The Jedi are central to the Star Wars mythology, embedded into American popular culture. It’s weird then to consider how rarely Lucasfilm shows what the life of a Jedi and their role in the Star Wars universe was during the supposedly “more civilized age” that predated the Empire’s rise, back when the elegance of a lightsaber was favored over the clumsy randomness of blasters. Star Wars: Jedi Knights, the new Marvel comics ongoing series from writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Madibek Musabekov, with colors by Luis Guerrero, seeks to change that by spotlighting the adventures of individual Jedi in the days before the so-called “phantom menace” of the resurgent Sith began to make itself known.
While the basic premise of Star Wars: Jedi Knights is to focus on different pairings of Jedi in each issue, Star Wars: Jedi Knights #1 serves readers with an introductory roll call, as many Jedi ranging from the iconic (Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi) to the lesser known (Ki-Adi-Mundi, Shaak Ti) to the newly created (Berem Khana, Seera Longa) embark on a shared mission to the Outer Rim planets of Vekura and Syrinx Prime, where violent conflict has broken out. With such a large cast, we don’t get to these characters outside of brief first impressions. However, their basic personalities come through well enough with the assumption that they’ll be explored more deeply in future issues, even if they all share a weirdly similar sense of dry humor.
Their mission is peace, but achieving peace isn’t a simple matter. At first, Vekura’s attack on Syrinx Prime is said to be unprovoked. A little exploration by the Jedi reveals that Syrinx Prime is hiding a prison camp of Vekuran hostages. While I can’t possibly know what went through Guggenheim’s mind as he penned the script for Star Wars: Jedi Knights #1, it’s hard not to read this plot as an extrapolation of real-world events in Gaza into the Star Wars universe, but at a frustratingly simplified and opaque level. The issue never lets readers in on the shared history of Syrinx Prime and Vekura or what motivation might have led to the taking of these Vekuran hostages, instead repeatedly brushing off questions about what caused the conflict with glib comments that amount to “it’s complicated, let’s not get into it,” which conveniently absolves the Jedi, and thus the narrative, of having to assign either side the label of “aggressor” or “oppressor,” which makes the whole premise feel cheap and even distasteful.
Even within the fiction universe of the story, the Jedi’s actions are questionable and blunt. Many Star Wars fans have bemoaned, rightly or wrongly, the besmirching of the Jedi Order’s good name in recent works like The Acolyte and The Last Jedi. One might hope that Star Wars: Jedi Knight would provide a more heroic and uncompromised vision of why the galaxy’s denizens considered the Jedi to be beacons of hope and justice for generations. Instead, we get something more questionable, though the issue doesn’t acknowledge that fact.
At one point, a recently knighted Jedi attempts to end the conflict using a Jedi mind trick on one faction’s leader. Setting aside questions about how effective this strategy would be (Would the conflict not resume as soon as the mind-whammy wears off, or are the planetary leaders expected to sing lasting, binding treaties while under Jedi influence, which is even worse?), is a much darker use of the Jedi’s Force abilities than simple momentary persuasion done by Obi-Wan Kenobi in certain films. That Qui-Gon Jinn – a veteran Jedi by now, labeled here as a “maverick” and long depicted as a Jedi willing to push back against established Jedi wisdom – is sitting there as this takes place and doesn’t question any of it only speaks to the idea that Jedi Knights’ creators believe this to be a just use of power. The notion is backed up by the Jedi unilaterally ending the violence and assuming that will end the conflict, which is not necessarily the same thing, it’s impossible to know what this means for either side with the scant information the issue provides.
Madibek doesn’t do much in the issue to distinguish himself stylistically from other artists working under Marvel’s current house style, but he does show some strong storytelling chops. The standout sequence is during a scene of hand-to-hand combat. The page is packed tightly with panels, building tension and conveying the quickness of the action. The layout and panels then expand greatly after the page-turn as a decisive blow creates some space between assailants and winds the conflict down. Given a Jedi Knights series is likely to have plenty of similar fight scenes, it’s encouraging to see the artist capable of bringing them to life.
I enjoy Star Wars, and I’m especially a sucker for Jedi nonsense. That’s all I want from Star Wars: Jedi Knights – give me entertaining, episodic adventures of these telekinetic space monks and I’ll be happy. And that’s exactly what future issues of the series promise, with certain muddy premonitions of the future lending an extra air of mystery to a unifying threat growing in the background. Star Wars: Jedi Knights #1’s unworthy parallels to real-world tragedy taint the experience in ways that hopefully won’t be replicated, but it at least succeeds in laying the fundamental groundwork for the promised adventures to come.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Published by Marvel Comics
On March 5, 2025
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Madibek Musabekov
Colors by Luis Guerrero
Letters by Clayton Cowles
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