Review – ‘The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents’ Issue #3 Serves Up Plenty of Cartoony Action

Something that Star Wars:Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents has nailed from the start is its tone. Replicating the goofy, wisecracking, and sometimes absurd antics of Clone Force 99, the series is perfect for fans of the animated series. It also helps that many other fan-favorites make a return.

 

The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents issue #3 keeps that streak alive with humor, intense action, and more guests. Alongside artist Reese Hannigan, inker Elisabetta D’Amico, and colorist Michael Atiyeh, each page is filled to the edge with color and excitement.

 

Spoilers below…

 

 

After the semi-reveal that the target the Bad Batch is tracking is Asajj Ventress, the squad works to capture her and Hunter, who is right on her tail. They intercept a message between her and Aurra Sing stating that they’ll meet on the watery planet of Doric Prime. It’s there that Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair will ambush the two and attempt to stop a handoff. But stopping them isn’t that simple, as Tech devises a plan instead to make a fake copy of the list that Ventress is handing off.

 

 

Penciler Reese Hannigan and colorist Michael Atiyeh continue to impress with large, detailed, and colorful panels that take up entire pages. There’s hardly any space that isn’t put to good use. And with the aqua backdrop and the surprise appearance of IG assassin droids, there are a lot of great action shots and underwater sequences worth stopping to look at.

 

However, this issue isn’t free from flaws, even on the visual side. Faces, especially with Aurra Sing and Asajj Ventress, can look oddly shaped and somewhat out of proportion. And story-wise, I think the Bad Batch’s plan of hacking into the list to replace it with a fake one is a little convoluted. Why can’t the Bad Batch just apprehend both Ventress and Sing first, then retrieve the list that way? Why do they have to perform a fake copy of the list and ruse Sing into thinking she has the real one?

 

It also falls into that classic Lucasfilm Animation trap of needing to include a large monster to ramp up tension. Yes, it makes for a cool visual. But it’s a running trope — especially in The Bad Batch series — where a big monster needs to appear, and I just rolled my eyes when I saw it again.

 

 

Granted, it’s still great to see Aurra Sing and Asajj Ventress kicking it. Although their appearances are a little short, it gets me excited to read these as I’m always wondering now who’s going to show up next. And like always, writer Michael Moreci manages to excellently capture the voices of the squad as they banter and nag on one another. Even though this series is somewhat inconsequential, as it serves primarily as a side quest for the Bad Batch, it’s still great to see them and some other surprise guests from The Clone Wars.

 

Score: 8/10

 

UP NEXT:

 

 

Thank you to Dark Horse for providing the review copy used for this post. Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents #3 is available for purchase at local comic book stores and digital store shelves.