The struggle of the Jedi in their new roles.
Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Owens
Art: Denys Cowan, Roberto Poggi
Colors: Guru-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
For over a thousand generations, the Jedi have been the peacekeepers of the galaxy…but now, at the dawn of the Clone Wars, they find themselves in a new role: generals in the Army of the Republic. As Mace Windu, one of the Jedi’s greatest warriors, leads a small unit of Jedi into battle shortly after the war begins, the Jedi must make peace with their new role, or be lost to the violence around them!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the fun elements of the prequel trilogy is that of Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu simply because you know he was totally into this role and just enjoyed the hell out of it. While the first film is certainly weak, I like what we got out of the other two and with Mace Windu in particular. Here, we get writer Matt Owens stepping in to breathe some new life into the character under the hands of artists Denys Cowan and Roberto Poggi. It’s a solid combination overall that really does just have to struggle with some of the setup here that felt like it needed to take a few notes from how The Clone Wars TV series worked the first few minutes of each episode/arc in order to set things into motion. That said, the intent here is to be thoughtful more than anything else.
Taking place not long after the Battle of Geonosis that capped off the Attack of the Clones film, the undercurrent and opening thrust of the series is Windu’s unease about adding the title of General alongside Master. He’s intent on the Jedi being devoted to peace and what it represents but also understands the need to be involved and to try and lead by example along the way in how to better conduct this war. The remaining peaceful side is understandable but the truth is that they have to stand up and defend and it’s best to be involved to do it right rather than to leave it in unsavory hands. There are some good quiet moments on Coruscant about this and it leads into the mission itself that comes with the council assigning him to it, something that’s important after they lost so much on Geonosis that requires them all to step up their game.
With a focus on establishing more of a foothold in the outer rim where the Separatists are expanding their own designs in order to make a push to the core worlds, the focus is on a jungle world called Hisrich that the Separatists have set up on. Windu pulls together a small team of Jedi as there are no Clone Troopers to spare at the moment and they’re off to investigate why this world and what’s plotting there. We don’t get much in terms of the larger plan there, though the reveal at the end of who may be in charge, as the real focus is on introducing the team. And it’s decent enough to help bulk up the name Jedi that we know and their diversity but it’s hard to invest in any of them at this point. The basics that we get are solid enough but it feels like it leans a little too much into the quirk potential than anything else when you feel that it should be more like Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon style characters and personalities that would populate most of the Jedi ranks.
In Summary:
The opening installment of the five issue Mace Windu miniseries is off to a solid start with plenty of potential for where it can go. I continue to be glad that we’re not focusing exclusively on one era even if we do just play between the movies at this stage, leaving me hopeful that someday we’ll get to go back to the distant past and work the continuity there in the new canon. Windu’s story here gives us something in line with what we know of the character from the films in that it’s a more thoughtful approach but it doesn’t have as big of a hook as it needs by the end to make you want to come back. Cowen and Poggi’s artwork is solid and has a good flow to it and I’m curious to see what they bring of this new world as it progresses. I’m cautiously optimistic at this point.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: August 30th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
