Published: August 7, 2024
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Rated: T
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist: Ramon Rosanas
Colour Artist: GURU-eFX
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Nick Bradshaw & Neeraj Menon
The synopsis;
DARTH VADER SENDS FIFTH BROTHER ON A MISSION TO KILL A JEDI LEGEND!
• The EMPEROR has had most of the JEDI exterminated after the events of ORDER 66! Some have escaped!
• THE INQUISITORS are charged with hunting the survivors down.
• But there is one, a knight named TENSU RUN, who is on DARTH VADER’S most-wanted list!
• Who is Tensu Run, and what threat does he pose to the DARK LORD?
The review;
Mark: Last month saw the first release for this mini-series. I think I speak for both me and my co-writer, Kat, that it wasn’t quite the opening we had expected. It was slow and focused more on the legend of a Jedi bringing hope to the galaxy. Not that there was anything wrong with this. I loved it! It was akin to reading whispers through the comic, a myth that you weren’t quite sure if it were true or not. The Inquisitors themselves were cold-blooded. But since this was a very gradual start, setting up a lot of different moving pieces, I was fully expecting writer Rodney Barnes and artist Ramon Rosanas to kick it up a gear with issue two. I mean the end of this issue will be halfway, so there’s got to be some movement, right?
Kat: It’s interesting that you bring up how this comic reads like a myth. I feel exactly the same way. There’s something in the way that the story is framed, and how the characters speak, that feels like this is almost someone else reading the story. Tensu Run is a figure who aims to try and inspire hope throughout the galaxy yet has to balance a fine line between hero or renegade. There’s deep metaphor and classic themes that would easily be found in any epic or legend.
And I didn’t feel that Inquisitors #2 sped up the storytelling. Barnes is clearly very happy to let the plot develop at its own pace, focusing far more on the meaning behind the characters’ actions. Tensu Run is conflicted in his desire to bring the hope of the Jedi to the galaxy yet still wanting to fight the Empire head on. But can heroes have blood on their hands? The Empire wants to eradicate all the Jedi and fulfill Order 66. But can anything kill hope? Unpeeling the layers reveals a thought-provoking plot that’s different to what we’re used to reading in the Marvel Star Wars series. How do you feel about this type of storytelling Mark?
Mark: I’m really enjoying it. If I had to liken it to anything that we already know, I’d have to say Andor. This isn’t a story that Barnes is forcibly pushing his way through, creating a pace of urgency. He wants to immerse the reader in the atmosphere, in the hunt. For me, this is the purest of Star Wars, that harkens right back to the Original Trilogy. I suppose the only thing that concerns me with this is that we’re on a tight timeframe and I’m not sure the story can fit into the allocated number of issues!
The moral dilemma of Run here is very intriguing. How much are you going to allow others to sacrifice themselves for your principles? When do you have to step in to defend those that cannot defend themselves? Is it right to step in, or do they then destroy all for which they fought and suffered? It’s an interesting debate. For the Jedi to make a comeback, do they need to start creeping more to the dark side? We know – with knowledge of the films – that it can be done, but for those Jedi on the fringes, who don’t have Master’s to guide them, the frustration of it all is surely going to get to them. The next question then is, how will Run deal with it, does he need to tread a little on the dark side? I don’t know about you Kat, but I’m actually wanting the answer to be yes – to make Luke’s ability to stay true to the light side to be that much more special.
Kat: Run’s story is very reminiscent of Luke Skywalker’s, so I am hoping they will diverge. After luring the Fifth Brother to a long-forgotten battlefield on Gerrigon, the two face off in a tension filled fight. The Inquisitors will never stop hunting Run, something he’s well aware could be his eventual downfall. What I found quite interesting about the duel is that Run was not aiming to kill the Fifth Brother. However, he wasn’t reluctant to shoot down the bounty hunters. It seemed like a double standard – almost cruel. After severely injuring the Inquisitor, he leaves him on Gerrigon to crawl back to Mustafar and tell the others what’s happened.
