there will be another Jedi Master who went into hiding after Order 66 and comes back to help Luke rebuild the Jedi Order. Let us know what you think. As we have seen before in the Star Wars Universe, anything is possible.

Tie Fighter Animation Short From OtaKing77077. Epic!

From OtaKing77077 on YouTube:

What if there was an Empire-focussed short Star Wars animation, drawn with the crazy detail and shading of classic 80s anime that's all but vanished from Japan nowadays?
Well, I tried my best. Apologies in advance for not living up to Venus Wars standards.
Drawn and animated by yours truly over 4 years' worth of weekends, with music by the living guitar solo Zak Rahman and sound design by up and coming audio technician Joseph Leyva. Fans of Lucasarts' seminal 1994 TIE Fighter game may notice a few familiar sights and sounds. That “incoming missile” noise gives me horrible flashbacks to this day...

Official poster art: http://mightyotaking.deviantart.com/a...
“Interdictor,” the music track: https://soundcloud.com/zakrahman/tie-...
Story/character info pdf file: http://www.mediafire.com/view/cpnc1oj...
Special thanks to the good folk at Lucasfilm for encouraging people to get creative and make these kind of projects. It's thanks to their extremely fan-friendly nature that we can enjoy IMPS: The Relentless, TROOPS, etc.

Don't support me on Patreon, because I don't have one! And don't donate to my Kickstarter, because I don't have one of those either. Instead, if you enjoyed this, give someone at your workplace, uni, school or whatever a random bar of chocolate or can or Coke or something. Seriously, it'll probably make their day.
That would totally make my day.

Pretty awesome, don't ya think?  Support him if you can!

Sound off on our group about the video.

Star Wars: Coming Soon to a Television Near You!

.....Maybe.

The rumor mills over at Cinelinx have been working overtime. The word going around (and has been for some time) is that Disney is in the early planning stages of a Star Wars live action TV series.

However, this time around there are a few more details that give us a glimmer of hope that this might actually be happening.

IF this is really happening, it seems the show runners are holding off on starting until the movie releases have been worked out. The most reasonable explanation for this is that since the series will film at Pinewood Studios, they want to do this in between movie shoots to utilize sets, props and costumes that already exist, thereby saving them some serious budget expenses. That in and of itself, is no small feat. It involves scheduling the show shoots within limited timetables between each feature film, as well as making sure to keep the show linear to the continuity of the films, books, animated shows and comics. Like I said, this is no small feat.

Also, from the sound of things it appears that the show won't feature many of the prominent movie characters as regulars, instead using some lesser known ones, or possibly characters from the new EU.

So, what do you think? Is this just some more hot air or does it hold some water?
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