Published: 18th-20th April 2025
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Artists: Steven Cummings (Pages 1-3, 13-14 & 20), Will Sliney (Pages 4-8, 11-12, 15 & 17-19), Shogo Aoki (Pages 7-10 & 16)
Colour Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Phil Noto
The synopsis;
Get ready to team up with Sebulba and go Beyond Victory!
Announcing Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset, the new experience in development at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm, exclusively for Meta Quest 3 and 3S headsets! Meet up-and-comer Volo Bolus as they join forces with the legendary podracer pilot Sebulba in this heart-pumping and engine-thrumping mixed reality experience. Set around the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Beyond Victory will feature an electrifying story and a variety of unique modes for players to enjoy.
Star Wars: Beyond Victory is currently in development for Meta Quest headsets – and fans in Tokyo will be among the first to experience it.
Plus, an original Marvel comic will delve into the prequel story for the experience and is available only as a giveaway at the ILM and Meta Quest booth during Star Wars Celebration Japan. Get your first look at the cover art by Phil Noto for Marvel’s Star Wars: Beyond Victory, written by Ethan Sacks, with interior illustrations by Will Sliney, Steven Cummings, and Shogo Aoki.
The review;
To start off, this comic was only available to attendees of Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 who visited the Meta Quest ILM booth. I was able to pick up a copy and couldn’t wait to jump in.
Well, who would be the best choice to write this comic? They need to be a master of writing Star Warstie-in comics for the Disney Parks, as well as the ability to bring the story to life. Yes, you guessed it, Ethan Sacks, writer of Galaxy’s Edge, Halcyon Legacy, and of course the amazing Bounty Huntersseries. And if it’s a tie-in with Sacks, Will Sliney can’t be far away either! This time Sacks and Sliney are joined by Steven Cummings and Shogo Aoki. I got to admit this line up got me majorly excited, so it was great fun to dive between the pages. Then for the cover, there is no better way to start a convention exclusive comic, than a Phil Noto cover! The artwork for this comic is just sublime and typical Noto; full of detail picking out all the main characters and strong colour choices.
The devious dug, Sebulba, is back! After his fall from grace at the Boonta Eve pod race, he is now running his own team and trying to claw his way back from the lower levels of the sport back to the top. But, with the help of his sidekick, Lunda, he is prepared to bend the rules to climb the ladders once more. Their team is without a pilot for their racer, and they head out on a scouting mission to see if there are any candidates who will fit in.
While walking through the bar to the track viewing area, the dug turns a meeting with a fan of his. But a misplaced word from the fan ends in an altercation for which Sebulba, in typical style, manages to slip away from it all while the fan, bar patrons and Bossk get involved in the ensuing brawl.
Volo Bolus is a podracer in the race. Racing alone, after losing his co-rider some time ago. His partner Pyta was a great friend during his childhood on Malastare. Getting into many scrapes together on their swoop bikes. Accompanied by Deland, they are celebrating their latest escape from security droids, Pyta confesses of the illness that will cut her life short. They had dreamt of racing pods together and going onto great things, but this news is devastating for them all.
During the race, Bolus vows to succeed for the memory of Pyta and the promises he made her. The race has all the usual skullduggery and some fantastic new designs of pods and racers. But in typical fashion the race does not proceed as planned. Bolus’ binder coil starts to fail, meaning the engines are no longer linked together. In an Anakin Skwalker-esque manoeuvre he leaves his seat and attempts to repair the coil.
An astounded Sebulba watches on and heads down to trackside to take a closer look. Meanwhile, the bar brawl continues, with a Wookiee now in the centre of the melee. Unimpressed on lookers the Tonnika sisters avoid being taken out by a flying Rodian and Hondo Ohnaka celebrates winning a bet, not on the race, but on the Wookiee winning the brawl!
Bolus somehow manages to repair the coil, but his race isn’t over yet. With his pod repaired and his promise to Pyta in his mind he guns for the pod in second place. He resorts to some underhand tactics to take down his rival, but crosses the line in second place, just behind the winner.
Sebulba and Lunda may have just found their next pod racer. But is there something else untoward about this new team? With Sebulba involved, I’m sure that’s a “yes” on every level. I guess I’ll have to get the game when it’s released to find out!
I loved the way Sacks managed to pull in some really cool cameos of characters linked to Galaxy’s Edge. The Tonnika sisters being in the bar was pretty awesome and a great homage to the cantina scenes of A New Hope. I particularly enjoyed the contrasting styles of artwork. Using 3 different artists really did add something to the story. This allowed Rachelle Rosenberg to utilise different colour palettes for each artist, and this brought a further depth to the illustrations.
I was lucky enough to play the demo of Beyond Victory while at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 and I was massively impressed by the detail. I’m no big-time gamer and it was the first time I have played a VR game, but I could really see how this comic and its story ties it all together. While talking to the ILM Meta Quest team they were so excited that Sacks had been put forward as the person to write this. And as for the creative team assembled to help bring it all together was a magical selection. Between them, they really have caught the essence of the game, and I could imagine, or even hope for a further tie-in mini-series centred around this storyline in the future.
Overall, a great comic and tie-in to the game. The aftermarket for this comic has gone crazy. Some people are asking for more than $100 a copy on some auction sites which is sad as the comic was given away. Hopefully there will be a second printing released at retail by Marvel Comics in the future.
Availability;
Star Wars: Beyond Victory #1 is a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics. It was free for attendees at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 who visited the ILM Meta Quest Booth.
The post Comic Review: Beyond Victory #1 (One-Shot) appeared first on Jedi News.
