It’s still hard to believe it’ll be The Force Awakens‘ 10th Anniversary this year, but even more so that we’ve now had 10 years of canon stories across all different mediums, including comics! The comics have been the recipient of the Manor’s biggest focus for the past decade and we already summed up our feelings on the first five years with the initial Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments series for 2015-2019, so with another 5 years under all our belts, it was time to see what was so Unforgettable about this next half of the decade. Teaming up with the Manor’s Sous Chef and Legendary Adventures mastermind Chris once again, we both wrote our own separate Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments lists, this time for 2020-2024!
In today’s post below, you’ll find our individual #10-8 entries, while Part II has spots #7-5, while Part III showcases spots #4-1!! So without further ado, let’s dive into the Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Comic Moments from 2020-2024 Part I, by Chris and Ryan!
In our opening salvo of picks, there’s no overlap between our choices, but there is a thematic similarity with how art can make all the difference!
Chris
10. Marchion Ro and Ghirra Starros Face Off (The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight #4):
When The High Republic Phase II made a pit-stop to a time 150 years prior to the events of Phases I and III, I was worried we would have trouble finding the momentum to restart Phase III with a bang. Shadows of Starlight, the first comic series that featured the events of Phase III, was thankfully adept at handling this issue. One of my favorite parts of Shadows was seeing the way the Nihil had adapted to their new positions of power, ruling over the Occlusion Zone. One such place we saw this conflict was in the new power dynamics of Marchion Ro and Ghirra, still…sort of lovers? But now sort of antagonists? As the two duked it out on how to best serve (if they even WANTED to serve) the people of the OZ, we saw the Nihil weren’t prepared to lead…and we saw another path forward for victory.
9. Anakin Skywalker…Jedi Knight?? (The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Special):
If you’ve seen the Star Wars films, you’ll know Anakin Skywalker was, in fact, a Jedi Knight and it’s actually a pretty important part. But when Anakin was only 9-years-old, this wasn’t as foregone a conclusion as he thought it may have been. When he was still a slave on Tatooine, he had dreams of becoming a Jedi Knight, complete with a yellow lightsaber built from spare parts. This dream was part of his larger desire, need, to protect everyone around him. And while he did start on his path to become a Jedi in this issue (as most of it plays against the plot of The Phantom Menace), we do see the first person he can help: a Tusken. This ironic salvation foreshadows a darker future, but it lets us spend a little time getting to know the child who would become one of the fiercest warriors in the galaxy.
8. Obi-Wan Duels Darth Vader on an Unidentified Moon (Obi-Wan Kenobi #6):
This may end up becoming my most controversial pick of the entire article. I’d almost put good, hard-earned Republic credits on this thought. But for as many problems as the Obi-Wan Kenobi adaptation mini-series had, I actually was able to find some enjoyment from it. The art, traced by Salvador Larroca, ran way too far into the uncanny valley more often than not, but scores some points for me in terms of salvaging some of the show’s visuals. Let me explain. The show’s lightsabers are distractingly bright to me, in a way that legitimately hampered my enjoyment of the show. By portraying the fight in drawings, the visuals were “fixed” in the book, and it actually let the moment shine for me. This is an emotional fight – and I know it wasn’t crafted for a comic – but this moment genuinely moved me as I experienced it again. While I don’t think these adaptations are doing nearly enough to justify their existence, I will still give it a coveted top ten spot for some of the ways that I do think they help us as readers.
