– Spoiler Review –
There are intriguing escalations which are met with more shrugs as Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu enters its third issue.
I’m sure Prosset would appreciate this: I saw that one coming (but I’m sure so did many others)! From issue #1 I’ve felt like we were headed towards the blind Jedi’s disillusionment with the Jedi Order and their place in the war and issue #3 brings about his breaking point, which despite being easy to see (pun #2), doesn’t feel earned. Prosset is in the right, calling Mace and the Jedi Council out for their misguided involvement in the war, but for him to go so far as to bring his blade against Mace seems like too much and hypocritical of the character. If he’s so high and mighty, why would he resolve to fight Mace to prove his point, instead of continuing debating or going the peaceful option? Maybe this is the point, considering Yoda’s admittance in the Star Wars Rebels‘ S2 episode, “Shroud of Darkness,” that the Jedi were consumed by the dark side in the war, by fear, and didn’t realize it until too late. Maybe this is trying to show even a Jedi who so clearly understands the fault of the war can’t quite escape its grasp either, and for that I can forgive this quick escalation, but otherwise this seems like a waste of a good, cultured Jedi philosophical battle between Mace and Prosset. Well, considering how talkative the battle between Mace and AD-W4 was last issue, it’s possible Mace and Prosset’s battle of resolves will be just as chatty (though Ay-Dee is closing in on them, so it’s possible he’ll cut things short…by a few limbs of Prosset’s. Just a guess).
Prosset’s allegations against the Jedi Council’s true intentions with Hissrich bring up some complicated feelings for me. For starters, the Jedi being this duplicitous this early in the Clone Wars feels a little off-base, which I’m basing off of the earlier seasons of The Clone Wars. It wasn’t until closer towards the end of the show/war we started to see them make questionable, morally bankrupt decisions, like sending Quinlan Vos to assassinate Count Dooku or not believing in Ahsoka Tano when falsely accused of murder. It’s also an interesting twist for this series, it wasn’t even something that occurred to me, and does allow for some good story potential and provides food for thought for us and the Jedi. Which dovetails back into the idea this seems too early for them to be so willing to risk innocents for a quicker way to the end the war, i.e. stealing the planet’s plant power potential (couldn’t resist), when it took them much longer and much later in the war to consider assassination as a quicker way to end things. Great idea, questionable inclusion here. However, I’ll withhold complete judgement until we see where writer Matt Owens is taking this whole development.
Ay-Dee is a villain I want to like, as a mercenary droid out for credits could have quite the backstory, as I’d like to know if someone programmed him this way or what happened to make him so focused on profits. His hubris, something he accused the Jedi of last issue, is in full swing here, as he boasts he so easily killed Mace Windu to Grievous, who sees through Ay-Dee and asks for the vital evidence: their lightsabers. But his opening monologue, about killing a guy with a lot of money and smearing their blood around their mansion felt too comic supervillain for me to really want to learn anything more about him…ironic, no?
My eyes are adjusting, as it were, to the art in Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu #3, provided by Denys Cowan (pencils), Roberto Poggi (inks), and Guru-eFX (colors). As I said last issue, seeing these characters in Cowan’s distinct style is easier to swallow in a new, unfamiliar environment, while the team’s strength seems to lie in droid characters, as Ay-Dee and Grievous together looked rather good. However, the battle in the dark with the giant Milodon was tough to follow, potentially on purpose because it was supposed to be a battle in a dark cavern, but even then some of the panels made it hard to discern the creature from the cavern from anything else supposed to be in the panel. I also have to say I would not be jealous of Joe Caramagna’s lettering duties, as Owens packs a lot of dialogue into each panel and Cowan doesn’t make many large ones.
Here are a few other things:
- Rissa calls her lightsaber, ‘Marcie,’ so please, please do not kill this sweet summer child in this series (something I’ve been hoping against happening since issue #1, especially to avoid any potential fridging scenario for Mace’s benefit).
- I doubt it was intentional, but I laughed a little when Mace says, “…grand inquisitions,” because it made me think of Star Wars Rebels‘ Grand Inquisitor.
Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu #3 keeps stepping up to bat with the potential for a solid swing, but ends up with a strike instead.
+ Interesting turn of events…
– …that doesn’t feel earned or as fleshed out here (or already covered elsewhere)
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu
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