– Spoiler Review –
Ended “Yoda’s Secret War,” has. Not soon enough, it was. Star Wars #30 closes out Yoda’s arc just as oddly and shrug-worthy as it all started.
The longer this arc went on, the more I began to wonder what passing this story through time would accomplish for Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Luke, as the whole interwoven narrative was the real crux of “Yoda’s Secret War.” If anything, I’d say the lesson about being humble before achieving any type of power as a Jedi would’ve almost served Obi-Wan and his years in solitude better than Luke at this point in his life. I only say that because this issue practically upends the importance of the lesson by ending with Yoda on Dagobah, realizing Luke’s success on the stonepower world from afar, because it teases the far more vital and direct lessons Luke will get from Yoda when they actually meet. As nice as his lesson was, passed down by Obi-Wan, it’ll pale in comparison (think Yoda’s size compared to a giant blue living mountain creature’s size) to everything Yoda will directly relate to him in the swamps of Dagobah. Even if they hadn’t ended with a glimpse at Yoda in his exile, the fact that we went through these 5 issues to just get that lesson felt more like trekking through Dagobah’s swamps than the grassy plains of Naboo, and the whole war with the stonepower people just left me with a big shrug. Heck, Luke just kind of stood there and took the rock’s side and Garro suddenly realized (over 30 years later) he was the only thing stopping the mountain creatures from living again. 30 years and the guy couldn’t figure it out? One big giant mountain-sized shrug from me.
Like I said in last issue’s review, I don’t hate this arc or any of these issues, but overall this story just didn’t work for me on several different levels, as the narrative within a narrative framing conceit felt too awkward and forced the entire time, the whole planet and its problems were a little too far out for my liking, and it seemed to promise so much more and didn’t deliver (like hey, here’s a shot of Qui-Gon…but that’s all you’ll get OR we’ll tease that the ineffectual-so-far Scar Squadron has Threepio and Artoo went to rescue him…but we won’t be returning to that story thread at all). Since “The Last Flight of the Harbinger,” the only really enjoyable issue of the Star Wars series has been its Annual #2 and it’s been middling since. I mentioned I felt like this series was having some woes in my 2016 year-in-review and so far it hasn’t righted the ship just yet. Considering this series gets thrown into an exciting crossover with the Doctor Aphra series called The Screaming Citadel, it will probably be enjoyable while the crossover is taking place but then it’ll be very interesting to see how things go once it’s on its own again. Will the tale of getting Threepio and Artoo back (I’m assuming it won’t be part of TSC) safe from Scar Squadron be enough to make those villains effective and be a return to the enjoyable romps this series was known for back in 2015? We’ll find out later this year, but until then, look forward to The Screaming Citadel!
I’ve been a giant fan of Salvador Larroca and Edgar Delgado and their work is enjoyable again through this issue and the entire Yoda arc. If we ever get a whole story centered around Yoda’s time on Dagobah in the comics, I’d vote for these two to do the work because it was an excellent tease of how they could bring such a mythical place to life. However, I do have one knock against them this issue, as Luke looked glaringly odd compared to both Luke as a whole and the more organic look of Garro, almost as if Luke was cut from the films and Garro was drawn normally. Otherwise, solid work again and I’m happy they’ll be on hand for the Star Wars parts of The Screaming Citadel.
Here is one other thing:
This video by YouTuber Wayward Jedi finds a way to make this whole arc make sense and definitely worth a watch, especially if you decide to skip this arc.
Well, maybe you’ve enjoyed this arc, but for me “Yoda’s Secret War” should’ve just been kept secret.
+ Yoda on Dagobah was a cool image to see….
– ….though it undermines any real importance from whatever lesson Luke was supposed to take from all of this adventure.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Star Wars
Jason Aaron – Skywalker Strikes (#1-6) | Old Ben’s Journals | Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon (#8-12) | Rebel Jail (#16-19) | The Last Flight of the Harbinger (#21-25) | Yoda’s Secret War: #26 | #27 | #28 | #29 | Out Among the Stars (#33-37) | Retrospective on Jason Aaron’s Run (#1-37)
Kieron Gillen – The Ashes of Jedha (#38-43) | Mutiny at Mon Cala (#44-49)
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | Annual: #1
The Screaming Citadel (crossover of Doctor Aphra and Star Wars on-goings)
Poe Dameron
Black Squadron (#1-3) | Lockdown (#4-6) | The Gathering Storm (#7-13) | Legend Lost (#14 – 16) | War Stories (#17-19) | Legend Found (#20-25)
Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-10)
Darth Vader
Vader (#1-6) | Shadows and Secrets (#7-12) | The Shu-Torun War (#16-19) | End of Games (#20-25) | Annual: #1
Vader Down (crossover of Star Wars and Darth Vader on-goings)
Kanan
The Last Padawan (#1-6) | First Blood (#7-12)
Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu (miniseries)
Captain Phasma (miniseries)
Darth Maul (miniseries)
Han Solo (miniseries)
Rogue One (adaptation)
Obi-Wan & Anakin (miniseries)
Shattered Empire (miniseries)
Princess Leia (miniseries)
Lando (miniseries)
Chewbacca (miniseries)
Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir (miniseries)