– Spoiler Review –
The Yoda maxiseries has different creative teams for each new arc, and Yoda #4 is the start of Jody Houser and Luke Ross’ “Students of the Force,” which sees the titular Jedi Master reach out to his old friend, Master Dooku, for help with the current batch of Jedi initiates. The intriguing dynamic between the two friends is handled excellently, while a specific group of students has an interesting tale unfolding, making for a fantastic start to the latest arc.
Set sometime after Dooku attains a seat on the Jedi Council and before he leaves the Order, Jody Houser writes him with the most interesting aspects of him during this time, from his growing disillusionment of the Order to his own unique ideas about visions and how to proceed. She’s no stranger to Dooku, having written the excellent Age of Republic: Count Dooku #1 which captured the many different facets of the Count’s wicked yet righteous machinations as a Sith Lord, while there’s a lot of Dooku from the excellent Dooku: Jedi Lost audiobook here as well, from a mention of his friendship with Sifo-Dyas to his interest in investigating visions of the future instead of ignoring them, though he’s still comfortable within the Order at the moment as he chats it up with politicians on their behalf. Yoda believes his time shouldering up to politicians and interest in visions to predict the Order’s future has taken him away from what really matters, the present, so hence his request to have Dooku help train and shape the Order’s future directly by teaching students. Their differences in opinion and viewpoints has always been fascinating, Legends particularly had a great novel about them in Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, so I’m glad Houser is leaning hard into it, making the majority of their time together a friendly debate on how to proceed. It adds so many good layers to an incredibly nuanced character like Dooku, while it helps both prove Yoda and the Order’s teachings about the present correct but also shows their unwillingness to take hints from visions for help with the larger picture is part of what will lead to their downfall. Though as I mentioned, these debates are friendly and the two chide and tease one another, a delight to see since we often see them apart and adrift from one another, Dooku a Sith Lord and not a Jedi who can still be convinced to stay, and Houser’s ability to convey both their familiarity and their differences means I’m very excited for more of their dynamic in the remaining two issues of the arc.
As for the initiates, Dooku focuses in on an intriguing group, made up of the Trandoshan Gheyr, the Wookiee Krrsish, and Houser’s own original creation from AoR – Count Dooku #1, Jaz’kin, a Togorian. Before we even dig into what’s interesting about the group’s tenuous friendship, I have to say it’s so damn refreshing to focus on a group of non-humans! Dooku at this point is the only human featured in the issue, which is a pleasant surprise, as Star Wars as a whole hasn’t let non-humans shine often enough, if at all, though The High Republic has tried more than most, but it’s still human-centric; It matters because the main cast being many different species and yet so relatable makes it clear how easy and acceptable it would be to have it more often. Regardless, the fact a Wookiee and a Transdoshan are so friendly is a surprise Dooku notes, yet Yoda seems to think being raised away from their cultures has allowed the two to flourish like this, but when we focus on the initiatives, we see there’s already some tension there. Gheyr and Jaz’kin are the chummiest of the trio, often ignoring or sort of forgetting about Krrsish, and the way he’s being treated weighs on the young Wookiee, who ends up having a vision, one which sees Wookiees and Trandoshans fighting one another. They might’ve grown up away from these ingrained conflicts, but the Force has, for some reason, forced these thoughts into Krrsish’s head, though whether this is the work of the light or the dark remains to be seen, especially with how Krrsish handles it. He goes to the archives, likely looking for information on visions, only for Dooku to hear the Wookiee’s distress and gain his trust, where the Krrsish tells him what he’s seen. Dooku’s predisposition for the Order’s feelings on visions causes him to tell the Wookiee to keep it from everyone, including Master Yoda, driving an even bigger wedge between the Wookiee and his friends. Will Dooku help him work through it? And how will it effect the initiates overall to have these dark thoughts locked inside a Wookiee, who can be fearsome when necessary? Either way, I’m quite intrigued to learn what happens to this trio and how the debate between Yoda and Dooku gets involved as the situation evolves.
Luke Ross makes a welcomed return to drawing Dooku, this time alongside colorist Nolan Woodard (who worked with him and Houser in the past on the Thrawn comic adaptation), with letterer Joe Caramagna. Ross continues to impress every time he comes back to play in the Star Wars galaxy and this issue is no exception, especially when it comes to Yoda. The opening artist Nico Leon did a good job of capturing the Jedi Master’s playful and serious sides, while the Yoda here is in a less playful mood and Ross conveys the weight of this timeframe often, though sneaks in some good little sly grins here and there as he debates Dooku. In fact, Ross’ Yoda looks like one you could insert into the films and it could convince anyone the diminutive Master is real, as he looks a lot like the character as seen on screen, from the many wrinkles to wavy hair. Likewise, the way Ross extrapolates what a younger Dooku would look like, though not too much younger than his Attack of the Clones look, is fitting for the character, while he retains the Count’s regality in his posture and stances, minor yet important details which are vital to the character’s appearance. There’s also a great variety of species amongst the other initiates, a small detail but I love to see when an artist fills out the background characters with various and unique looks. As for the main trio of initiates, there’s a softness to Gheyr that helps place her at odds with the usual Trandoshan look; Jaz’kin is one Ross helped bring to life originally so the way he ages down the Togorian, he ends up looking like an even cuter, sweeter young bipedal tiger; and Krrsish looks closer to the Wookiee Sagwa from Solo: A Star Wars Story than Chewbacca or Burryaga, which I appreciate because there’s variety to the species and I’m glad he chose to represent the one we see less. There’s a sneaky little reference to Palpatine in the art that took me off guard because I almost didn’t see it but couldn’t unsee it afterwards, Woodard sneaking in some spooky hidden red eyes and pale skin, the outline of a hood visible within the darkness of the background. The vision, a two-page spread, is another memorable work, Krrsish in the middle, images of various Wookiees, many looking like we’re used to compared to Krrsish himself, and Trandoshans, more fierce and less friendly, Bossk-esque compared to Gheyr less menacing look, overall washed through by warm colors, as if it’s a fever in Krrsish’s head, causing the discomfort so clearly drawn on his face. Caramagna is no stranger to Wookiee growls, giving Krrsish plenty of personality in his voice, while I liked the biggest use of SFX comes only when Yoda and Dooku ignite their lightsabers to spare for the student’s benefit, really hammering home this is a peaceful place, the Jedi Temple, and there’s no war or action to litter the pages with more effects.
Here are a few other things:
- I’m still assuming it’s either Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon, but the Force ghost reaching out to Yoda on Dagobah, who seems to be ignoring them, is rather insistent they chat. What about and why remain a decent enough mystery for the framing story.
- It’s only been one issue, but I’m already enjoying this arc quite a bit, and I feel like I might end up enjoying it more than the first. As for the final arc, our first glimpse at Marc Guggenheim’s contribution was revealed in the comic solicitations for May, where we’ll see Yoda during the Clone Wars.
- While she wasn’t named this issue, we know Gheyr’s name thanks to her starring on the Women’s History Month variant cover in March for issue #5. This month is Black History Month, so the resulting variant cover has the fierce Mace Windu on it!
- Jaz’kin also wasn’t named yet in the series, but we all assumed and Houser confirmed it on Twitter.
Yoda #4 begins the latest arc of the series, centering on an intriguing group of young Jedi and the wonderful debates of Dooku and Yoda.
+ Dooku and Yoda’s friendly, but packed debates
+ Intriguing Trio (and they aren’t humans!)
+ Shadows and light in the art
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.