Review by Jesse Schedeen

Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1 Review

Suffering is his lot in life.

As far as the burning mysteries of Star Wars: The Force Awakens go, "Why does C-3PO have a red arm?" doesn't exactly top the list. A cynic might accuse Disney of including that visual shake-up solely so that they'd be able to charge fans more money to learn the answer elsewhere. Regardless of the motivation behind C-3PO's minor (and short-lived) makeover, Marvel has come through with a belated but surprisingly enjoyable explanation.

Star Wars: C-3PO Special #1 serves as a prequel to The Force Awakens, as Threepio and a ragtag band of fellow droids are dispatched on an important mission to aid the Resistance.  That mission quickly devolves into a battle for survival as these droids contend with every threat the harsh desert landscape can throw at them. That's about the extent of the plot. Thankfully, writer James Robinson doesn't attempt to take on too much in his script. The focus is on fleshing out Threepio as a character, not adding new layers to the wider Star Wars universe. The script is just ambitious enough to suit the standalone, done-in-one format of this issue.

Threepio has devolved into a fairly unpopular character in recent years, thanks in large part to his shrill and obnoxious portrayal in Attack of the Clones. Robinson is able to find a better balance with his robotic protagonist here. Threepio is still his usual whiny, neurotic self, but not to the point where he loses his charm as an unlikely, unwitting hero. The script emphasizes Threepio's relationships with his fellow droids and their musings on the nature of sentience and free will. In one particularly memorable scene, Threepio reflects on his long life and the traces of memories he retains about his early adventures. There's a real sense of Threepio as an actual character with motivations and desires, not just a rusty bucket of bolts and statistics about asteroid field navigation.


Compared to the rest of Marvel's lineup of Star Wars creators, artist Tony Harris brings a very unique approach to the franchise. His work is certainly detailed, but it's also much more stylized than we've seen from books like Star wars and Darth Vader. The heavy black lines and surreal use of colors inject elements of horror and even psychedelia into the Star Wars universe. It's exciting to see familiar character reinterpreted through that lens. Harris' action scenes are a little flat and stiff in their execution, but given the fact that Threepio and his friends aren't exactly the most mobile creatures, it's always possible that was an intentional choice.

The saga of C-3PO's red arm isn't one that necessarily needed to be told. The answer certainly won't change how fans view the events of The Force Awakens in any meaningful way. But it was a story worth telling all teh same, if only for this rare opportunity to see Threepio become the hero of his own story and develop bonds with his fellow droids. There's more going on beneath that gold casing than many people give him credit for.

The Verdict

Star Wars Special: C-3PO is far more than a pointless tie-in comic that reveals an inconsequential secret about the Star Wars universe. It's a well-crafted story of survival, one that treats Threepio and his fellow droids as real characters with real motivations, And it offers a much different visual interpretation of the Star Wars franchise than we've seen from Marvel's other Star Wars comics.

Well-crafted and visually distinctive, Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1 is far more than a pointless tie-in comic.
  • Surprisingly deep characterzation
  • Treats C-3PO with gravitas
  • Stylish approach to Star Wars universe
  • Stiff action scenes
Buying Guide Powered by IGN Deals