– Spoiler Review –
What type of Jedi warrants the full power of the Inquisitorious, the Empire’s Jedi hunters, in a post-Order 66 galaxy? A Jedi of the High Council? A powerful Jedi? Or someone who’s becoming a symbol of hope? Rodney Barnes and Ramon Rosanas’ Inquisitors #1 answers the question with a promising enough start!
Through Star Wars Rebels, Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, Jedi: Fallen Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Tales of the Empire, to name a few, the Inquisitorious has been expanded on and explored in intriguing ways in canon, and now they get the starring role in a 4-issue miniseries from Marvel. Inquisitors #1 does split its time between the Grand Inquisitor himself and the Jedi he and his crew are set to hunt, Tensu Run, so it’s not completely focused on the mysterious group and its ex-Jedi, but it does seem to promise they’ll be the victors, not the losers, for once given their name adorns the series’ title, not a Jedi’s. I can only hope this is the case, as while we know they were effective, more stories where they remain so helps build up their legend to us fans, making them as deadly and as dangerous as everyone claims. Given they’ll likely succeed against Tensu Run, at least physically cut him down but I’ll be curious if they can cut at his growing symbol, it’s not as disappointing as it initially felt to find out he’s another white human male Jedi (post-Order 66 there’s Obi-Wan, Cal Kestis, Taron Malicos, Rahm Kota (Legends), Baylan Skoll, to name a few), as creating a marginalized or alien character to be cut down would’ve been the more egregious option given the low percentage we see of such characters year after year anyways (see my lengthy run down of diversity data in the comics, something I’ve been keeping track of since 2015). Regardless, Tensu’s status as a symbol and the Inqusitiorious’ attempts to end it before it sparks something are an interesting enough start for the miniseries, so I look forward to seeing how Rodney Barnes and team let the story unfold.
Inquisitors #1 starts from the Grand Inquisitor’s point-of-view, full entrenched in his beliefs about the dark side and how the Jedi are dogmatic to a fault about a peace and serenity that the galaxy would never allow. He’s already on the hunt for Tensu Run, slaughtering a village and taking their children, hoping for fresh recruits most likely, when they fail to give up the Jedi. Darth Vader’s disappointed ol’ Grandy doesn’t have Tensu’s head just yet, believing the job too much for the Grand Inquisitor alone, so he sends the rest of the Inquisitors out into the galaxy to help. It’s in their conversation we learn about Tensu Run’s fame, as he broke into a secretive Imperial facility and rescued its prisoners, making him a symbol of hope, an idea for people to cling to, in these dark days. There have been many Jedi who have lived beyond Order 66 and of course Force-sensitives are still born after it, but none of the stories so far in canon have really dealt with a Jedi who is inspiring hope in the galaxy, as they often keep to themselves or try to hide their involvement. It’s a new wrinkle for the Inquisitorious, as hunting down a Jedi who’s been in hiding or is making a ruckus on their own is their bread and butter, so having them chasing down not just a person, but an ideal people look up to, will require different tactics than slashing sabers and senseless murder. I hope the miniseries will get a chance to maybe explore the Grand Inquisitor, as he references his past with the Order and Vader talks about the journey he went through to be here, as fans have been eager to learn more about him for almost a decade now, while an expansion on some other Inquisitors, maybe why they joined or what happened to them, would be a cool way to expand on these largely enigmatic, yet prevalent characters. Either way, ol’ Grandy proves his ruthlessness rather quickly, first in slaughtering the village in the opening scene, but also as he takes down the elderly, retired Jedi aboard the Voyager Dawn. Does he do it to provide himself some satisfaction for his failure to find Tensu or simply because they are Jedi and they need to die? We’ll never know, but it’s a catalyst which might just bring Quizzy the Jedi he seeks…
When we first see Tensu Run in Vader’s flashback story to the Jedi’s efforts, he has goggles on, and his overall look and demeanor made me think of Chris Pine, and when he starts talking, he made me think of Pine’s performance in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I don’t think he’s someone who is swindling others, especially when we get a scene of him visiting his Master and some narration boxes to get inside his head, but he’s certainly prepared with statements which sound profound and allow him to hide from committing to anything in the process, for better or worse. He at least doesn’t think he deserves this role the Force has given him, even if his aging Jedi Master believes otherwise, so watching him grapple with the responsibility of being a symbol and not giving in to his desire to flee could bring an interesting angle to his story. The issue ends with him sensing the destruction of the Voyager Dawn and all the elderly Jedi aboard, and despite his value, he’s eager to take the fight to the Inquisitors instead of fleeing them the moment they show up. Prepare for some big action to come in the next few issues!
