SWNN Review: Marvel’s Shattered Empire #4 of 4

Shattered Empire #4Let’s get down to business. This is THE issue we were waiting for. If there were any hints to be had about Luke’s post-ROTJ/pre-TFA role, this would be the issue they would drop. Upon reading the first issue, I thought Rucka and co. we’re cruelly going to taunt us with Luke’s only cameo in the series being the Lambada shuttle radio transmissions. I was relieved when the cover was revealed. We get Luke, and surprisingly, a happy ending set against the bittersweet backdrop of a galaxy in uncertainty.

 

Shattered Empire #4Three months have passed since the Battle of Endor. The remnants of the Empire have been busy burying the Emperor’s Sith souvenirs and convoluting the galaxy. Shara Bey is at a crossroads; attempt to let go and go back to her family, or stay and fight an endless conflict. That decision has already been made for her, but there is one more person who needs her help before she heads off into the sunset.

Shattered Empire #4

Luke Skywalker.

The details of the mission are not made clear to Shara as she and Luke set off to Vetine, location of another ISB lab. This one is in possession of something the Emperor stole. I got the “Oh my God Luke is going after a Sith relic!!!” jitters why I read this. Shara will pose as an Imperial officer called Beck, while Luke and Artoo pose as her bodyguards. Luke has a good hiding spot for his lightsaber, as we’ve seen before.

Shattered Empire #4

What the Emperor stole were two trees from the heart of the Jedi Temple. How Luke knew this is beyond me, but perhaps a certain Force ghost(s) told him. Hopefully this will be cleared up somewhere down the comic/literature line, because I think I’m even more confused about Luke than I was before reading this. As they make their way deep into the lab, we see more of those strange droids that projected the Emperor’s last orders being assembled. Weird.
Shattered Empire #4It doesn’t take long for things to go bad and Luke needing to retrieve his lightsaber, once again. It’s nice to see the Jedi dispatch Stormtroopers. The trees are very fragile and cannot be dropped. Luke deals with the troopers while Shara handles the trees. They make it out alive, blow the installation to bits, and head out. Was it just me or did Shara seem a bit puzzled with Luke blowing the base to pieces? Hmmm….

Shattered Empire #4Luke was not counting on finding two trees. He gives the second tree to Shara, part housewarming gift and the other part giving her stewardship over the important plant. Shara Bey and Kes Dameron plant it in their backyard and live happily ever after.

Shattered Empire #4

I did not expect either of Poe’s parents to make it out of these four books alive. It just seems that every major SW character is required to be an orphan. I’m happy to be wrong and I certainly hope we see more of them. Maybe we even get a cameo in the sequel trilogy? It was nice to see Luke as a steadfast Jedi Knight who could focus solely on restoring the good will of the Force rather than be hunted by the Sith or decide whether to kill his old man or not. I really hope we get a little bit more of a glimpse into Luke’s life before he vanishes into the non-existence TFA is setting up.

 

This was a great issue and a great conclusion to a series that only disappoints me because of its short length. Marvel should hand Greg Rucka the keys to the SW comic book kingdom and produce more of these Shattered Empire titles. Even if they don’t involve major characters from the OT, I’m sure we would all love to see what is happening around the rest of the galaxy. My hat is off to a series that could not have been better executed. Hope these folks are drinking champagne and patting themselves on the back to a job well done.

 

Buy all of these and write Marvel aggressive emails demanding more!

 

You can order a digital copy at Marvel.com or at Comixology.comor visit the nearest comic book store.

 

+ posts

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

66 thoughts on “SWNN Review: Marvel’s Shattered Empire #4 of 4

  • October 22, 2015 at 7:05 pm
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    An interesting issue, but still no clues to what happened between RoTJ and TFA.

    • October 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm
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      I think the whole premise is to get you to purchase merchandise/material… Disney needs to recoup it’s 4 Billion dollar investment. Otherwise I think you would feel so much more satisfied… By the way, did you purchase the Chewbacca comic?

      • October 22, 2015 at 11:42 pm
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        Pretty much yeah. This is just about keeping the brand in the public eye (as if that were really needed) and maybe doling out little tidbits for the fans here and there. The novels and comics are mostly uninteresting dreck to me, especially that atrocious Aftermath book. I had high hopes for that but it spent so much of its time with new characters (sigh) that I cared absolutely nothing whatsoever about.

        • October 23, 2015 at 12:53 am
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          The one positive I took from the Aftermath disappointment is that the SW community in general is smart enough to recognise a foul stench as soon as it was brought on board…

  • October 22, 2015 at 7:10 pm
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    Wow wow wow, just a great issue! Finally seeing Luke in full Jedi battle mode. Nice that Poe is not an orphan too!

