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Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Yoda #1!In what would prove to be their final days, Star Wars‘ Jedi Order had fallen far from the height of their glory. For thousands of years the Jedi were hailed as defenders of peace and justice in the galaxy, but the era of the Clone Wars would see them mired in bureaucracy, elitism, and indecision. The Jedi’s fall from grace was not an overnight process, but rather an arduous slide into stagnation that would proceed over decades (if not centuries). Only one of their order, Master Yoda, would witness the Jedi’s decline in its entirety.
Following what is arguably their apex during the High Republic era, the Jedi Order strayed further and further from their original path. Ultimately, they became so detached from the rest of galactic civilization, their vision so clouded, they were vulnerable for the first time in millennia. This vulnerability was exploited by Darth Sidious, the future Emperor Palpatine, in order to bring about the Sith’s revenge, the destruction of the Jedi Council, and the near extinction of the Order itself. Owing to his incredibly long lifespan, Yoda alone witnessed the Jedi at their apex in the High Republic, their eradication under Order 66, and the handful of survivors in exile during the reign of the Galactic Empire.
Star Wars: Yoda #1 by Cavan Scott and Nico Leon offers a rare glimpse into this period of decline between the High Republic and Prequel eras. While the exact period in galactic history is left nebulous, the diminutive green Jedi is already notably stooped with well-thinned hair, no longer possessing the youthful vigor he possessed even 200 years before the films. Long gone are the Jedi who sat on the council alongside Yoda at that point in his life, while those who would be among its last members are also absent. What has taken root in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant are the early seeds of corruption. On the Outer Rim world of Turrak, the peaceful Scalvi have found themselves the targets of raids by a more aggressive race, the imposing Crulkon. The Scalvi send a distress signal to the Jedi, pleading for protection before the Crulkon wipe them out entirely. Mutterings of indifference, however, join the chorus in the chambers of the Jedi High Council. Jedi Master Pra-Tre, the newest member of the Council, views the matter as beneath the Jedi: the Scalvi are irrelevant to him, their plight beneath the concern of the Jedi High Council. Even Yoda’s volunteering to protect the Scalvi himself is met with pushback, Master Pra-Tre arguing the mission is beneath Yoda’s station.
Yoda Was One Voice on a Corrupted Council
While Pra-Tre’s voice is met with little agreement in the Council, it foreshadows the direction the Jedi will follow. During the High Republic, fans can see the Jedi Order go as far as to establish Starlight Beacon, a space station the Jedi utilize as an outpost specifically to defend Outer Rim worlds like Turrak. However, 200 years after Starlight Beacon’s destruction, the Jedi have completely abandoned those on the fringes of the galaxy, their presence wholly absent on worlds like Tatooine, where they’re discussed as more myth than a real force of justice in the galaxy.
As the Jedi retreated ever inward to their lofty tower in the galactic core, their influence on the galaxy waned, their original purpose lost.Yoda is old (and wise) enough to remember, and live by, the original mission of the Jedi Order, but his voice became an increasingly isolated one. Future Jedi Masters would echo Master Pra-Tre, the suffering of the poor and desperate beneath them and unworthy of their protection, leading to the creation of dangerous enemies.
While Palpatine’s machinations brought about the death of the Jedi, he exploited a sickness that had long festered in the Order, growing over Star Wars history. The Jedi Order lost its way decades ago, and Yoda’s new mission is making it clear why he was so powerless to stop its inevitable slide into decadence.
Star Wars: Yoda #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics
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