Star Wars: Inquisitors #4 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: INQUISITORS No. 4, December 2024

For those devotees of Disney’s galaxy far, far away, Rodney Barnes’ conclusion to this “Star Wars: Inquisitors” mini-series must surely have come as a major disappointment. Indeed, despite having bested the Grand Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, as well as the Seventh and Ninth Sisters, this twenty-page periodical’s plot never properly explains just why the Dark Lord of the Sith regarded Tensu Run as such a major threat to the tyrannical Empire. Nor for that matter, how the rather lack-lustre Jedi Knight later becomes such a legendary figure for the Light side of the Force.

Instead, the screenwriter attempts to convince his audience that Darth Vader would continue to accept his proteges’ persistent failure without any penalty whatsoever, and that having been unconvincingly cornered on a planet, this title’s central protagonist would simply allow himself to be decapitated by his foe so he can “die at peace with all I’ve done.” Such illogical contrivances really do prove hard to swallow, most especially Run’s suicidal stance considering that the ‘rebel’ completely failed to establish the Padawan training temple he had planned, and seemingly also let the young apprentices on Zondula get massacred by a unit of elite Clone Troopers; “Do you forget the peace that once flowed within you? A life free of tormented lust for power?”

Just as badly scripted though, is debatably the startling willingness of Tensu to give up the fight for survival when trouble strikes. The human clearly likes the idea of Force sensitives having a school within which to train. But then appears utterly unwilling to keep such a dream alive by repeatedly complaining about his responsibility to the Jedi Order, and ultimately just surrendering himself to Shmi Skywalker’s sinister son without so much as raising his lightsaber in defiance.

Unhappily adding to all this confusion as to the main cast’s motivations and mind-sets are Ramon Rosanas’ layouts, which whilst being prodigiously pencilled, don’t debatably do all that good a job in helping along this book’s storytelling. Of particular note is the sequence depicting Run’s dubious decision to battle the Inquisitors in space, with the artist’s panels illustrating poor Pan’s meaningless death requiring a few re-readings before it becomes clear just how Tensu’s friend actually died. This need for bibliophiles to ‘fill in the gaps’ sadly occurs a second time too, when the so-called celebrated Jedi is shown awkwardly fending off an assault one moment, and is then quite literally hurled out of the temple by Vader in the next.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: INQUISITORS" #4 by Nick Bradshaw & Neeraj Menon

Star Wars: Inquisitors #3 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: INQUISITORS No. 3, November 2024

This “third issue of the 2024 canon comic miniseries” probably landed rather well with Star Wars fans due to its atmospheric opening sequence aboard a casino cruiser orbiting the planet Glee Anselm, and the twenty-page periodical’s subsequent scenes shadowing Seventh and Ninth Sisters’ determined hunt for a so-called ‘Jedi legend’. Furthermore, Rodney Barnes’ insights into just how this unique, Sith-influenced partnership somehow successfully operates as a pair is fairly well-penned, with the disconcerting duo proving themselves to be as cold-heartedly canny and downright murderous, as they are a bantering, almost comedic couple; “You said that sort of information was of value. How much is your other hand worth..?”

Equally as well written though, is the pair’s dialogue with Darth Vader on his Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, in which they reveal their plan to draw Tensu Run out of hiding by poisoning his local community with “a pheromone that drives one to madness”. This entire verbal exchange absolutely drips with solemnity, and makes it crystal clear that despite the two killers being unpleasantly over-confident in their assassination abilities, they are also still in dire need of acquiring the approval of their black-armoured master.

However, all this palpable intrigue and tension is then arguably ruined by the American screenwriter’s handling of the celebrated Jedi Knight, who having decided to establish an old-fashioned training temple somewhere along the Outer Rim, suddenly chooses to visit the Deadlands’ outdoor market just as the Inquisitors attack that very street with their deadly pollen. So utterly unconvincing a contrivance seriously smacks of sluggish storytelling, and debatably ruins any momentum that should have been gained whilst depicting the two opposing sides of the Force finally squaring up against one another.

Likewise, there’s plenty to enjoy and perhaps dislike about Ramon Rosanas’ artwork too. The vast bulk of the Eisner Awards nominee’s panels are top notch, with his clean-lined style making Vader’s aforementioned meeting with his two protégés suitably stiff and formal. But the decision to dress Run and his lightsaber-carrying colleague Pan Delesec in near identical hooded cloaks may well confuse many a reader during the commotion of their close combat against Seventh and Ninth Sister, to the point where the duel requires a couple of re-reads so as to better understand who is doing what.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: INQUISITORS" #3 by Nick Bradshaw & Neeraj Menon

Star Wars: Inquisitors #2 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: INQUISITORS No. 2, October 2024

Focusing far more upon Fifth Brother’s “mission to kill a Jedi legend” than the Master of the Inquisitorius himself, Rodney Barnes’ storyline for Issue Two of “Star Wars: Inquisitors” certainly seems to be well-paced – combining the titular characters’ hunt for any Jedi surviving Order 66, with a thrilling dog-fight in outer space and nail-biting lightsaber duel. In fact, for a while the American screenwriter’s insights into just how Darth Vader directs his force-sensitive operatives is truly intriguing, with the Dark Lord of the Sith employing both the carrot and the stick to ensure their ‘loyalty’ to him; “Gratitude is premature. If my commands are not fulfilled, the Inquisitors’ suffering will be legendary.”

