The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Sana Starros #5, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The galactic conflicts within the Star Wars universe have often divided families. The Skywalker Saga centers on Anakin Skywalker's descent to the dark side as the rest of his family fights against the Empire and is mirrored by his grandson Ben Solo's fall and redemption in the sequel trilogy. While the Skywalker family is the most obvious example, many other families were torn apart by the Empire and later the First Order's rise to power.
The Star Wars: Sana Starros miniseries delves into the rift between Sana and her twin brother Phel that has only grown deeper now that Phel has joined the Empire. However, the ending of Star Wars: Sana Starros #5 (by Justina Ireland, Pere Pérez, Dono Sánchez-Almara, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo and Travis Lanham) shows that Phel might not be acting of his own accord. Instead, he might have been brainwashed into staying with the Empire. Examining both the feud and the miniseries' ending twist reveals that the Empire still practices mind control and considers the Starros clan a formidable enemy that they need to control.
Sana and Phel Starros' Star Wars Feud Extends Back to Their Youth
At first, Phel is a background figure in the Star Wars: Sana Starros miniseries. However, from the first mention of Phel in Star Wars: Sana Starros #1, Sana's animosity becomes clear. When her cousin Aryssha asks Sana about Phel, she proclaims, "Phel made his choice. [...] When I said he was dead to me, I meant it." The title character's unwillingness to forgive directly contrasts with the rest of her family, who still believe that Phel can be saved.
Phel exacerbated the family feud by stealing Avon Starros' research for the Empire, but the twins' rift did not start with this choice. In issue #4, Phel explains to Aryssha that he felt abandoned by Sana when she attended university. His explanation of his choice to join the Empire is interspersed with flashback images of Phel feeling lost and getting arrested before finally making his fateful decision.
Notably, the art style shifts during these panels. Pere Pérez illustrates most of the characters in Phel's flashback in silhouette, and Dono Sánchez-Almara uses a sparse color palette. While these art choices distinguish Phel's flashback from the rest of the comic, earlier flashbacks in the miniseries do not follow the same art style or conventions. By making Phel's flashback unique, Pérez and Sánchez-Almara visually foreshadow the later reveal that Phel's memories have been tampered with. The silhouetted figures could likely represent missing spaces in his memory due to Imperial brainwashing.
The rest of the miniseries provides ample evidence that the Starros family did not actually abandon Phel. The reason why Phel was able to steal Avon's research in the first place was because he was welcomed into the Starros' family compound with open arms despite the fact that the majority of his family was against his decision to join the Empire. In issue #5, Sana reveals that she actually tried to help Phel escape from the Imperial Academy, but he refused to go with her. Thus, the siblings' rift stems from them both feeling abandoned by their twin, but Imperial manipulation also plays a role.
Phel Starros' Brainwashing Illustrates the Empire's Quest for Control
While the twins' rift seems to stem from their different choices, the miniseries also implies that Phel's disconnect from his family is the result of Imperial brainwashing. On the final page of issue #5, Phel is visibly distressed, mulling over Sana's reveal that she tried to save him on Lothal. Pérez's layout of the panels at odd angles visually reflects Phel's scattered mind.
In the escape pod, Phel has another flashback, but both he and Sana are primarily in shadows. However, Pere Pérez includes more details in Sana and Phel's images, hinting that Phel is starting to remember details that he previously lost. Phel's attempts to remember are interrupter by Cerasus Ehllo, his commanding officer and Aryssha's toxic husband. Both men are illustrated in shadows in the scene, suggesting that Phel is once more being affected by his Imperial brainwashing.
Brainwashing has been an Imperial tactic even before the rise of the Empire. The most widespread brainwashing was Order 66, where every clone was implanted with a chip that would cause them to turn on the Jedi. Secret projects like the Empire's base at Mount Tantiss also likely included further attempts to perfect this mind control. Later, the First Order would also use brainwashing on its troopers by training them from birth to be loyal fighters for their cause.
The Empire's specific choice to use brainwashing on Phel shows that they were determined to keep him under their command because of his connections to the Starros family and the possibility that he could bring them more of the family's relics (such as Avon Starros' research) that could further Imperial goals throughout the galaxy. The Empire's desire to take away even its loyal soldiers' free will shows that brainwashing was likely far more prevalent under the cruel regime than previously implied.
Overall, Phel's choice to join the Empire seems to be the catalyst for the Starros' twins feud, but the Star Wars: Sana Starros miniseries reveals that Imperial brainwashing is the true reason for Phel's choice. The Empire brainwashed Phel to erase his memory of his sister's attempt to free him from the Imperial Academy, and it is likely that his brainwashing also includes more extreme loyalty to the Empire. As the saga continues, Sana and her family might actually be able to save Phel from his trauma, but they first have to learn the truth about what he has endured.