Caution: Spoilers for Star Wars #42 ahead!
In the latest issue of Marvel’s Star Wars ongoing series, Luke Skywalker’s attempt to learn more about the Force by journeying inside a Kyber crystal may have taken a turn for the worst, as he is captured by a Sith, who tells the humiliating and tragic tale of their last Jedi prisoner, the “Jester Jedi,” threatening to turn Luke into the latest version of their court fool.
Star Wars #42 – written by Charles Soule, with art by Steve Cummings, ink by Jonas Trindade & Wayne Faucher, color by Rachelle Rosenberg, and lettering by Clayton Cowles – finds Luke Skywalker, in the wake of the “Dark Droids” incident, returning to his studies of the Force. As he prepares to confront his father, Darth Vader, and Vader’s Sith Master, Lord Sidious, Luke seeks a greater understanding of the Dark Side in an unexpected place.
Enlisting the help of his Fallanassi ally Gretta, and her Aunt Feez, Luke mentally enters a Kyber crystal – where he encounters a greater threat than he expected and learns the sad history of the “Jester Jedi.”
The Tragedy Of The Jester Jedi
Set between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the current arc of the Star Wars ongoing series finds Luke Skywalker questing to gain further knowledge of the Dark Side, by going on a journey inside a Kyber crystal itself. Once inside, he’s captured by a group of Sith, whose leader taunts him by explaining: “The last Jedi I had in my court, I dressed him in motley and made him my fool. The Jester Jedi.” The Sith goes on to explain the ultimate result of this humiliation: “The first chance he got, he slipped away and up to the battlements. Threw himself off the roof.“
Marvel’s Star Wars has introduced some of the most exciting new lore of the Disney-era canon around red Kyber crystals, the Dark Side energy-infused crystals that give Sith lightsabers their familiar blood-red color. As he inexorably draws closer to Return of the Jedi’s inevitable, climactic confrontation with his father, Darth Vader, and Vader’s Sith Master, Lord Sidious, Luke is desperate for every advantage he can get. Upon previously entering the Kyber crystal, Luke encountered this mysterious group of Sith; in Star Wars #42, he mistakenly believes “going back…could be a safe way to learn more.” In fact, Luke puts himself in great peril, as the leader of the Kyber Sith intends to make the young hero his newest “Jedi Jester.”
There Is A Lesson For Luke Skywalker In The Jedi Jester’s Fate
“I’ve learned a lot about being a Jedi,” Luke explains in Star Wars #42, “but the Sith?” What they’re like? How to beat them? I know almost nothing.” As it turns out, entering the Kyber crystal makes it clear Luke still has lessons to learn about the Jedi as well. It remains to be determined whether more of the Jester Jedi’s story will be revealed, but there is much Luke can learn from his fate. If nothing else, it serves as a grim reminder that the Light Side is not destined to triumph over the Dark – and that he should never assume entering a Dark Side crystal with his mind won’t be dangerous.
Like all of Marvel’s current Star Wars stories, given its setting in the franchise’s timeline, readers know that Luke will triumph over – or at least escape – his Sith captors. Nevertheless, the Jester Jedi did not share Luke’s grand destiny, or at least, was not as lucky. Learning his tragic tale, and nearly sharing his fade, is a dark detour on the road to Return of the Jedi, but one that will teach Luke the lesson he needs, even if it isn’t the lesson he expects. In this way, it is more than a bleakly humorous aside; the Jester Jedi’s story is another pivotal thread in the grand tapestry of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Star Wars #42 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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