– Spoiler Review –
Yoda #9 brings Marc Guggenheim’s arc to a fun, thoughtful close, capturing the magic of Yoda and Anakin Skywalker together one last time.
Despite their best efforts, one of the Separatists’ Megadroid prototypes survived their facility destroying antics and now Yoda and Anakin are faced with the enormous and deadly droid. It’s quickly clear their usual tactic, slice the droid with a lightsaber, isn’t going to cut it…literally, so Yoda uses drastic measures instead and climbs into the droid’s convenient back hatch, but he becomes trapped inside. The droid reacts by jetting off into space, which is when Yoda manages to disable it, leaving himself stuck in its innards, the cold of space creeping in. Anakin arrives in his Jedi starfighter and the two Jedi put their unique methods to the test. There’s no surprise here about Yoda being rescued, but I quite enjoyed how Guggenheim once again employed his uncanny ability to capture the differences between Anakin and Yoda, yet showing how they both can thrive with one another despite said differences.
Over the course of these three issues, Guggenheim has shown us how different they can be, from how Yoda is small and stealthy, unlike Anakin, to Anakin’s strong improvisational skills, but they have some similarities, like they want to protect the Republic with everything they have and don’t mind having some fun with impersonations of one another. To conquer the problem of saving Yoda from the insides of the now disabled Megadroid, they must work together, relying on what makes them so different to succeed. Yoda tells Anakin to position the droid through the Force to line up with his starfighter, but the younger Jedi, between the size of the droid and tricky ice asteroids he has to navigate around, doesn’t think he can do it. Yoda urges him to be calm and trust in the Force, jettisoning his usual action first, think later approach and be more like the wise old Master. But Yoda’s still stuck inside, so it’s Anakin and his action first mindset who figures out the innards will be more destructible than the durasteel outside, forcing Yoda to take drastic action inside of his usual slow and steady approach. By both relying on one another, they show the power of the Force and the Jedi themselves, especially when they work together, when they hold one another up, and trust in one another like they would the Force. As Yoda recovers after the rescue, Anakin comes to visit the Jedi Master, curious if his little pep talk about being able to do the seemingly impossible was to help Skywalker realize in his own powers or if Yoda actually could’ve done it himself. Yoda declines, playfully, to answer, as in the end it doesn’t matter, as Anakin has found strength in himself from his time with Yoda, whether the diminutive Master needed it or not.
When Guggenheim’s arc started, the Force Ghost bugging Yoda had grown rather persistent, curious why Yoda was continuing his exile despite knowing the growing darkness in the galaxy. How does size matter not, the lesson we sort of started this arc with, factor into this discussion? As we return to the Dagobah ‘present,’ Yoda opens up to the Force Ghost, admitting he’s known it’s been Obi-Wan Kenobi this whole time, and he was avoiding him because he already told Obi-Wan all he needs to know: the threat in the galaxy is too big for him to face. But size matters not, right? Obi-Wan doesn’t believe Yoda believes in the opposite, so Yoda explains the fight is too big because the last time he tried, he failed. He missed the manipulation of Anakin, of the Senate, of Palpatine’s machinations, and his failure to stop Sidious in their battle weighs on him still, leaving him with the guilt for everything that’s happened to the galaxy. He thinks he’s the problem, it’s him, so by removing himself, he feels the galaxy will be better off without him. We know he’s vital to Luke’s training, to help push the Jedi towards helping right what’s wrong with the galaxy, so how will he get over these feelings? If anyone can help, if he’ll listen to him, it’s Obi-Wan, who had his own struggles with the repercussions of his actions (told in the great Obi-Wan Kenobi show), but I know from the solicitations for the final issue of this series, Yoda will journey into the dark side cave once again as well. What will it show him? How will it help? Or hinder? I can’t wait to find out.
Artist Alessandro Miracolo, colorist Annalisa Leoni, and letterer Joe Caramagna don’t disappoint in their final outing together. I particularly enjoyed the look to the panels where Yoda’s trapped inside the Megadroid’s innards, as it feels appropriately claustrophobic, the edges covered by parts of the droid, the cords and other objects are numerous, while Leoni’s colors are heavy and dark, an oppressive red, further shrinking the space, while Caramagna doesn’t mind crowding the space with word bubbles or SFX either, which means this anti-fan of small spaces felt uncomfortable for the Jedi Master. This is contrasted with panels full of empty, big spaces, be it the small look of the Megadroid against the vastness of space and nearby planetary bodies and stars or in panels showing Anakin’s starfighter maneuvering into position and through the ice asteroids to help Yoda, allowing for the cramped panels to feel even more so thanks to the usage of space; Leoni’s colors are light, calming blues mostly, giving them a hopeful, non-oppressive feeling. The series of panels showcasing the final few moments of the rescue are my favorite of the issue, as you can see Yoda’s saber poking through the droid’s back, the POV being Anakin’s, and then there’s a wider shot, the lightsaber cutting still visible, followed by it exploding open and Yoda flying out into space, followed on the next page by him reaching out, like Leia did in The Last Jedi, and pulling himself into the ship’s storage compartments. It’s a serene panel, the little Yoda floating in the vastness of space, an ice trail behind him, and Anakin’s ship opening up the compartment, hoping to capture the nearly frozen Jedi Master, Caramagna’s SFX punctuating the silence as the doors open. The final page was a showcase of Yoda’s feelings regarding the size of the problem they are up against, as it centers on his battle with Darth Sidious, who in this page looms very large over Yoda, the panel framing it so we’re almost looking up at Sidious like Yoda is, to make us feel as small as Yoda does in this moments for not defeating the Dark Lord. Leoni’s colors aid the scene, Yoda’s green saber only reflecting on the bottom part of the panel, the red reflections feel like they are pushing down against it, holding it back from gaining any ground.
Here are a few other things:
- Last issue included a part first seen in Guggenheim’s Revelations one-shot, which was the initial set-up and tease for the Dark Droids crossover which begins in August. I was curious if we’d see how this story somehow linked up to Ajax Sigma, a droid revolutionary that plays a big part in the crossover, as well as something called the Scourge, but there seems to be nothing besides last issue’s ties. Unless part of how Ajax is rebuilt links up to the Megadroid armor or something.
- Speaking of the Dark Droids crossover, Guggenheim’s next project, as I mentioned in the last review, is the return of D-Squad…yes, exactly the one you’re thinking of from The Clone Wars, but with a whole new crew! It launches in September, including a backup tale which will explain more Ajax’s story.
- The final issue for this Yoda maxiseries is out August 2, with Cavan Scott returning to close it out, alongside artist Nico Leon.
Yoda #9 is a fun, enjoyable conclusion to Marc Guggenheim’s Anakin and Yoda arc for the maxiseries, setting us up for an intriguing, introspective finale.
+ Anakin and Yoda relying on one another
+ Captures the sense of scale thanks to art team’s work
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
YODA MAXISERIES REVIEWS
Light and Life: #1 | #2 | #3 — Students of the Force: #4 | #5 | #6 — Size Matters Not: #7 | #8