Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke: "Fail. Or Kill It." by Tom Taylor

Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke: "Fail. Or Kill It." written by Tom Taylor, illustrated by Leonard Kirk, Cory Hamscher, and Guru-eFX

     I feel like this one was hyped up beyond what it actually was, but it was still pretty darn spectacular! Even if it did lean heavily on the story of Kylo Ren in place of Snoke… A lot of the hype surrounded us seeing Kylo and Snoke traveling to Dagobah for Kylo to enter the Dark Side cave!! And it was fascinating. Instead of Yoda's saying to Luke that what is inside the cave is "Only what you take with you." Snoke says to Kylo that what is inside is "Only what you've been too weak to bury." Very interesting dichotomy here in that Yoda's admonition focuses on self-reflection and learning and Snoke's admonition focuses on power and denial. Curious that he would consider burying something equivalent to doing away with that something...I feel like burying it leaves the possibility that it may eventually rear its ugly head again... Of course, there's the whole idea that Snoke wanted an apprentice who was super conflicted between the light and the dark so perhaps burying things was a way to keep him unstable and unbalanced....and in his thrall. 

     So the name of the issue is "Fail. Or Kill It." which goes along quite well with Kylo's journey into the Dark Side cave. He is confronted with apparitions that he must either kill and rise in Snoke's praise, or succumb to and fall to Snoke's reprimand. Snoke says as much in the comic itself.

     I've already gotten super ahead of myself, but let's back up a bit. We start in the Rarlech system--where we see Snoke levitating Kylo over the side of a very tall cliff face (see below). He asks Kylo if he's afraid and of course Kylo says, "No." Snoke's response is that of course he's afraid, and he follows this with, "Good. Powerless men often turn to anger. They lash out blindly with their rage." (I love how Snoke continually says, "Good" in this issue--super reminiscent of good ole Uncle Palpy and Anakin!!!) Snoke desires to see Kylo use his fear and turn it into rage to, in this case, prevent himself from falling to his death. But there is of course a catch. Snoke continues with "But powerful beings can harness their rage. Use it to strike. For we either strike...or we fall." This last bit is the moment in which Snoke releases Kylo from his levitating grip and allows him to fall to the craggy rocks below. This quote sounds an awful lot like how Snoke referred to Hux--"a rabid cur" who had his uses. Apparently the Supreme Leader had no love for really anybody at all.

     Then we arrive on Dagobah after a flight on a super sweet ship!!! (see below--I don't think it's Kylo Ren's command shuttle, the wings look shorter and the body seems different. Perhaps this is Snoke's ride.) Snoke really digs into Kylo, showing respect for Luke and a longing for him to have been his student instead (see the panel below), going so far as to say that the galaxy would have already been his had Luke been at his side instead of Kylo. Dang! If I were Kylo, I would be pissed.

     And so, as mentioned above, Kylo enters the Dark Side cave and it turns out he must face a pacifistic Luke who does not want to fight him. He must strike him down as Snoke calls out, "Strike against the Light Side within you." But, things take a turn as soon as Kylo thinks the visions are over and, SPOILER ALERT because I really want to discuss this briefly, Han and Leia appear. He is coaxed to kill them but cannot--he slashes up the tree roots in their place. (See image above for how stricken and concerned he looks. It's as if he simply cannot fathom killing either one of them. His gaining the oomph to go through with killing Han must have taken a lot of work and effort. And we see in The Last Jedi how he's still not capable of going through with killing his mother.) 

     Strangely enough, Snoke is acting as if Kylo has indeed killed his vision parents. This displays a very early blinding to Kylo's true intentions and desires. I don't know what it is that keeps Snoke from knowing his apprentice's deepest truths but somehow he is not able to vividly foresee Kylo's actions like he claims to be able to--as we see so clearly when Kylo kills Snoke in The Last Jedi just as Snoke is assuming he is going after Rey. I desperately want to know more about this relationship and its twistedness. Who the heck is Snoke?!? How the heck did he get his mitts on Kylo?!? And why, if he's so darn powerful, can he not see what's coming when it has to do with his apprentice?!? GIVE ME MORE Lucasfilm!! This just barely whetted my appetite. Talk about more questions!

     Overall this was an absolutely fascinating read and all I can say is that it left me super hungry for more!