  • October 22, 2015 at 7:15 pm
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    And Poe is from Yavin! Interesting.

  • October 22, 2015 at 7:37 pm
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    Are the trees a metaphor for two families?

    • October 22, 2015 at 8:52 pm
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      No, for the acting in the PT

    • October 23, 2015 at 5:16 am
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      I concur, maybe symbolising the fact that the fate of the galaxy doesn’t lie in the hands of one chosen bloodline but multiple heroes.

  • October 22, 2015 at 7:43 pm
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    What I’m curious about is where Luke was planning on planting his tree. Certainly not on Tattooine, since it’s a desert. I highly doubt that Hoth or Endor are significant enough to him. Probably not Yavin 4, since that’s where the other one will be. My only guess is that he intends to plant it on Dagobah by Yoda’s hut.

    • October 23, 2015 at 2:00 am
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      Probably in the temple that he found in the short book The Weapon of a Jedi he wanted to return to.

  • October 22, 2015 at 8:14 pm
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    Luke was a badass in this one

  • October 22, 2015 at 9:06 pm
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    Not seeing the point of this series. It was entertaining in small doses, but it doesn’t give us a single relevant piece of info about the universe of TFA. At best, it seems like the prologue of an ongoing series about the continuing adventures after RotJ.

    What did we learn? That Poe Dameron’s parents were involved with Endor. That’s it. I can’t imagine the Jedi Tree being something that becomes a major point in TFA or Episode 8. If it does, it’ll feel a little too much like Avatar, where the Home Tree is some sort of mystical, central focus for all life. Does anyone think that the business on Naboo will have any bearing on anything? Does anyone think that the Emperor droids are going to be shown anywhere in the movies?

    There’s nothing about this now-completed story that makes me say, “Wow… I can’t wait to see these stories paid off in The Force Awakens!” The movie is coming out in two months, and there’s no way anything in this series will matter a single bit or enhance the movie. The entirety is going to be me leaning over to a friend and saying ‘Interesting tidbit.. Poe Dameron’s parents were at the Battle of Endor.”

    In all sincerity, explain to me how I’mwrong.

    • October 22, 2015 at 10:13 pm
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      I agree. I didn’t realy read any of these. There’s nothing that makes you really want or need to. It’s just a little miniseries of post Jedi adventures. I hope the next series does a lot more to into this big thirty year gap. We are two months away and still know absolutely nothing of the plot. I think they can show us some minor spoilers now. All I want to know is what happened to Luke!

      • October 23, 2015 at 12:58 am
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        I also agree, the comments made previously regarding quantity vs quality are spot on.

      • October 23, 2015 at 3:51 am
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        You didn’t miss a damn thing.

    • October 22, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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      “At best, it seems like the prologue of an ongoing series about the continuing adventures after RotJ.”

      That’s exactly how I look at it. I

      MHO, everything before the movie comes out is just to tease us and make us hungry. Once the mystery of “Where’s Luke?” has been answered on-screen, they’ll start filling in the 30-year gap.

      I’m willing to bet that over the next few years, we’ll get lots of post-Endor stuff (I’m hoping for an animated series at some point).

      • October 22, 2015 at 11:06 pm
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        This is all true, but all the hype had been about how this comic series would be one of the main things we’d get to prepare us for TFA. And judging by much of the giddy reaction online, some are seeing a LOT more value in this series than I can.

        Seriously, every other book we’ve gotten had done far more st expanding our knowledge than this series. Even the sticker books have been more informative. The packaging on the toys even beats this series.

        • October 22, 2015 at 11:21 pm
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          Yup. The most important thing to come out of this is that we know Poe’s parents now … and that’s actually a rather small piece of the puzzle.

          That said, I’ve enjoyed this series, but it is alright not great.

        • October 23, 2015 at 3:54 am
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          I’ll be much more blunt: This series was pointless and boring.

    • October 23, 2015 at 3:15 am
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      All of you sure sound like you have see TFA already. How about seeing the movie first and then seeing how things link up? Just because you can’t figure it out or you don’t see something yet doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

      • October 26, 2015 at 6:43 am
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        I can’t imagine that “Operation: Cinder” is still going strong as the Force Awakens begins. Or that we’re going to see any more of the new Queen of Naboo and her ace fighter skills. Or that Shara and Kes will make an appearance. Or that the Emperor Droids will still be walking around. The only thing I can see that might make an APPEARANCE is the tree. I’ll bet money that it’s part of Luke’s training regimen and that we’ll maybe SEE it in TFA and then see it used to train someone in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Tree of Cinders

        Again, I’m more pointing out the disconnect between the hype for this story and the reaction that it’s gotten with how little any of it seems to justify being a centerpiece of “Journey to the Force Awakens”. It’s just *A* tale set in the immediate aftermath of the Endor.

