Published: November 19, 2025
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Written by: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Colour Artist: Luis Guerrero
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Madibek Musabekov & Jesus Aburtov
The synopsis;
THE SECRET OF CORLIS RATH IS REVEALED!
• The mysterious CORLIS RATH has hunted JEDI MASTER QUI-GON JINN across the galaxy.
• Now learn the why in this first part of the deadly villain’s origin.
• Guest-starring the enigmatic COUNT DOOKU.
The review;
At some point I’m going to start sounding like a broken record with this series. Like the television shows of the nineties, from Batman: The Animated Series to The X-Files, to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, to… (well hopefully you get the idea) Jedi Knights that same wonderful approach to its story telling. While there is an arching main story, or mythology, it is only dropped in every now again. This leaves the remainder of the comics free to do as writer Marc Guggenheim wishes. We can follow different Jedi, have different stories that are unique, we can literally have anything that this man can imagine! While for some that freedom might be too much, it is certainly not that case with Guggenheim. He has really created something special with these comics, looking at the Jedi Order in a different way. Last issue, we had the whole issue told from the perspective of a child. And let’s not forget that incredible comic #3 (I told you I would keep mentioning it) where the whole story was full page panels with the artist telling the story. Which also brings us to another reason why this series is working as well as it does: Madibek Musabekov. This artist has gone from strength to strength in this series, really showing us tremendous work. But it is the trust that each of these people places in the other that allows this comic to transcend to such high quality. You can see it in every issue. I can’t wait to see what we get this time around…
We are back with Qui-Gon, with the main storyline that weaves its way into this series. Qui-Gon has woken up from his coma, and we see him adjusting to almost being killed. What works so well here is the downtime. We’re not off on an adventure (at least in the present), which allows us as the reader to see more of life at the Jedi Temple. We see how Qui-Gon shares his thoughts with Aayla and Mace, the Jedi physicians like Rig Nema. But one that I think is most important is Jocasta Nu. The librarian might seem an odd one to be so important in day-to-day life – we see her in Attack of the Clones; we know about her. But in the film, we see her being rather arrogant about the knowledge of the Jedi. In other words, we don’t see her in her best life. Guggenheim shows us here that she is very knowledgeable about the galaxy, that she can and does aid Jedi in their research. Even Qui-Gon, who has been to a planet and interacted with the inhabitants, still needs Jocasta to help guide him to the right answers.
While there is no direct adventuring, we do have flashbacks which steal the story. We flashback to when Qui-Gon was a padawan with Dooku and to see the two of them on a mission is incredible. There are certain Star Wars authors that get mentioned time and again because they can just write character voices. Of course, not the voice, but the words that lend themselves to that character. Guggenheim absolutely captures Dooku, or more specifically Christopher Lee. You can’t help but hear his voice as you are reading.
The two of these on a mission together is superb enough, but to see how Dooku teaches really creates depth to this story. We see Dooku quoting Yoda at Qui-Gon, that learning from failure is important. As a teacher I can tell you this is absolutely the case. Yet Dooku doesn’t use Yoda’s teachings to support Qui-Gon’s Jedi growth, but to show him the perceived liberations of the Jedi teaching. Even when training Qui-Gon, you can see that darkness, that warped logic that clearly gets passed onto Qui-Gon. When we see Dooku in Attack of the Clones, he says that Qui-Gon would have joined him. From the training, I can see why he thought that, but Guggenheim presents a very different picture. Yes, Dooku trained him, and like a child, Qui-Gon believed his ‘parent’. But now, Qui-Gon is his own person, has his own morality and can see the wrongness to what he has been taught. I’m not so sure Qui-Gon would have gone with Dooku if he had lived. The interactions between the master and apprentice are fascinating. You can see that Dooku appreciates how wise and different his padawan is, but rather than follow his ideas, he tries to taint them to his own end.
The artwork from Musabekov is – as always- just a delight to gaze upon. The panels with a younger Qui-Gon completely capture the essence of the character, let alone how well Dooku is drawn. The final panel, the opposing times just is remarkable and really give the impact that I imagine Guggenheim would have wanted from the end of this comic. The reveal of Davros Hex as a name, is – let’s be honest – not really meaning anything to us as a reader, but how it is presented, how it is drawn has a real ‘wow’ factor to it. For a character we don’t really know, this is a very impressive feat.
I happily will tell anyone that listens that this is my favourite Star Wars series that is out from Marvel and is certainly in my top lists for series of all time. There is a familiarity to the set-up that I love and when we get to see things like Dooku and Qui-Gon together, when we get to see the Jedi Temple’s Day to day life, when we get to explore engaging themes, what more could you want? Oh yes, incredible artwork which literally oozes out of every single panel. As always this is the series to read. Each issue is a perfect jumping on point, and you won’t be disappointed.
Availability;
Star Wars: Jedi Knights is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $4.99 and is available online from Amazon (comiXology) and your local comic book store.
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