On art for the miniseries is Ramon Rosanas, who provided much of the work for the Star Wars (Vol. 2) run, with colors by GURU-eFX, and Joe Caramagna for lettering. Rosanas’ Grand Inquisitor hovers somewhere between his iconic Star Wars Rebels design and his live-action look from OWK, remaining menacing in the process, even when he’s talking down to a Gamorrean barkeep looking for information on Tensu Run’s location. What I appreciated the most about the team’s work here is both his stature, the rigid posture indicating his haughty attitude, and his penchant for sweeping, dramatic gestures, putting his saber at the crowd of villagers or his flair when cutting down a med-droid tending to Tensu’s Master. The coloring work also makes him feel like such an intrusion into peaceful worlds, making him really stand out as the true aberration he claims places of beauty are, as our initial introduction to the opening planet Targyon is full of greens, blue skies, and light colors, but when the Inquisitor shuttle lands, it muddies the picturesque view by kicking up lots of brown dust, while the black colors of the ship and his black/grey outfit seem like a blight on the scene. The first time we see Tensu Run and his fellow survivors outside of the flashback, they all seem to fit better with their idyllic surroundings than the Inquisitors did, with Tensu himself in a light blue suit, with gold/yellow patches and what sort of looks like a yellow ascot, another survivor named Uhron in a all white poncho, recalling Luke’s look on Tatooine in A New Hope when he’s in a poncho, and lastly Pan Delesec, who is wearing a variation on Luke’s Return of the Jedi outfit, with a yellow accent fold-over, not a white one. Tensu seems very approachable in his outfit, yet it stands out just enough from the surroundings it makes him memorable, hinting at his symbolic status. The designs for the retired and elderly Jedi who come to face ol’ Grandy are a great mix, as their outfits are simple yet almost pajama-esque, but the way their lightsabers barely project any light on them, and the Grand Inquisitor’s red blade deeply paints all the violent panels to come, shows their light has already gone out of the galaxy. For Caramagna’s lettering, the way Vader’s dialogue rests over the entirety of his Devastator, crosses the divide to hover over ol’ Grandy, or is mainly over him as Vader expresses his displeasure, really sells his entrance in the story and his hierarchy over all the Inquisitors.
Here are a few other things:
- The Voyager Dawn was first introduced in The High Republic Adventures: Galactic Bake-Off Spectacular and I still really like the idea, finding it interesting it managed to last this long after Order 66!
- Pii-lor, an alien who tells ol’ Grandy about Tensu docking with the Voyager Dawn, looks exactly like a sloth, but in clothes, and I absolutely need more of their species!
- Tensu flying a Delta-7 Jedi starfighter was a delight, as I quite enjoyed the look of that fighter over the ones the Jedi are flying by the beginning of Revenge of the Sith.
- As mentioned earlier, this is a 4-issue miniseries, a favorite format for Marvel as of late, as both the Mace Windu and Jango Fett miniseries were the same. Both teased something else to come, however, and we might just find out what that could be later this month at SDCC, as Marvel is bringing its current runs of Star Wars and Darth Vader to an end and have promised to reveal what’s in store for the future soon.
- I’m happy to see Rodney Barnes back on an original story, having first started with Lando – Double or Nothing and later providing the one-shot War of the Bounty Hunters – IG-88 #1, he’s been working on adaptations since, from The Mandalorian to Ahsoka.
Inquisitors #1 offers promise for its short run as it gives the villains an interesting quandary which will force them outside their wheelhouse…maybe!
+ Promising enough start with intriguing target for the Inquisitors
+ Rosanas and team offer big and little ways to showcase the good and bad
– Doesn’t quite pull you back for more
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.