Ochi of Bestoon is in the spotlight, and he’s not looking for a whole colloquium in Star Wars: Darth Vader #15 written by Greg Pak, art by Raffele Ienco, colored by Jason Keith and lettered by Joe Caramagna.
One of the fun side projects throughout Greg Pak’s run on this volume of Darth Vader has been his efforts to rehabilitate/add dimension to little bits of ephemera from Rise of Skywalker (depending on how you feel about the movie in the first place). That effort is personified nowhere better than via Ochi of Bestoon who, from a few references and some skeletal remains in that film, has become Darth Vader’s de facto sidekick in this book. This issue pushes Ochi front and center, raising the question of how well he works starring in his own narrative. The answer is…complicated.
Beginning at a point somewhere before the current events of “War of the Bounty Hunters” and after Vader’s decision to obtain Han Solo for himself last issue, this one begins with Vader and Ochi learning about the Solo auction and Crimson Dawn’s involvement therein. Following a meeting with Bokku the Hutt, who folds a little too easily to Vader’s demands, Vader decides to test Ochi’s loyalty: if Ochi isn’t in league with the Hutt, reasons a suspicious Vader, then Ochi can discover who is. This prompts Ochi, abruptly abandoned by Vader, to step into the spotlight as he susses out Bokku’s allies in Crimson Dawn, who in turn make an offer to Ochi of their own: betray the Dark Lord and join them.
Ochi’s ultimate decision isn’t a terribly surprising one (nor, to his credit, does Pak present the offer of betrayal to Ochi as anything more than a momentary temptation), but his time in the spotlight suggests he functions better as a sidekick than a leading man. His light banter and cool efficiency works much better in contrast with and comparison to the more taciturn, laconic and similarly cooly-efficient Darth Vade. On his own, those traits loses some of their luster, and Ochi comes across as a less unique, more bland character when standing out of Vader’s shadow: his chatter is less resonant when not played against Vader’s brief and to-the-point dialogue, while being good with a knife and a blaster just isn’t as good after watching Vader mow down foe after foe with a lightsaber and the Force.
It also doesn’t help that Ochi’s solo action scenes are somewhat turgid – Raffele Ienco’s figures are always a bit stiff, but he’s still capable of turning in effective & kinetic action sequences. Here though, his rendering of a bouncing, vibrant Ochi overpowers the action, disrupting the flow and making the ensuing fight scenes read more like a collection of static images than a sequential series of events. Also, as good as Ienco can be at depicting physical characterization despite the title character and his sidekick being masked, between Vader, Ochi, and the helmeted Crimson Dawn goons, the lack of facial expressions in this issue can be wearing at times (Bokku the Hutt sometimes comes across as looking comically exaggerated, just because he’s one of the few characters in the issue whose face readers get to, you know, see).
But while Ochi perhaps fails to rise to the occasion of his time in the spotlight, the issue isn’t entirely wasted. The highlight comes at the end as Ochi, after fighting off a dozen or so Crimson Dawn goons, reunites with Vader, affirming his loyalty as they turn back-to-back and fend off the rest of the surging Crimson Dawn force. While Ochi’s commitment to Vader isn’t shocking, in affirming it, Pak is seemingly planting a narrative seed for later harvest. Ochi tells Vader his loyalty is to the powerful; so long as Vader is powerful, he will command the allegiance of Ochi of Bestoon. The unspoken question, then, is what happens when Ochi decides Vader isn’t the most powerful, which seems to be the question Pak wants us all to consider as the issue comes to a close. How it’s answered may well define Ochi as a character.
Force Facts
- This series continues to run behind the events of “War of the Bounty Hunters”; whereas in Star Wars and War of the Bounty Hunters at this point Vader is on Jekara dueling Qi’ra and taunting Luke, here he and Ochi are still just learning about the Han Solo auction and Crimson Dawn’s involvement. Ultimately, this won’t be a big deal when reading the whole story collectively in trade or in hindsight, but month-to-month, it’s a bit jarring.
- There is a Gamorrean (the pig-like beings seen guarding Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi) apparently speaking Basic in one scene in this issue, which seems…incongruous with established continuity.
- Vader seemingly throwing Ochi from his shuttle, only to have him land just a few feet down on a waiting ledge, is just a delightful bit of dickery on his part. It feels both very Anakin, and consistent with the villain who makes puns and cracks Dad jokes.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him on Twitter @AustinGorton