        Your parsecs may vary…

        (Edited to add: My joke about the Ep 8 title may be a huge clue. There ARE a lot of cinders floating around Luke and Artoo. What if in the flashback to Luke’s Jedi Academy Massacre, we see a large tree set on fire? )

  • October 22, 2015 at 10:08 pm
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    So baby Poe had a force tree in his yard? Hmmm.. What I Have in mind could be the real gem of this series.

  • October 22, 2015 at 10:15 pm
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    Did Luke really kill a bunch of Imperials just to rescue a pair of trees? I know they’re mystical, Force-infused, Avatar-like trees, but seriously? I really thought Luke was going after that missing lightsaber…that maybe we would be getting a backstory that ties directly into TFA. Instead, we get trees. Really anticlimactic.

    And I’m shocked Poe’s parents survived after the heavy foreshadowing that they wouldn’t. Weird conclusion to this series, which I thought was awesome till the last few pages of this final issue.

    • October 22, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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      In TFA Luke will reveal his apprentice: jedi padawan Groot!

    • October 23, 2015 at 2:54 am
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      Robert Neville commented: “Empire Strikes back soundtrack listing for the scene where Luke confronts Luke/Vader in Dagobah called “The Magic Tree”

      So one of those trees may have existed in Dagobah which is why yoda may have lived nearby.

      These trees may serve as part of a jedi’s training. (Where they
      project visions, fears, or just makes you closer to the cosmic force.)

      Luke knows he needs one to properly train future jedi. And gives one to the Dameron’s in case he loses his.

      This is getting good!

  • October 22, 2015 at 10:16 pm
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    How many pages do each of these comic include? 🙂

    • October 23, 2015 at 6:26 am
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      20 pages, excluding covers.

  • October 22, 2015 at 10:25 pm
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    Haven’t started the series yet..but can it be possible that the destruction of these trees later on in perhaps another series, cause the elimination of the force? Which is why it’s become a thing of legends and has recently been awoken again in the new movie.

    • October 22, 2015 at 11:36 pm
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      All the more reason Kylo may test the super weapon on Poe’s home planet. With one plant remaining.

  • October 22, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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    For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to get into any of the new story line. If this new movie is as good as we hope, I might have that old spark of fandom I once did as a kid.

  • October 22, 2015 at 11:35 pm
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    Perhaps they live long enough for Kylo Ren to test the new super weapon against Poe’s home planet in front of Poe. Just as Darth Vader blew up Alderaan in front of Leia. I also have a sneaking suspicion that after interrogating/torturing of Poe possibly right in front of him judging from the blood on Finn’s stormtrooper helmet, maybe not Poe’s blood but the rest of his crew. It may be enough for Finn to decide to defect the first order, grabbing Poe’s belongings on his way out. The awkward moment in the trailer looks as if that is the first time they’ve seen each other since the torture on the new star destroyer. Just a thought, will be interesting to see how Finn ends up with Anakin’s lightsaber as it doesn’t look like he has it right after the crash. Perhaps Rey finds it looking through the fallen star destroyer and has no interest in it and gives it to Finn for whatever reason.

    • October 22, 2015 at 11:50 pm
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      Maybe destroying these trees are part of Kylo’s plan. Perhaps Lukes remaining tree is on Skellig Island. Weird how this would have an Avatar like plot with the life tree, but whatever. I’m still watching it, and likely very wrong. Heh.

      • October 23, 2015 at 6:23 am
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        the trees have been part of Star Wars canon waaaaaaaay longer than Avatar ever existed. 😉

        • October 23, 2015 at 5:30 pm
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          Good call.

    • October 23, 2015 at 6:24 am
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      you’re probably right about destroying Poe’s homeworld (which isn’t Yavin as can be seen by the close proximity of that moon) but the blood on FN’s helmet is probably one of his stormtrooper buddy’s dying (or one of his victims) when they torch that village(jakku?)

  • October 23, 2015 at 1:47 am
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    Empire Strikes back soundtrack listing for the scene where Luke confronts ‘Luke Vader’ is called “The Magic Tree”

    • October 23, 2015 at 2:48 am
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      That is very interesting..
      So one of those trees existed in Dagobah which is why yoda may have lived nearby.

      These trees may have served as part of the jedi’s training. (Where they project visions, fears, or just makes you closer to the cosmic force.)

