Comic Info
Comic Name: Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Matt Owens
Artist: Denys Cowan/Edgar Salazar
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2018
Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu #1 Variant
Reprints Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu #1-5 (October 2017-February 2018). Mace Windu has been tasked to go with a team of Jedi to the planet Hissrich to determine what the Separatists are doing there. With Kit Fisto, Prosset Dibs, and Rissa Mano, Windu will face bigger odds than ever expected by the Jedi Council…and not all the challenges could be from the Separatists.
Written by Matt Owens, Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu is a Marvel Comics Star Wars spin-off title. The collection features art by Denys Cowan and Edgar Salazar.
With mixed reviews and the Star Wars overload that came with the release of the prequel films after years of waiting, it often felt like they weren’t as fleshed out as other Star Wars movies. Looking back, that isn’t necessarily the truth, but like the original trilogy, there are characters that could be better served with more exploration…and Mace Windu is definitely one of them.
Like most “side” characters in Star Wars, Mace Windu is largely a mystery other than the knowledge he’s gone through Jedi training. The movies did allow Windu a bit more screentime than some of the other new characters (due to Samuel L. Jackson), but there was very little background and not enough of his fighting prowess was seen (especially since he was cut down so easily by the Emperor). This series rectifies that a bit.
Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu #4
Mace’s early years and training are explored, and Mace’s personality starts to evolve. There was always a lot of speculation surrounding Mace’s purple lightsaber…it is almost a blending of light and dark Force which shows that Mace has some underlying rage in him. The real origin of the purple lightsaber is that Samuel L. Jackson just wanted a purple lightsaber, but the mythos later tied to it here and in other stories does help explore the character.
While the thrust of the story is the liberation of Hissrich from the Separatists, the more interesting story is the face-off between Windu and Dibs. It is a cultural clash debating the why the Jedi exist. Are the Jedi “Knights” that serve the Republic or are they peacekeepers that do not fight and bring a rather zen approach to the universe. Dibs believes one way and his bitterness warps his take on the situation…no one is really right which is a smarter response.
Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu is a great idea for a ton of expanded content. With the Jedi introduced and mowed down in three short film, there are plenty of Jedi who haven’t had much focus in the books, movies, and TV series that followed…and I always welcome expanding and enriching the Star Wars environment (especially if the expansion doesn’t necessarily clash with any future plans).
