Comic Review: Rogue One - Cassian Andor One Shot
Cassian travels straight from Andor Season Two into Rogue One in this micromission that takes him to the Ring of Kafrene.
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Marvel Comics/Youtini Illustration
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Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Luke Ross
Colors: Mike Atiyeh
Publisher summary:
CASSIAN ANDOR'S FINAL MISSION BEFORE HE MEETS HIS ULTIMATE HEROIC DESTINY!
Before the heist that shook the galaxy, a lone REBEL operative walks into danger. CASSIAN ANDOR infiltrates the lawless maze of KAFRENE, racing against troopers, bounty hunters and time itself in a tense espionage thriller. Set prior to; Rogue One – the critically praised blockbuster hailed as one of the best STAR WARS films – return to the grit and glory of a REBELLION on the brink.
Marvel Comics
Why it matters: Rogue One remains one of the biggest hits of the modern Star Wars era. It’s only fitting to celebrate 10 years with a new story about its breakout main character.
Key moments:
From screen to page: The comic opens with panels directly adapting Cassian’s final moments of Andor and adds new context to the show’s finale.
Connective tissue: While Andor neatly runs directly into Rogue One, Benjamin Percy shows us that you can connect things even more directly.
Best buddies: As he always does, K-2SO steals the show. Percy brilliantly captures his relationship with Cassian, bouncing between fun quips and ruthless action.
Marvel Comics
The big picture: Wow… has it really been 10 years? It’s crazy to think that a film born from a single line in the original Opening Crawl has had such a continuing impact on Star Wars. Andor was proof that there is plenty more gold to mine from this character and setting, so it’s always great to see more.
This comic, however, is not Andor. The mission itself is an extension of Cassian’s intro in Rogue One, and it serves that purpose well. Beyond that though, it is light on substance. There’s just not much room left for character exploration in the Andor/Rogue One gap. It’s the classic kind of Star Wars EU story that takes place in between the cracks of canon, filling in details and lengthening a Wookieepedia page.
Benjamin Percy weaves a thrilling tale into this small space, and it’s wonderfully rendered by Luke Ross. As an anniversary special, it scratches the itch of seeing these characters again, and I assume the following four one-shots will follow in that function. Just don’t expect it to change the way you watch the film.
Our rating: Fair
What’s next: Jyn Erso is up next! Her one-shot in this anthology releases June 3rd.
For a deeper discussion of this issue, be sure to check out this week’s episode of The Cosmic Force podcast!
Oz Davis is a co-host of The Cosmic Force and Bounty Hunt at Youtini. He's kept up with every Canon release since 2014 and has a particular soft spot for lesser-known books like "Servants of the Empire." As part of Youtini's "Dad Batch," he's also developed an affinity for the multitude of Star Wars children's books, and he's always looking to expand his collection.
