Star Wars Yoda #5 Review

 

Star Wars Yoda #5 Review

Writer: Jody Houser

Artist: Luke Ross

Colorist: Nolan Woodard

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Phil Noto; David Lopez; David Messina & Alex Sinclair; and Peach Momoko

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 15, 2023

 

The Force showed Wookie Padawan Krrsish a vision. Concerned, he told guest instructor Dooku about it. Dooku told him he was special but advised the Wookie to keep it a secret as most Jedi distrust visions. Will Dooku’s advice get Krrsish into trouble? Let's leap into Star Wars Yoda #5 and find out!

 

Story

Years ago, Yoda visited Alaris Prime, a moon of Kashyyyk. Wookie and Trandoshan corpses littered a grassy field. The surviving Wookies gave him a Trandoshan child. Yoda took the child to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The Trandoshan child Gheyr is now one of Krrsish’s closest friends. But neither knows Gheyr’s history. The vision Krrsish saw showed a battle between Trandoshans and Wookies. This—and Dooku’s advice—prompts Krrsish to distance himself from his friend.

 

This story reminds us how Luke failed to learn from Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. It also reminds us of how Anakin's dark visions led him astray. In Jody Houser’s story, Yoda believes Dooku dwells upon the past. Like his friend Sifo-Dyas, Dooku places too much stock on his visions and worries about the future. Will Krrsish make a similar mistake?

 

 

 

Art

Luke Ross transports us back to Coruscant in Star Wars Yoda #5. Initiates wear the familiar padawan garments, and rooms remind us of the Jedi Temple in the Star Wars prequels. Among Krrsish and Gheyr’s fellow students, we see a Dathomirian Zabrak like Darth Maul, a yellow and red Rodian reminiscent of Greedo, and a Tiger-like Togorian that reminded me of Larry Niven’s Kzinti. Outside the temple stands a magnificent twisting tree with snake-like limbs. Like the white tree of Gondor and the Whomping Willow outside Hogwards, it symbolizes the Jedi Temple's vitality.

 

Nolan Woodard downplays the carnage of the battle on Alaris Prime. Instead, the moon seems a calming place, a paradise enlivened by swaying palms and vibrant flowers. The baby Trandoshan glows in the Wookie leader's hairy arms. He shades and highlights Ross' highly detailed characters. The way light and shadow course through Yoda's robes symbolizes how both sides of the Force—the good and the dark side—constantly battle for supremacy. Temple interiors range from yellow and orange to beige. These harmonize with Krrsish and the Togorian. Yoda and the Trandoshan stand out here. Young Gheyr shines so brightly in Star Wars Yoda #5 that we wonder how Krrsish can believe she’ll ever attack him. 

 

 

 

Large blue block letters locate scenes in space and time. Uppercase letters in spherical dialogue balloons make for easy reading. Krrsish’s responses pop those balloons as black expressive sound effects. His utterances compare favorably with Joe Caramagna's green sound effects that help us hear the clash of sizzling lightsabers. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Jody Houser steals much mystery by revealing the truth behind the dark vision Krrsish fears. Still, I like how her story suggests that anxiety transformed heroes into villains that transformed the Republic into an Empire. Rich, vibrant art conveys the battle for Krrsish’s soul in Star Wars Yoda #5. Like some Jedi who came before him, let's hope the Wookie’s story doesn’t end in tragedy.

 

Rating 9/10 

 

To preview the interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.