Last month, the first arc of Marvel’s Star Wars: Yoda comic-book miniseries came to an end, and now it’s time to start up a new story with issue #4– this time written by the accomplished Jody Houser (Star Wars: Age of Republic).
Yoda #4 begins back on Dagobah during the title character’s exile there. He hears a disembodied voice continue to call through him through the Force, but we still don’t know who it might be– and I’m guessing we won’t find out until the conclusion of this miniseries.
Then Yoda flashes back to the period before the prequel trilogy, when his former Padawan Dooku (now a Jedi Master) served on the all-powerful Council on Coruscant. Yoda entreats Dooku to help him training a new batch of Jedi Initiates (the level prior to becoming a Padawan) in the Temple, though the latter is hesitant to return to simpler matters outside of the Council’s usual purview. But Yoda observes that it will be as good for Dooku as it is for the young Initiates, as the Serennian Jedi Master has begun to be consumed by thoughts of his home and the future of the Jedi Order. And indeed, Dooku does eventually find himself taken with the idea of training these younglings, making special note of how a particularly talented Wookiee is able to flourish next to a Trandoshan, and Yoda remarks that this is because they were raised away from their two warring species’ prejudices against each other. The Initiates are similarly impressed with Dooku, especially when he demonstrates his lightsaber prowess in a sparring match against the great Master Yoda himself. We get some insight as to Dooku’s current-at-the-time feelings about his former friend Sifo-Dyas (see Cavan Scott’s excellent 2019 audio drama Star Wars: Dooku – Jedi Lost for more on that relationship), and then we spend a few pages getting to know the Wookiee, who is named Krrsish.
Krrsish has a dark Force-fueled vision of the future that involves Master Yoda, other Wookiees, and conflict with the Trandoshans, and that sends him to the Jedi Archives, where he encounters Master Dooku again. There, the Serennian tells Krrsish that the Jedi often dismiss visions such as his because they only represent one possible version of the future. His advice is to avoid telling anyone about it, especially Master Yoda, but in the cliffhanger ending we get the sense that Yoda already knows something is amiss with Krrsish. In this story, entitled “Students of the Force,” I think Jody Houser has done a really good job in setting up an intriguing path for Yoda and Dooku to explore together, alongside the Initiates. We’ve gotten to know Dooku quite a bit better in recent Star Wars content (thanks to the above-mentioned Jedi Lost audio drama and last year’s Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of animated shorts from Dave Filoni) and each piece of the puzzle gives us additional insight into his life and the reasons behind his eventual fall from grace into the dark side of the Force. Here we can see how Dooku finds himself disagreeing with the Jedi Council and its practices, and how that discontent might gradually lead him away from the Order. It’s an appealing avenue to venture down, and I imagine this particular flashback– illustrated in attractive detail by artist Luke Ross (Star Wars: Allegiance) and colorist Nolan Woodard– may give Yoda a good deal more to reflect on during his solitary meditation in the swamp.
Star Wars: Yoda #4 is available now wherever comic books are sold.