In this review of The Last Starfighter #3, Alex has to deal with a situation back on Earth and Naxos reveals her motivation behind her hatred of the Last Starfighter.
The Last Starfighter #3
Writer: Deric Hughes, Ben Raab
Artist: Willi Roberts
Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
Variant Cover: Razzah
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: September 23, 2026
This review contains spoilers
During the training exercise in The Last Starfighter #2, Alex loses one of his cadets and is surrounded by Blackstars. As The Last Starfighter #3 opens, Alex is still unable to fight back because the Gunstar’s weapons are down, but Grig gets the engines fired up, allowing them to escape back to Rylos.
Back on Earth, a stranger who looks like a government agent comes to the Starlite Starbrite trailer court asking Louis if he’s seen anything weird lately. Louis hurries back home and alerts Alex of the stranger.
Alex and Maggie return to Earth to check out the situation, but they can find no signs of the mystery man. They get to visit with family and friends for a short time before heading back to Rylos.
While Alex and Maggie are away, the cadets go to a bar to mourn their fallen comrade, Tyborus. Xyla and Breeta continue their arguments and end up fighting, leading to the arrest of all four cadets.
As the issue comes to a close, Naxos watches a holographic recording of her son’s last moments on Xur’s ship, right before it crashes into a moon. In her grief, she vows to kill Maggie as revenge against Alex.
Analysis
Writers Benjamin Raab and Deric Hughes finally give us the reason why Naxos is dead set on destroying Alex. She wants revenge for the loss of her child, which is understandable, as grief can be a powerful motivator. Does it make things right? Not really, but Raab and Hughes are building this story with direct connections to the original movie’s story and this fits right in.
It’s great to see they’re making an effort to work in the Starlite Starbright characters, exploring Alex’s longing for home. We get a touching moment between Alex and his mom when they discuss his doubts about being able to lead the Legion. She reassures him, in a motherly way, that Alex was chosen for a reason.
Keeping with the mothering theme, Maggie gets to visit with her grandmother. This allows her to get a better understanding of what’s going on with Centauri. Maggie finds out that her grandfather had similar PTSD difficulties after the Korean War. This will undoubtedly be examined further in upcoming issues, but the way the writers keep the flow of information balanced is excellent.
The cadets are still a mess, specifically Xyla and Breeta. You’d figure after their actions on the training run led to the death of their fellow cadet they’d settle down a little, but that’s definitely not the case. Their arrest adds another layer to an already complicated situation. Alex has his hands full with this bunch.
Finally, the stranger who’s snooping around and gets some video of the Gunstar leaving Earth is intriguing. The Gunstar doesn’t detect him as a Zando-Zan, so we can assume he’s a human. My guess is he’s either a government agent or an investigator looking to make some money. His story is set to continue in the upcoming The Last Starfighter: Beta #1.
The artwork remains solid and highly detailed. Willi Roberts fills each panel with well-drawn characters who are full of expression. You can ignore the word bubbles and know what’s going on just by following the illustrations. Francesco Segala’s colors are also consistent with what we’ve seen in the first two issues. Each page and panel use a range of colors to highlight the details Roberts draws, making even the quiet moments look great.
Final Thoughts
The Last Starfighter #3 does not suffer from a letdown in the excitement levels of the new series. In fact, the story is now getting more settled in and establishing itself as a worthy follow up to the classic movie. Have fun, comic lovers!
