– Spoiler Review –
After nine issues of Yoda avoiding a pesky Force Ghost on his exile home of Dagobah, remembering lessons along the way, it’s time for the great Jedi Master to learn one more…but is he ready? Cavan Scott weaves a haunting reminder of Yoda’s past to push him towards the big revelation, while artist Ibraim Roberson makes it as harrowing for us and it is for him, in the wonderful finale issue, Yoda #10!
Yoda’s remembered times long past, reacquiring the belief in lessons like size matters not as he and Anakin battled an immensely large Separatist droid, how the fight with the dark side is never ending as he realizes his mistake with a Padawan, and he must have patience as the light will always find a way to shine in the end. So what lesson is there to remember, to help old Yoda, alone and hiding from the galaxy, from the bigger fight, to face the future? Obi-Wan Kenobi, now one with the Force and able to see the much larger picture, tries to lead Yoda to the final piece of enlightenment, but Yoda’s not ready for it, and tries to avoid his old friend…only to stumble towards right where he needs to be: the dark side cave. Scott’s writing for Obi-Wan is fantastic, as the way he speaks is almost like what Yoda did to everyone else years ago, so wise beyond his years, but now Obi-Wan has all the answers but won’t give them out easily. Reluctantly, Yoda heeds Obi-Wan’s advice to go into the cave, knowing Kenobi’s rebuttal to his insistence the cave won’t prove anything, how he won’t have anything to fear, doesn’t have a good argument against it. And thanks goodness Yoda listens because, wow, this is quite the damn payoff someone only like Scott and his understanding of the Saga’s basic tenants could pull off, while the art team makes it beyond memorable.
At the end of last issue, Yoda claimed the shadow across the galaxy at this moment was all his fault due to all his failures to see what was right in front of him with the likes of Anakin or Palpatine. After a little jump scare when first wandering into the cave,* Yoda finds himself confronted by all his supposed failings, starting with Count Dooku. His old apprentice and friend appears in shadows first, hounding Yoda on how and why he couldn’t see what was in front of him, how Dooku was acting, where he was heading, much like we saw in Jody Houser’s great discussion between the two friends in her arc. As Yoda backs away from this specter he stumbles over a rock and sees Yaddle, finally learning who killed her (showing how the moment in the Tales of the Jedi episode can work in concert with Scott’s audiobook or at least how he’s totally fine with it, as he’s said online before), and that’s when Dooku presents himself…a snarling, fanged version, missing his hands, his blade hovering before him, reminding me more of Sir Christopher Lee’s vampiric screen past than the Dooku we knew. He claims Yoda was too blinded by the light to notice…and that’s when the biggest cameo, at least for myself and The High Republic fans everywhere, comes in.
KEEVE TRENNIS. HOLY SHIT. Her appearance here, and what’s discussed between them, basically confirms what Scott’s been coy about for years now: the Master Trennis of the Lost Twenty, first revealed in the Dooku: Jedi Lost audiobook, is definitely Keeve Trennis (there wasn’t much doubt, but still, he did his best to deflect our suspicions). The dialogue’s vague enough to leave the truth of what happens for Phase III to answer, which starts later this year, but as short as the appearance is, it’s loaded. She’s angry with Yoda, claiming he left her when she needed him most, leaving her to her fate, though he seems to recall she made her choice, the choice not being his what she did next. I love Keeve’s character, as her arc in Scott’s Phase I comic was such a whirlwind to follow, but the growth and strength she came away with was impressive, surpassing even the Jedi she looked up to, becoming the Jedi she needs to be and the galaxy needs her to be, which is why she’s a Jedi Master by the start of Phase III. What happens, what choice does she make? Does she do what must be done to stop the Nameless, when Jedi like Yoda can’t or won’t push themselves to? My anticipation for Phase III continues to rise, as well as my apprehension for Keeve! Either way, readers of the Yoda maxiseries who might not be familiar with The High Republic yet, I highly urge you to invest your time in doing so, but I feel like this is not only a good tease which could peak many readers’ interest, it also doesn’t require you to know Keeve or her story to understand the rest of the issue and the great point Scott has Yoda arrive at.