Disappointingly though, much of this impact is arguably then lost once the “knight named Tensu Run” makes an appearance, and the audience is suddenly expected to believe that a small group of bandits have suddenly decided to tackle Vader’s most-wanted whilst he’s travelling back to his “safe haven”. Admittedly, it is briefly mentioned beforehand that the outlaws know of the Jedi’s presence in the area, and that there is a price upon his head. But just how Pii-Lor manages to pinpoint the man’s precise location when the Empire apparently can’t is not touched upon. Instead, having found their prey, the pirates are simply shown to be completely incompetent pilots, and are all mercilessly blasted to pieces by their opponent’s star-fighter within moments of first firing upon him.

Similarly as unconvincing is debatably this twenty-page publication’s conclusion, which strangely sees Run decide to take his revenge upon the Empire for murdering (his) Master Elan, and battle Fifth Brother one-on-one on the long-abandoned planet of Gerrigon. Such a confrontation is definitely not unwanted, due to the sheer arrogance of the grey-skinned Jedi-killer as he stalks around the old Republic commerce hub hacking down security droids. However, their highly-anticipated exchange is rather short-lived, and it’s not really clear just how Tensu chops his foe’s arm off when he was quite literally on the back foot straight from the contest’s start.

Perhaps a bit more pleasing than some of this comic’s penmanship are Ramon Rosanas’ layouts. Imbued with a palpable claustrophobic atmosphere, courtesy of GURU-eFX’s colours, the opening third of this periodical is positively packed full of prodigiously pencilled panels depicting the Inquisitor’s aforementioned exploration of the world upon which he’s landed. Yet by the time Fifth Brother suffers his debilitating injury, there’s a profound stiffness seen in the artist’s figures, which makes the mutilating lightsaber strike appear to be physically impossible.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: INQUISITORS" #2 by Nick Bradshaw & Neeraj Menon

Star Wars: Inquisitors #1 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: INQUISITORS No. 1, September 2024

Set between George Lucas’ prequel and original cinematic trilogies, there is arguably quite a bit to enjoy during this thirty-page periodical’s opening third. Indeed, the Grand Inquisitor’s utterly merciless massacre of the inhabitants on Targyon immediately sets the former Jedi Temple Guard up as a seriously evil villain of the piece, who will clearly stop at nothing to eliminate his intended target; “Take the children to Coruscant. Kill the rest.”

Disappointingly though, the same probably can’t be said as to the impact of writer Rodney Barnes’ “all-new legendary” knight Tensu Run, who many a bibliophile will probably feel seems a little too close to a certain Corellian smuggler than a mythical hero supposedly “buried in the annals of Jedi lore”. True, the American author does provide his creation with a moment of bravado when he apparently single-handedly storms an imperial outpost in a lone spacecraft. But apart from blowing up a handful of TIE-Fighters and then culling a couple of Stormtroopers on the ground with his hand-weapon, the human hardly does anything particularly breath-taking.

Instead, Elan’s apprentice simply keeps running away from Darth Vader’s Jedi killers, seemingly content to live his life on an idyllic planet near the outer edge of the galaxy, whilst innocent others are savagely slaughtered protecting his secret whereabouts. Such conduct hardly seems conducive to cause any readers to care for the character, even if this comic’s Maryland-born writer does continually pen him stating that he’s happy to die in the name of his great cause.

Just as frustrating is this book’s artwork by Ramon Rosanas, which overall depicts a thoroughly pleasing insight into the dark world of “any Jedi who survived Order 66”. In fact, few onlookers could surely have any complaint about the Eisner Award nominee’s pencilling of Darth Vader or the Master of the Inquisitorius. However, the decisions surrounding the attire of this publication’s so-called legend may well strike some as being far too similar to Han Solo’s costume throughout “The Empire Strikes Back”. In fact, if it wasn’t for the man wielding a lightsaber and wearing eye goggles, a fair few perusers could well be fooled into thinking it was the scruffy-looking nerf-herder himself.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: INQUISITORS" #1 by Nick Bradshaw & Neeraj Menon