      Luke knows he needs one to properly train future jedi.

      This is getting good!

      • October 23, 2015 at 6:21 am
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        Yes, the tree on Dagobah is a dark side tree (or cave), the reason Yoda hid there is because the dark side cancels out his light side so he would be undetectable.

        The tree from the Jedi temple was part of the training ground.

        • October 23, 2015 at 8:44 am
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          I can totally go with this because having a Force Tree on Skelig Island would totally not need to be explained within the confines of the movie. You see Luke send someone into a Force Tree as part of their training, and audiences won’t bat an eye. “Oh, he’s got a special tree like Yoda had.” The fact that it has a backstory is just bonus.

          And it’s nitpicky, but the whole Yoda hiding near that tree because it masked/cancelled his light side is from the old Legends-ary canon. It might very well make it into the New Canon, but for now it’s simply a Legend.

          • October 23, 2015 at 9:11 am
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            I’m not really sure it is part of the canon, but It is Qui-Gon’s force ghost that leads Yoda to Dagobah. And remember, in Episode one, it is Yoda that says “the dark side clouds everything..” (although, not 100% if that is only in relation with seeing the future, or actually sensing with the force.)

  • October 23, 2015 at 2:25 am
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    This comic series was so good. When Luke goes full Jedi it was amazing. Great art and a great Story. Near perfect 4 issue run.

  • October 23, 2015 at 2:54 am
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    If Poe spent so much time in that yard near the tree it is quite possible that he became force sensitive just through regular contact with the thing.

    I really hoped we would see an ancient sith tomb or sth instead of 2 force trees. I hope this storyline manages to somehow translate itself into meaningful plot in the new movie. Perhaps Luke has planted the second tree at Skelig island filming location and has been guarding it for some reason?

    • October 23, 2015 at 6:17 am
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      Yes, this is supposed to be the tree from the Jedi Training ground.

  • October 23, 2015 at 3:59 am
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    I know it’s just me, but I’m having a really hard time accepting these Marvel Star Wars comics and the various novels as canon. I view the canon as simply the movies, Clone Wars, and Rebels.

    • October 23, 2015 at 4:48 am
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      I say say the movies movies are the ONLY cannon.

      • October 23, 2015 at 7:26 am
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        So in your world nothing worth telling happens outside of the movies?

      • October 23, 2015 at 11:34 am
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        Well, too bad for you. My guess is there will be references towards the comics/series in the future.

    • October 23, 2015 at 6:13 am
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      They are all controlled by the Lucasfilm Story Group so, no matter if you have a problem, they are part of canon.

  • October 23, 2015 at 4:30 am
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    Apparently Luke knows something that we don’t….he destroys everything in the lab and doesnt care when he kills the Imperial officers at all…that didn’t seem like Luke to me….

    • October 23, 2015 at 6:12 am
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      he doesn’t destroy everything in the lab. .they’re busy escaping and the only thing he does is throw the droids(and destroy them) towards the troopers shooting at them with the canon.

      The explosion is only with simple detonators on the platform and you can also see Luke’s disgust as he bows down and realizes what he has done.

  • October 23, 2015 at 4:56 am
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    YYYEEEESSSS

    THE JEDI ARE MYSTERIOUS AGAIN!

    I just need to let this sink in for a minute….
    are you guys appreciating how lucky we are right now?
    I thought the Jedi were all explained away into the desolation of over-exposition.
    But now it seems they’ve succeeded in making Luke as mysterious and enigmatic as Ben Kenobi in ANH.
    Shit, it’s like they know what they’re doing or something!

    • October 23, 2015 at 5:07 am
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      Actually, you make a really good point about the mystery.

      Good observation and perspective!

  • October 23, 2015 at 6:29 am
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    Something new for you conspiracy theory nuts..

    Now we know that Poe has been exposed to the force, and everyone already highlighted that Han says “…and the Jedi” when they show Fin, do you also realize that the last thing he said before Poe comes into screen is” the dark side…”

    • October 23, 2015 at 11:31 am
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      Very interesting thoughts, based on the trailers you wouldn’t see Poe as a Force sensitive. But after reading the comic, he possibly could be a Force Sensitive. Seeing him being tortured could lead to the dark side, also is the exploding planet known to him, as the trailer suggests? However, if it happens, it won’t happen until later in the movie/trilogy. Since Poe is in a lot of shots fighting the First Order.

      • October 23, 2015 at 2:40 pm
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        Anankin didn’t turn until the last third of Episode three, right? Also funny.. why would he get a black X-Wing? (teeheehee)
        I wouldn’t mind it though, seeing a character turn from bad to good, and the actor would be well suited.