This could be hinting at Run’s changing viewpoint. He admits to struggling with feelings of anger and frustration, which could be what drive him to leave the Fifth Brother injured but alive. I thought it was quite arrogant that Run wants to send a message to the Inquisitorius this way. And overconfidence could be his downfall.
Mark: Absolutely, I mean two Inquisitors failing – Vader is not going to be happy! Which brings us to Vader and the Grand Inquisitor. The exchange between the two is very telling in this issue and I think you get a sense of the respect that Vader holds for him. While the conversation is fascinating – and I would love to see more of this – Barnes keeps these interactions short. I’m imagining many readers also want more but I think Barnes is leaning on the ‘less is more’ stance. I don’t think he’s wrong. Fans often want so much (too much on occasion) and when we get it, the thing we’ve had more of loses some of the special magic. I think giving readers snippets of the inner workings of the Inquisitors is perfect.
That said, I love how much time we get to spend with the Fifth Brother. For a dark side user, he seems rather cool and collected, in keeping with his portrayal in Rebels and Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’d have been happy to see each Inquisitor trying to track down Run, but I don’t think that will be possible given the scale of this mini-series. To see more of each character, particularly when they are not sharing the screen with another, is very informative and kept my attention, even when he was just walking around rubble! Do you think we’ll closely follow any more Inquisitors this series Kat?
Kat: One of the only ones who I think we might see is the Seventh Sister. From Rebels, we know that the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister often worked together on missions – a remnant from their time in the Jedi Order possibly. With Tensu Run sending a message to the Inquisitorius through the Fifth Brother, they might decide to team up in order to try and bring him down. Tensu Run is clearly a strong Jedi if he’s easily able to disarm an Inquisitor, so more than one dark side user would pose a greater challenge.
And I do think that showing glimpses of the Inquisitors works better than completely revealing all their secrets. Even Jedi: Fallen Order only showed fans snippets of how the Inquisitors trained or were turned. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding these characters, which only makes them more ominously threatening. Additionally, using Vader sparingly makes sense. We know that he only oversaw the Inquisitors when he needed to and gave them a lot of free rein to carry out the Empire’s work. But if Tensu Run keeps outwitting them, do you think Vader will become personally involved?
Mark: Surely, he’d have to? Wouldn’t he? I’m sort of expecting that in the final issue but then again, Barnes has played this all very differently than I had expected, so who knows! Perhaps Vader knows Run from before? While we’re on the subject of Vader, I need to mention the artwork by Rosanas. His work has always been exceptional, but I feel this issue just gives so much more! Vader is stunning, so dark, so gothic and Mustafar looks incredible. We then switch to the Fifth Brother on Gerrigon and the detail of the Brother and the probe droid, with the derelict background, it just felt like a feast for the eyes. The action scenes flow so well, I don’t know Kat, you’re the artistic expert, what did you think?
Kat: Expert is generous. Enthusiastic! I thought the art was a gorgeous balance of colours, completely separating each location so that the reader was never confused as to where the story was occurring. And something I picked up on was actually the characterisation of the Probe Droid. When we’re introduced to them in The Empire Strikes Back, they are void and lifeless. Yet the one accompanying the Fifth Brother is given so much life by Rosanas. And I loved the eerie vibes of Gerrigon slowly being reclaimed by nature. There was a dystopian feel to it, which is a treat to get on a Star Wars planet.
Mark: Couldn’t agree more with the probe droid. I’m not sure how Rosanas does it, but you’re absolutely right, he gives the droid so much life! So, two issues in, the halfway mark, and I have to say that this isn’t what I thought this series would give us but I’m so happy it has. This is precisely what I want to be reading in a galaxy far, far away. A pacing that lets us take time to look around, to get a feel for the planets and characters that inhabit it. I have a feeling that before all this is through, we’re going to be wishing that Barnes had been given six issues!
Availability;
Star Wars: Inquisitors is a 4-part mini-series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available online from comiXology and your local comic book store.
