Hope for some Intelligent Droids

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu #1

Writer: Matt Owens
Pencils: Denys Cowan
Inker: Roberto Poggi
Colorist: Guru-eFX
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Published by DC Comics, 2017.

Book 1, Part 1
Taking place just after the battle of Geonosis from Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu has found himself fighting a war he did not want. He’s not too comfortable in the role of a general, though, so he convinces the Jedi Council to send him and a small band of Jedi Masters to destroy the Separatists on the planet of Hissrich.

With Kit Fisto, Prosset Dibs, and Rissa Mano, Mace heads to the Outer Rim to take on the droid units and prevent the Separatists from gaining a foothold.

And once they reach the planet, the action starts in earnest. Each of the Jedi team proves why they were sent on this mission. Droids go down left and right, even a new kind that I haven’t seen before, the octuptarra, that kinda looks like a walking octopus,

But slicing through these droids in a daring night-time raid was simply the tip of the iceberg as the team was observed and another new droid – AD-W4, a mercenary droid – vows to solve the Jedi threat.

For the first issue in this series, I enjoyed things quite a bit. I am excited to learn more about Mace and the other 3 Jedi, and the introduction of some new droid types is promising. But then again, this issue highlights some of my troubles with the prequels…

While they didn’t come right out an utter “Roger, Roger”, I really can’t stand the droids in the Separatist army, and I’m hoping the new bots show some signs of intelligence. The Octuptarra didn’t get much of a chance, but AD-W4 seems like he could be interesting.

The other piece of Star Wars lore I have an issue with might actually be addressed somewhat in this series…the idea that since the Jedi know how to use lightsabers and can fight that they’d make great generals. As we’ve seen many times over, the Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers, so how does that translate into generals that run armies across multiple planets? Mace certainly doesn’t want to be a general, and it seems like Prosset Dibs is of the same mindset. Jedi are the Green Berets or Navy Seals, not all of them are gonna be great Generals.

In any case, this was a pretty good issue that kept up a good pace, had some nice fighting scenes and I really enjoyed the interplay within the Jedi Council.

Verdict

The character development of the four Jedi on the mission was pretty good and I’m looking forward to future installments as I rate this issue a Read.

This comic can be found on Comixology, on Marvel Unlimited, or at your local comic book shop.

Comic Corner | Reading Recommendation of Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu #1