– Spoiler Review –
Jedi Knights #10 offers the answers one seeks, and while it might be predictable, it’s still a fitting though rushed finale for the series.
Qui-Gon Jinn was never going to die in Jedi Knights, but the idea of someone trying to assassinate him, of all the Jedi, was an intriguing one. As the answers rolled in, too slowly at times or drawn out in others, it still maintained a sense of intrigue. With the series finale upon us, and no continuation in sight, the ending to this story had to be satisfying. After 10 issues, I think writer Marc Guggenheim stuck the landing, for the most part, as the answers bring some sense of character development.
It all comes down to honor, as Corlis Rath believes Qui-Gon and his Master stole his all those years ago. We find out not only did Qui-Gon go against the rules and use the Force in their duel, Dooku went overboard with his darker instincts and slaughtered much of Corlis’ people to get them out of the situation alive. Given Qui-Gon’s reaction to his Master’s choice in the past, especially since he claims he’ll forever carry the shame of those events and then there’s the scale of Dooku’s destruction, it seems off he struggled so much to remember how this all connected. But he understands it all now and wants to prevent more bloodshed, admitting to Corlis his mistake and how the Sinsaran isn’t alone in losing his honor. Qui-Gon feels the same way, as it was his mistake and impressionability which led to the situation where Dooku felt he needed to resort to such drastic measures. Qui-Gon admitting he’s also been affected allows him to bridge the gap to his would-be assassin, bringing the conflict to a close. Yet it’s what’s next that was almost more interesting, as Corlis struggles to think of what he’ll become without his anger to the drive him and Qui-Gon points out such a discovery will be what should sustain him. In a way, it felt like Qui-Gon got to help show someone who fell to anger choose a new path, something I’m sure he’d wish to do for Dooku if he had lived long enough to see how far his master had fallen. Along the way, Obi-Wan learns the strength of his Master’s beliefs and gives him some very high praise for his actions, strengthening their bond. It adds to Obi-Wan’s decision to fulfill his Master’s request to train the young Anakin Skywalker as well.
While last issue I felt Dooku’s characterization matched well with how canon’s treated him, the deaths he so brazenly causes seemed to push against it. How could’ve Dooku ever expected Qui-Gon to follow him, as he told Obi-Wan on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, if this stain forever lived between them? And how Qui-Gon knew of his Master’s darker ideals and choose here to stay above them? One could argue Dooku had grown too delusional and self-important by the start of the Clone Wars and that’s why he makes such a claim, or even he’s trying to manipulate Obi-Wan, but it does seem surprising he’d do something like that in front of Qui-Gon. If Corlis hadn’t been such an enigma throughout the series or we got to learn more about Sinsara, its people, and its culture beyond only in a few issues as everything wraps up, Corlis’ struggle with his path forward would’ve landed on an emotional level. Instead, as it stands now, it lands as an update on information about him. Maybe Guggenheim had bigger plans had his series been extended, but this is just par for the course for how Marvel’s new 10-issues at a time really only serves the sales margins, not the creatives and fans. There are also some lingering threads, like Soona’s future from issue #8, Vetna Mooncrest in general, and Atha Prime, to name a few, which will stay lingering for who knows how long now that Marvel cleaned their current slate to start over in 2026. So, Jedi Knights #10 is satisfying in that it gives the main mystery closure and adds to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s journeys, but for the series it feels like there was stuff left on the cutting room floor.
Closing out a stunningly good run, artist Madibek Musabekov, colorist Luis Guerrero, and letterer Clayton Cowles give their all one last time. There were a few moments a younger Qui-Gon didn’t quite look right, and the sudden green coloring around the apprentice after Dooku’s slaughter just didn’t fit well with his face or seemed to match the reaction well enough, but these were very minor things in another fantastic showing from the team. In just the opening moments, Musabekov’s ability to convey a great point-of-view sense says a lot about how Qui-Gon and Corlis feel about one another. When we’re looking down at Qui-Gon, essentially from Corlis’ view, Qui-Gon takes up most of the frame. Yet when we go to Qui-Gon’s view, where we’re placed below and behind the Jedi as if we’re looking up at Corlis, he doesn’t take up much of the panel and he’s much further away than Qui-Gon seemed from Corlis’ position. To Qui-Gon, Corlis is not a threat but someone to confront and attempt to deal with, but how close Qui-Gon looked to Corlis gives the Jedi Master so much importance to the assassin, he’s an obstacle that is in his way. Guerrero’s work here doubles down on these aspects, as the look at Qui-Gon has him surrounded by darker colors and the light of the planet’s red sun, while Corlis isn’t in such harsh lighting, the sun behind him, to showcase Qui-Gon’s peaceful intentions vs Corlis’ ‘seeing red’ revenge. When Obi-Wan steps into the fracas despite his Master’s warning, I liked how the dynamic panels and views were gone, as it’s just a page of same sized panels, glimpses of a competent fight, but the sameness of the page design speaks to the unnecessary violence the two are committing. Even the colors look the same in each panel, while there’s not a glimpse of any sound FX or dialogue, making it easy to almost look past it, again to denote the trivialness of their fight. Juxtapose this with how the team highlights the stark, damning darkness of Dooku’s violence, itself unnecessary too. They go big for this moment, Cowles’ SFX for the slash of Dooku’s blade through the bodies of those around them covering up the worst of the cut, a big, long swooping single moment of deadly proportions. Guerrero puts the victims in darkness, partially to obscure the violence, but more so to highlight the sudden and brazen attack instead.
Here are a few other things:
- While Jedi Knights is over and currently not coming back in any way, shape, or form, Guggenheim and Musabekov are both back in 2026. For Guggenheim, there’s February’s Jar Jar one-shot, co-written by the Gugan himself, Ahmed Best, and the story pulls in Kelleran Beq somehow as well! As for Musabekov, he’s on art for the Shadow of Maul miniseries, which kicks off in March and is a direct prequel to the upcoming animated show, Maul: Shadow Lord!
- My annual Star Wars comics year-in-review is coming together quicker than normal and should be out in early January. I’ll be getting into the disappointments of 2025, especially with how series are being treated now, and some of the good as well, while victors will be crowned in Top 3 Writers, Top 3 Artist Teams, and Top 5 Moments of 2025! Make sure to head back to the Manor to see how it all pans out.
Jedi Knights #10 brings the collection of Jedi tales to an end by closing out its main mystery in a satisfying yet rushed way.
+ Qui-Gon proving why he’s one of the best
+ Art team shows the horror of and how unnecessary violence is
– Lacks as much of a punch due to limited nature of series
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.
JEDI KNIGHTS REVIEWS
Vol. 1 “Guardians of the Republic”: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 — Vol. 2: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9