After Keeve, Yoda’s bombarded with all those who have died due to his failures, be it Mace Windu to Padmé, as they pull him deeper into a pile of skulls, over which Emperor Palpatine presides, hammering home Yoda’s feelings of failure until he begins to let go, to let the dead pull him down, away from the light. But a song catches his attention and we see Yoda with Bree, playing the musical toy the young Scalvi gave him during Scott’s opening arc for this series, tying into Yoda’s dream opening the issue. Bree reminds him of what Yoda taught him, of the patience of the light always winning, which begets how hope is always there, no matter how many mistakes or failures we make, with Yoda spouting his memorable sequel trilogy line, the lesson Obi-Wan seemingly hoped Yoda would recall and relearn with his trip into the cave: “The greatest teacher, failure is.” To explore the genesis of this lesson, of this very insightful line, through this comic certainly makes the entire endeavor totally worth it, in my book. It’s a line that’s resonated with me a ton the older I get, as I look back at my life to learn from its mistakes, and how I work forward being a husband to my lovely wife, and a potential father in the future, as it can apply to so much and help with just as much, if not more, if you listen correctly to it.
As Yoda remembers this truth, he breaks free from the cave’s hold on him, returning to Obi-Wan, who won’t leave until he’s sure Yoda’s learned what he needed to. Yoda tells him as much, saying the Ghost should go to Luke as he’s in danger on Hoth, telling us when this takes place, and leave him be now, as he’ll be ready to teach Luke…and to continue to learn as well. Yoda’s time on Dagobah hasn’t been easy, surrounded by his memories and no one to tell him or guide him away from focusing on what went wrong, so to have this series chart his journey to looking towards the future again, to be ready to train someone again despite what happened, was an excellent choice and really made this feel like a grand story overall for the Jedi Master.
And having Ibraim Roberson, with Neeraj Menon on colors and Joe Caramagna remain as letterer, here for the finale made it a visual delight. Let’s start with the spooky Dooku in the cave! Oh man, what a masterclass in revealing: we start with Yoda still in the murky, swampy greens of Dagobah in the panel when Dooku’s voice is first heard, yet who it is remains a mystery, and the next page/panel swipes away the greens for deep blues and caustic reds, all while bathing Dooku’s form in shadow and gnarly, spiky plants, while the following panel only reveals half his face, the glow of his newly lit saber giving us half the man the Count used to be. When Dooku lunges out of the shadows at Yoda, just after he’s getting over the horror of reliving Yaddle’s death, Roberson’s snarling, sharp-teethed Dooku, with his arms ending in stumps, the Force holding his lightsaber, cape-billowing behind him, is the stuff of nightmares, doing its best to dig further and deeper into the fear gripping Yoda. The panel where half of Anakin is engulfed in flames, Menon’s yellows and oranges licking at the red around it, joining it, not taking away from the vision’s palette, while Yoda lays on the bed of skulls, is a striking image. The panel of Palpatine’s lightning radiating around the area, snuffing out the reds and taking over the colors of the vision, looming over Yoda, both choices giving us viewers the perspective of Yoda on little he feels against the Emperor’s might and scheming; though, the little version of non-Emperor Palpatine, standing near the burning Anakin, seems to suggest somewhere in his mind he knows Palpatine isn’t as all powerful. Caramagna’s SFX for the music, how it lingers just outside of Yoda’s slowly disappearing face amongst the skulls is a gentle reminder from the Force, it feels like, while I like how he doesn’t crowd Yoda’s face with the bubbles as much once Yoda comes to the realization about failure being a great teacher, as if the voices in his head aren’t suffocating him anymore.
Here are a few other things:
- The giant bird like thing that scares him at the start of his walk into the cave? It hovers behind him, in the background, in the final panel, which I took for a reminder of how the dark is always there, lurking, and one has to always seek the light to avoid it.
- This won’t be the last we’ll see of Yoda in the comics this year, as his plan to help the Jedi Order against the Nameless during the High Republic era takes shape in October’s Shadows of Starlight miniseries!
- Want more great tales about the Cave of Evil? Don’t miss out on From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, as you’ll get to hear from its perspective, and Age of Resistance – Supreme Leader Snoke #1, where you’ll want to see what Kylo Ren experiences when he visits!
Yoda #10 is a rousing culmination of everything this series has set out to do, as both writer and artist bring a deep, intriguing script for readers to enjoy.
+ Yoda coming to realize how great of a teacher failure can be
+ The haunting visits in the cave, especially KEEVE TRENNIS!
+ Visions come to gruesome, harrowing life thanks to excellent work by the art team!
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 | #9