  • October 23, 2015 at 7:27 am
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    I dunno. While I enjoyed reading this series. It is ultimately underwhelming. I’m starting to feel tremors I haven’t felt since JJ’s Lost, that vague intuition and nagging feeling that the writers were stringing us along without a clear clue where it was all leading.

    • October 23, 2015 at 7:44 am
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      they already said that the real “backstory” won’t be revealed until 2016, so after the release of TFA, this is just a tiny tease to keep us interested until the movie.

      • October 23, 2015 at 4:43 pm
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        Yeah and Pablo Hidalgo has said that after seeing TFA, certain parts of the “Journey to TFA” will come more into focus. Could these trees have something to do with the awakening?

  • October 23, 2015 at 1:40 pm
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    Two trees when Luke was expecting one? I’m calling shenanigans – Darth Sidious shenanigans. Luke was meant to find them, and one is tainted or false. He doesn’t even question it, he just gives it away. One of those trees is a plant (pun, not foliage). Or, failing that, one of them just goes bad because of where they plant it – good tree/bad tree, light side/dark side. It’s an interesting fantasy kind of idea and would add well to the greater mythos.

    • October 23, 2015 at 2:44 pm
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      did you see my -Poe will turn to the dark side because of this tree – comment below?

  • October 23, 2015 at 5:40 pm
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    I am not going to read any of the post rotj comics until after seeing the new movie.

  • October 24, 2015 at 1:17 pm
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    Sorry guys, serious question here:

    What is the point of Luke being a Jedi? If the only way he can achieve things is by blowing things up and killing people (albeit imperials) then what is the point in professing to be a Jedi!?

    Please correct me if I’ve interpreted this wrong but Yoda clearly states that “a Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defence. Never for attack.”

    He also says that “anger, fear, aggression, the dark side are they.” I’m guessing you need a degree of aggression to kill people, right!?

    Throughout the films, and now comics, all we see Luke do is blow things and people up. I reckon his kill count must be higher than the whole Jedi order during the republic era!

    I don’t see how going in and destroying a place differentiates you from the very forces that are professing to oppose (for doing the same things). How does behaving in similar ways, make you “better” than them!?

    Surely the real skill of a Jedi is to achieve your objective with minimal loss of life (friend or foe) whilst also keeping yourself and friends or of harms way. In the Phantom menace, Obi Wan and Qui Gon can sneak around a space ship (after their initial confrontation) and escape undetected. Heck, even count Dooku can incapacitate Obi Wan in the RoTS without harming him.

    I just don’t get what it means to be a Jedi for Luke.

    • October 28, 2015 at 3:49 pm
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      Interesting thoughts. It is true that Luke starts out basically a soldier, but it gradually changes throughout the series. In my mind, Luke finally discovers his path of Jedi-hood in ROTJ. His enlightenment comes through his compassion for his father, who he attempts to redeem, against the advice of Obi-Wan and Yoda. He becomes a more balanced Jedi then — we see him use anger and self-defense, yes, but we also see him put down his weapon and turn away from violence. This is something the brash Luke has struggled with before, such as in the failure at the Dagobah cave. But in ROTJ, after apparently some reflection and growth, Luke becomes more balanced, he is more of a calm, negotiating Jedi through much of the film — a huge growth for him — and through this growing balance he redeems his father and gets his own Jedi awakening. He does fight when he has to, yes, but not usually more than that. And at the end, he is on another level of development completely.

      It is my sincerest hope and wish that in this new continuity Luke has continued, or at least maintained, his growth after his ‘enlightenment’ at the end of ROTJ. I can only say that I have strong doubts that this will happen, but you never know. The reason I doubt it is because in order to write wisdom and enlightened nonviolence you have to possess a little yourself. It would seem that many of the new moviemakers are simply that — moviemakers and business people, so whether they have any Zen knowledge they can impart into Luke’s character is totally up for debate and probably doubtful. That’s usually why he is usually written the way he is — the authors are just normal people authors and can’t really write past their own level of wisdom, basically. Although, given the amount of info on the internet these days, I wish they’d try.

      With that said, no need to give up hope early. Worst case scenario we will probably get a warrior-monk Luke in the style of the Clone Wars Jedi, which I suppose isn’t the worst thing in the world, since it is entertaining, though a disappointment. Best case scenario we get Buddha Luke who is on another level because by this point he is so in touch with the Living Force he is basically an empath who can ‘see through the Matrix’ of existence. Likely he will be in between but I think at least at the end of ROTJ, being a Jedi for Luke is the path of wisdom and compassion and personal knowledge and acceptance. Whether that continues on, I guess we will see.

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