Ryan
10. Momoko’s Visions Shout Without a Peep (Star Wars: Visions – Peach Momoko):
In a moment which has grown on me more and more since it was released, it originally landed a spot only as a Honorable Mention in 2023, Peach Momoko’s Star Wars: Visions comic was a visual delight like only the artist can deliver (she did make Top 3 Artists that year). And much like how Obi-Wan being blinded worked so well thanks to the art team for Obi-Wan #2, earning it a Top 5 spot in 2022, Momoko’s own work stretches the confines of the medium, as while there’s no dialogue or sound FXs during her entire Visions issue, and comics have no technical sound to them anyways, a big sequence towards the end allows readers to ‘hear’ the comic. In fact, knowing now Momoko redid almost the entire issue because it initially had dialogue and they dropped it because it felt too confusing only strengthens how well her artwork conveyed so much noise. As main character Kako gets wrapped up in the tentacles of the dangerous Sith cult leader Tata, and the weird, creepy essence of Ankok, things begin to fall apart as Ankok’s spirit withers away, only for the issue to pull us into a two-page splash, the first part showing Tata smirking, thinking she’s still won, but a line cuts through the insert panel, and then we get the full view, of the line going past her and up to the body of Ankok. There’s tons of negative space, as if this is the only thing that matters or anyone is noticing in the moment, our biggest indicator at the ultimate silence of the room. The panel beneath has a surprised Tata noticing the shot and the next one is of Ankok’s body, now sporting a third eye, much like it did in Kako’s mind but this time in real life. The very first panel after all this negative space, and the hanging silence it implies, we are treated to a packed panel of pandemonium, Popo atop someone’s shoulders, shouting, blaster still in her hand. Such a busy panel feels so loud in comparison, to the point readers at home can almost hear the uproar. I love seeing the medium being used to its full potential, being able to convey such a unique creative’s skills the way only comics can, and this is Star Wars comics’ most vibrant display of it yet.
9. The Grand Inquisitors’ Ghastly Fate (Star Wars #6 {2020}):
The Grand Inquisitors’ final words to Kanan Jarrus about a fate worse than death always seemed to portend Darth Vader’s arrival in the second season of Star Wars Rebels, royally messing with their confidence for the fight ahead. But…what if Ol’ Grandy meant for himself, for his failure? 5 real world years after his death in the show, we learned the true meaning when Luke Skywalker, following a lead for a new lightsaber after losing his blade (and his hand) against Vader on Cloud City, finds himself battling…the Grand Inquisitor! Somehow, someway, the Grand Inquisitor is back, hovering between dead and alive, suffering a punishment which totally fits the bill of worse than death, as he seems to be left in a flame-covered limbo, guarding a remote outpost, forever. It’s a chilling and dastardly fun way to capitalize on the characters’ final words, showing mercy doesn’t come for all those who have fallen or given up their principals, and it adds even more weight to the scene in the show.
8. Aphra’s Soul-Searching Mission From Sana (Doctor Aphra #31 {2020}):
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve appreciated stories for telling me it’s more about the journey than it is the ending, so while I adored where Aphra’s story ended in Alyssa Wong’s series, this pivotal moment sums up where the series had gone so far and the journey Aphra still needed to have before it ended. And if there’s anyone who should understand enjoying the journey over worrying about the ending, it’s Chelli Lona Aphra, who lives moment to moment, devil-may-care, even at the expense of others. While she’s getting better at the last part, she can’t imagine an end of this lifestyle nor admitting how much she wants someone else to share her life with. Her reaction to the group which saved her from the Spark Eternal is to push them away, unable to accept so many people would care about her despite herself and unwilling to accept relying on any of them, lest she hurt them more. She tries to patch things up and push forward with her exes Magna Tolvan and Sana Starros, but until she can admit to either of them what she can’t admit to herself, that she loves them and is willing to care about them, Aphra will remain alone. Wong’s run, as wild and as funny as it got, was really about the characters and their emotional journeys and Sana’s ultimatum kick-starts Aphra’s final, necessary journey in the series and captures what Wong brought to the table in a nutshell, leaving us both curious if Aphra could make the change, but slightly hopeful she might.
That brings the first installment to a close! Ryan of course brought our first mention of Doctor Aphra, but will there be more? And Chris took time to get the High Republic era mentioned, but how many more times could it make a spot? What else is in store for the remaining spots of the Manor’s Top 10 Unforgettable Star Wars Comics Moments? Check back Wednesday for Part II and Friday for Part III to find out They are here, so check out Part II and Part III as well!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky. Chris is the Manor’s Sous Chef. You can follow him on Bluesky as well.
All comic panel images credited to Marvel/Dark Horse/Lucasfilm