In this review of The Last Starfighter #1, we return to Rylos, where Starfighter Alex Rogan must rebuild the Star League to defend the Frontier against the Ko-Dan Armada.
The Last Starfighter #1
Writer: Deric Hughes, Ben Raab
Artist: Willi Roberts
Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
Variant Covers: Razzah, David Lafuente, Stephanie Hans
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: July 1, 2026
This review contains spoilers
The Last Starfighter #1 opens with Alex Rogan giving us a recap of the events from the 1984 movie. In the recap, we learn how he becomes the Last Starfighter in a war against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada.
The Ko-Dan fleet is now in shambles and Xur’s location is unknown, as he escaped the battle at the end of the movie. Alex and his navigator, Grig, are the only remaining members of the Starfighter Legion. There are many worlds still in need of protection and the two are tasked by the leader of Rylos, Enduran, to rebuild the Star League.
Fast forward six months and the frontier defenses and command center repairs are progressing, but won’t be ready for a few more months. New Gunstars, the Star League’s fighter ships, can’t be built because there’s not enough scrap material, although Grig has a plan to build other ships.
Centauri, creator of the Excalibur Test used to identify potential Starfighters, shows up with an alert for a possible new recruit, but he needs someone to come along. With Alex and Grig tied up on Rylos, he turns to Alex’s girlfriend, Maggie, to make the trip with him to Kaisu.
While Centauri and Maggie head off for their recruit, Alex heads to Black Mountain Prison to talk to Xyla, a prisoner who passed the Excalibur Test long ago, but was never recruited due to the Ko-Dan invasion. She agrees to return to Rylos with Alex, but as they arrive, Grig has news that someone is intercepting the Excalibur Test signals and is using them to locate and kill Starfighter candidates.
Centauri and Maggie successfully recruit Hanu on Kaisu, but are interrupted by someone called Naxos Ko-Ma, leader of the Blackstars. She orders an assault on the group, ending the issue.
Analysis
Full disclosure. I’m a big fan of The Last Starfighter movie (and I’m guessing many of you are, too, if you’re reading this). I’ve seen it numerous times through the years, I own the Arrow Video blu-ray, and I listen to the movie’s score on occasion. To say that I was excited to find out that Mad Cave Studios was giving us a series picking up immediately after the movie ended is an understatement. I’ve always wanted a sequel movie, but it looks like this comic series will have to do.
It’s easy to tell that writers Benjamin Raab and Deric Hughes are fans, as well, because they immediately make you feel like you’re back in the Starfighter universe. Their attention to detail pays tribute to the movie, but also serves to move the story forward. This doesn’t mean you’re required to know the movie by heart to enjoy this story, though. New readers are given enough information to understand what’s going on while getting to know the characters and settings.
With only a relatively short period of time covered in The Last Starfighter #1, we don’t get a tremendous amount of character development, but with Alex now in charge of rebuilding the Starfighter Legion, I suspect that we’ll see a great deal of growth from the young Starfighter. Although Grig is a navigator, he’s got more experience with the Star League and I’m really going to enjoy watching him mentor Alex through all of this.
Centauri was such a fun character in the movie and he’s exactly the same on the pages. While he might come across as only interested in his business relations, he really does care about what happens with Alex and all of Rylos.
While we don’t get to find out what’s happened to Xur yet, I have no doubt we will soon enough. For now, Alex will have his hands full with this new Ko-Dan Blackstars leader.
The pacing of The Last Starfighter #1 is tight and efficient. Raab and Hughes pack in a lot of story without making it feel weighed down and it’s the perfect bridge between the movie and what’s to come.
Willi Roberts’s artwork and Francesco Segala’s colors are excellent. Linework and shading are solid with characters who are drawn to be recognizable and emotive. We don’t get any major Gunstar space battles, but the couple of times it’s drawn do look good.
Final Thoughts
The Last Starfighter #1 is the sequel that fans have been looking forward to for years. It reunites us with familiar characters and locations while advancing the story with new Starfighters and enemies. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, check out this title if you’re a sci-fi fan. Have fun, comic lovers!
