– Spoiler Review –
Begun, the Age of Star Wars maxiseries, has! Covering three eras of Star Wars storytelling, with stories focused on heroes and villains from each, it all starts in the prequel era with Age of Republic! Our first stop in this “Age” is with a hero unlike most others, the unorthodox Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn! As far as a series starter goes, Jody Houser’s Age of Republic: Qui-Gon Jinn #1 “Balance” might not be the most rousing of starts despite being quite enjoyable, but it helps set expectations for the series going forward.
After mediating a dispute unravels, Qui-Gon Jinn flees the planet with a ruler he’s sworn to protect, but points she raises about the Jedi and his mission brings forth questions Qui-Gon has been ruminating on for some time. After a little discussion with Yoda, Qui-Gon goes on a vision-quest for guidance from the Force, and it’s this vision and Qui-Gon’s reactions to it which hold the most interest for me in the issue. The ruler calls the Jedi cowards for running and not staying and fighting, as her perception of the Jedi, and that of most of the public, is they are warriors. This bothers Qui-Gon, especially as the Jedi Order and the Republic become even more intertwined, hence his mission to mediate for the ruler in the first place, with more and more people seeing the Order as the government’s tool, not conduits of the Force. He begins to wonder if the Order is heading down a path they can’t return from and decides to trust in the Force for answers, like Qui-Gon is wont to do, which takes him to an uninhabited planet where he encounters an ecosystem slowly being corrupted by the dark side.
His peaceful meditation in the heart of the darkness on the planet restores balance to the world, while his vision confirms his concerns and reaffirms his stance on his own code of listening to the Living Force, as we see him in The Phantom Menace. His vision begins with the dark side of the planet rising up to consume him and he meets it with force, striking it down, only for the vision to reveal the dead bodies of his attackers are those of his fellow Jedi. Like Yoda in Star Wars Rebels admits, the Jedi had fallen to the dark side in the war, consumed by the very thing they swore to protect others against, and Qui-Gon sees a very real representation of that in his vision. When he emerges, balance is restored to the ecosystem due to his non-violent actions/not getting involved, an obvious allusion to how the Jedi should’ve approached the Clone Wars, once again reminding us that Qui-Gon, though a maverick, had the right idea all along. Speaking of, this issue feels like it’s mainly just a reminder of Qui-Gon Jinn’s differing ideals, as it doesn’t really impart anything new on the character, despite its rock solid characterization. I’ve been dying for Qui-Gon content for years so I came away happy simply because it’s more Qui-Gon, but those looking for more substantial stories about him might come away disappointed with the issue, as it doesn’t cover content far more rife with intrigue, like his time under a Jedi Master Dooku or how he got started down the path to meeting the Force Priestesses to learn how to come back as a Force Ghost. This was a one-shot comic, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise it didn’t dive deeper into the character, or cover some big event like I’m sure 2019’s Master & Apprentice will do instead, so a good lesson to take away from this first issue of the Age of Star Wars maxiseries is how the issues within it will be similar in scope/depth of content, so don’t go in expecting big things all the time and you’ll likely be able to enjoy these a bit more. I still enjoyed the issue, regardless of the depth of its content, but that’s because I’m an unashamed Qui-Gon fan, so a better test will be next week’s Darth Maul #1.
I didn’t initially see it until I started writing this review, but there a few pointed, important parallels between The Phantom Menace and Qui-Gon Jinn #1, of which this issue takes place prior. There are the mundane parallels, like Qui-Gon jumping out of a bad situation onto a ramp of a ship piloted by Obi-Wan this issue much like his escape from Maul on Tatooine in the film, but the more profound are far more important. Like TPM, Qui-Gon has been sent to mediate a dispute, and much like the film, it takes a turn for the worst here. The evil side of both disputes needs either the death of the leader or her coerced signature to make their actions legal, so Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan flee the planet with the ruler, hoping to help said ruler’s case with the Republic on Coruscant. Qui-Gon’s staunch stance on the Jedi’s involvement in such disputes is already part of his own code, but the events here and his vision solidifies it, leading to his quote in TPM, “I can only protect you, I cannot fight a war for you.” By making the issue “rhyme” with TPM, it offers an easy comparison for readers to latch onto, while illuminating Houser’s point more brightly.
Jody Houser is finally at the helm of original content and I couldn’t be more excited! Her takes on Qui-Gon and Yoda were rather spot-on, as it conveyed a sense of their friendship/history, but also of their divide over the course the Jedi are taking, with them at least being able to agree that balance in the Force is the most important goal. The rhyming with TPM was a brilliant idea, even if it was by coincidence, though not learning the outcome of Princess Th’er of the Wood and her dispute with the Metal Clan of her homeworld seemed like an odd choice, even if it was obviously not the focus of the issue. The art team consisted of Cory Smith (pencils), Walden Wong (inks), Java Tartaglia (colors), with Travis Lanham as letterer. Smith and Wong are new to me and I really enjoyed their work during the vision scene, as I felt like it really thrived in that fantastic environment, and the character drawings were original and didn’t mangle the faces, while the opening action stuff was maybe a little too chaotic. Tartaglia’s colors also thrived in the vision scene, though his work gave the final panel the perfect glittering night sense to Coruscant. Tom Groneman is Assistant Editing the series.
Here are a few other things:
- The Qui-Gon Jinn article at the end of the issue, by Glenn Greenberg, was a neat little addition that covered the breath of the character’s story succinctly. I look forward to these in the following issues, as while it might cover information some readers already know, it’s a great feature for those not as versed in Qui-Gon’s story and behind-the-scenes minutia.
- I had an inkling these wouldn’t dive that deep into characters after reading the solicits for the Obi-Wan #1 issue next month, as it looks to retread familiar ground, much like Qui-Gon Jinn #1 does to some extent.
- Speaking of the solicits, here’s the preview of who and what the series will cover: December 2018: Qui-Gon #1 | Darth Maul #1 / January 2019: Obi-Wan #1 | Jango Fett #1 | Special #1 / February 2019: Anakin Skywalker #1 | Count Dooku #1 / March 2019: Padme Amidala #1 | General Grievous #1
The Age of Republic gets off to a solid enough start in Qui-Gon Jinn #1, and despite it not offering a story with more depth, it’s a fun issue with some good ideas that sets the stage for this “Age” and the “Ages” after it.
+ Qui-Gon’s vision
+ Characterizations
+ “Rhyming” with The Phantom Menace
– Doesn’t do much new with the character
– Introduces and drops things rather quickly
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
AGE OF STAR WARS Maxiseries Review
AGE OF REPUBLIC
Darth Maul | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Jango Fett | Special | Anakin Skywalker | Count Dooku | Padmé Amidala | General Grievous | Miniseries Review
AGE OF REBELLION
Princess Leia | Grand Moff Tarkin | Special | Han Solo | Boba Fett | Lando Calrissian | Jabba the Hutt | Luke Skywalker | Darth Vader | Miniseries Review
AGE OF RESISTANCE
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