Review – ‘Star Wars: Yoda’ #9 Wraps up Its Clone Wars Arc as the Series Nears Its End
The best part of Star Wars: Yoda issue #8 was its focus on the relationship between Anakin and Yoda. I’m happy to say that the same can be said here with Yoda issue #9. As the series starts to come to a close, writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Alessandro Miracolo wrap up their Clone Wars story arc, again focusing on the relationship between Yoda and Anakin and the lessons they teach one another. However, aside from the dialogue between the two and a reveal at the end, the issue doesn’t offer a lot else, as its plot is pretty predictable.
Spoilers ahead…
Picking up right where the last issue left off, Anakin and Yoda are faced up against a prototype megadroid. The hulking machine is too large for them to square up against and is resistant to lightsabers. So — predictably — Yoda has to go and destroy the droid from the inside and take it apart there.
But once Yoda is inside, the droid takes off into space, and Yoda is stranded there while inside the droid. Eventually, Anakin gets on his ship and comes to help rescue Yoda. During this rescue, Anakin is fearful that he can’t save Yoda in time and that he’s not powerful enough in the Force to rescue him. But Yoda reassures Anakin that he is powerful enough to save him, and Anakin helps free Yoda and picks him up on his ship.
Anakin has doubts about whether or not Yoda needed his help. He asks Yoda whether this was all just a lesson to help Anakin build confidence, but Yoda doesn’t tell. It’s then that the story jumps back to Yoda on Dagobah, where he’s speaking with the friend he’s been in contact with from the very start of the series. That friend is none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi.
I was genuinely surprised by this reveal as all the clues suggested that Yoda was speaking with Luke all this time. However, this reveal makes more sense considering the context of the stories. While Yoda was relaying a story about Anakin, he was also relaying a story about Count Dooku in the previous issues — someone Luke would not know of. This reveal also recolors the message about the past story arcs, as we realize that Yoda was talking to Obi-Wan about his past failures and how he doesn’t want to now fail Luke.
The last few pages of this issue help save it from being completely dull. While I enjoyed the back-and-forth jokes between Anakin and Yoda, how they defeat the megadroid and the way that Anakin saves Yoda could’ve been spotted a mile away. Even though this was an okay issue, I’m hoping that this issue’s reveal sets up a moving and emotional final issue.
Score: 6/10
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
