Review: Star Wars- Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic
Quick Summary
Pros: There are a few fun moments of action. The flashback to Mace Windu’s past is entertaining.
Cons: The main storyline is unappealing. The book’s central message is disappointing and poorly executed. Small storytelling problems add additional complications into the reading experience. The artwork is lackluster and occasionally confusing.
Overall: This may be one of the most disappointing entries in the Star Wars comic universe. It takes a potentially interesting plotline and meaningful message and squanders both through a confusing and poorly structured series of unappealing adventures. This is a deeply flawed story that is accompanied by some lackluster artwork. This comic may be of interest to those who want to see every possible Mace Windu story but is likely to just be disappointing for most readers.
Story
Star Wars: Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic, by Matt Owens, is a rather disappointing adventure from both an interest and excitement standpoint. It follows an unappealing storyline that only gets worse as complications and unnecessary drama complicate things. Even the comic’s message, which started out with tons of potential, is poorly executed and has little impact by the end of the book. The comic does offer some unique views into Mace Windu’s mindset and an exciting peek into his relatively unexplored past, but these benefits are rather minor in the grand scheme of things. All in all, this comic does not have a lot going for it and is likely to disappoint most readers.
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Despite its mistakes, Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic does manage to offer a few positives. It gives readers a chance to see what Windu thinks about the Clone Wars and show his reluctance in the matter. It also gives an interesting peek into his past, showing how far he has come since his younger days. There are even a few entertaining moments of action throughout the book, though these are admittedly sporadic.
Unfortunately, the book’s negatives far outweigh these few positives and are centralized deep within the main storyline. This comic has a chaotic narrative that starts as a stealth mission, drops stealth in favor of full-on assault, is interrupted by random infighting between the heroes, and concludes with a heroic victory that is strangely easy compared to the trouble they encountered early on. It also doesn’t help that the villain is underused, compared to the level of development his character is given, and the motivations behind most of the Jedi are unexplored.
However, the most disappointing aspect of this narrative is the complete collapse of the book’s central message. Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic starts out by posing questions as to the morality of the Jedi becoming involved in armed combat. There are some interesting ideas to be explored here and some valid contradictions that would work in generating a worthwhile conversation. However, instead of approaching the topic through logic and reason, this comic explores it through a Jedi who bases all of his arguments on a false premise. Every meaningful statement Prosset poses here is tainted by the fact that he is wrong in his assumptions, turning him into a lame strawman for an argument that would be valid otherwise. This robs the comic of the meaning it could have had and leaves it feeling more hollow than it should be.
Alongside all of this, the storytelling throughout this book is just poor in general. It contains more than a few confusing moments that make the reading experience more annoying, such as when a droid is apparently able to use the force or when characters alter their plans without any reasoning. It also contains strange dialogue that is occasionally contradictory, such as when AD-W4 chastises Grievous for wasting time and then goes on to tell a lengthy story immediately afterward. At other times, strange and seemingly random monologues continue to clutter the dialogue. These small problems continue to erode a book that is already flawed at the core.
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Art
The artwork in Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic ends up displaying a level of quality on par with the story, which is not a good thing. This book features strange character depictions that have very little resemblance to their on-screen counterparts, which is particularly noticeable in the case of Yoda. It also features random drops in the level of detail, leading to some odd facial expressions and visually disappointing pages. The artwork is also occasionally confusing, which makes deciphering the action scenes frustratingly difficult. Overall, the visuals in this book do not manage to redeem the story and simply end up adding to the book’s negatives.
Continuity
Star Wars: Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic continues Mace Windu’s story from the conclusion of Star Wars Episode II: The Clone Wars. This comic takes place between the conclusion of Star Wars Episode II: The Clone Wars and the beginning of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.