Beyond the rerelease of the film and merchandise galore celebrating it, Marvel’s joined in on the festivities with The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1, a unique little one-shot which fills in some margins of the first prequel movie.
It comes with aging, but it’s definitely bizarre to think the film I saw when I was nine years old and absolutely adored, and still do to this day, has hit its quarter century anniversary already! At that age and how the internet was back then, I never experienced or ran into the backlash, so it wasn’t until I was older when I started finding the remnants of the reactions and its just bounced off, so my connections and love for the prequels hasn’t strayed much. It’s been fun to see all the celebrations for its 25th Anniversary and I was most intrigued by this special one-shot from Marvel, written by Greg Pak, art from Will Sliney, colors by Guru-eFX, and lettering by Joe Caramagna, as it promised to explore never-before-seen stories set around the events of the film. The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1 certainly does just that, exploring the margins with some thoughtful, intriguing little vignettes, leaving me hungry for a potential From a Certain Point of View release in—checks calendar—2039 (the movie would be turning 40 when I’m almost 50?!). I did initially, based off the solicitation, think this was more like several stories starring different characters that didn’t as directly connect to the events of the film, so I was initially surprised when reading, but I came to like the idea and choice by Pak.
What I ended up loving most about the issue is how it centers around Anakin’s emotional journey through the film, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Shmi Skywalker’s to some degree, more so than the actual events. How did Anakin feel about being initially rejected for training? Obi-Wan’s comment about him being dangerous? Qui-Gon Jinn’s death? Obi-Wan learning Anakin heard his comment? And what about Shmi back home? Movies don’t always have the time to cover such moments, and sometimes novelizations can, if they are allowed to elaborate, but Pak certainly does, elaborating on them to the point they add an additional throughline which only serves to strengthen the film and its characters. When it comes to something like this, it’s all you can really ask for and Pak really delivers, with my favorite new additional scene being the one between Anakin and Jar Jar Binks, of all things. It’s only a page, and Anakin only speaks twice, in the first panel of the page, but as Anakin frets over maybe never being a Jedi, which we actually got to see his dream of being one in the opening moments, Jar Jar offers his point of view on Anakin. To the little boy, he tells him how it works in the Gungan culture, that missing someone and being scared about themselves and others isn’t just normal, to them it’s a sign of a good heart, which he says he knows Anakin has for everything he’s gone through to be here, to be a Jedi. It recalls what Anakin’s children will believe in him and his wife knows about him, even at his darkest, there’s good in Anakin, no matter what, and it’s such a beautiful little way to deliver such a vital piece of the Saga, between two unexpecting characters. Allowing Shmi to get a sense of what the good heart inside of him will reap, as a Tusken he saves early in the issue comes to her and shares a black melon while he tells the story of Anakin, serves to remind us she desperately needs a book/story of her own and allows us readers to know, while sad about not having him around anymore, was proud of him.
I’ve enjoyed Will Sliney’s art before, especially in The Rise of Kylo Ren, I will have to get this out of the way at the start: I feel like he’s been better when we aren’t dealing with recognizable faces so much, as many of the characters in the sequel trilogy focused miniseries were new and here, many of us readers have had 25 years with these faces, so the slightly more masculine/samey facial structure has some issues, even in moments it feels like tracing has been employed. The juxtaposition of three different times we see Anakin as an older Jedi is a highlight of the issue. It starts off early on, with Attack of the Clones-aged Anakin in what looks like the Jedi Training Gear toy, but is based off concept art for TPM, wielding a yellow lightsaber, the blade looking more like a sword with a righteous yellow flame around its glowing white metal. We see this in Anakin’s dreams, still a slave, still no hope of leaving his lot in life, but the good in him there, trying to show Anakin, via his dreams, it can happen. The next time Anakin envisions his older Jedi self, it’s towards the end of the film, Qui-Gon is dead and he’s not sure Obi-Wan believes in him like the older Jedi did, so Anakin sees a similarly dressed Jedi, but this time the blade is more like a flaming sword, while the entire image is bathed in red by Guru-eFX, much like is done in Pak’s Darth Vader series when Vader/Anakin is remembering certain moments in his life, while this time the aliens attack the slaves are dead and there’s a sinister anger to Anakin’s face, much like when he started to cut down Tusken Raiders. Letterer Caramagna positions the word bubbles of Anakin stuttering when saying the slaves are okay over and to the right of the character, as if to say it’s so removed from Anakin, he doesn’t quite believe himself with what he’s doing. The final time we see an older Jedi version of Anakin, it’s the issue’s final page, and through her hopeful perspective on her child, we see him look like he does by AotC, though the team takes it a step further by including Obi-Wan with a mullet, giving readers the idea that despite what’s to come, destiny on its way for Anakin, the good has always been within the young boy regardless.
Here are a few other things:
- Ben on Twitter pointed out the outfit Anakin sees himself in as a Jedi during his dream is actually from concept art of Jedi for the film; it shows he doesn’t know what Jedi would look like (and it also looks like the Jedi Training Outfit figure for young Obi-Wan). I love that when Shmi dreams him as a Jedi, it’s how he looks in the films!
- The recent novel by John Jackson Miller, The Living Force should not be missed by fans of all eras, especially the prequels, as it takes place a year prior to The Phantom Menace and see the entire Jedi Council out in the galaxy on a mission together! It really helps show how the Jedi have changed and explores if anything could’ve been done to avoid what’s coming. Don’t miss out!
- Also speaking of prequels, we’re less than a month out from The Acolyte, which takes place at the tail end of the High Republic era, about 100 years before TPM, and looks into the rise of the dark side. The latest trailer promises quite the mystery!
- Just announced on Revenge of the Sixth this year, LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, which sees the story as we know it flipped upside down in a fun “What If?” like scenario…including Darth Jar Jar coming to life, voiced by Ahmed Best!!
- Beyond this special issue, Marvel has had a series of anniversary covers for the film by Chris Sprouse (who often drawing such projects), so keep your eyes peeled at your local comic shop!
- I really enjoy this anniversary poster by Paul Shipper, as it captures the Drew Struzan vibes immaculately. The official one by Matt Ferguson is quite beautiful as well and I can’t wait to see it in person at the theaters when my wife and I go see it!
The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special #1 approaches the film from a complimentary angle, adding emotional resonance for the film and for those that follow it.
+ Exploring the unseen
+ Adding additional emotional depth
– Some samey faces
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.