Star Wars: Jedi Knights #4
THE PHAEDRA GAMBIT
It is a time of peace and prosperity in the galaxy. Thousands of Jedi Knights serve and protect the vast expanse of THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC.
But scoundrels, criminals and bounty hunters still thrive. Among them: PHAEDRA, a mysterious young woman renowned for her elaborate criminal schemes.
Phaedra has recently pulled off a daring robbery of THE GALACTIC BANK OF CORUSCANT, brazenly escaping with a fortune of Republic credits….
Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Colourist: Luis Guerrero
Cover artist: Rahzzah
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: June 4 2025
When you kick off an issue with a character that’s not only being chased by Jango Fett but who has also just robbed the Galactic Bank of Coruscant, then you know you’re going to grab the attention of the reader, and after a visually impressive but paper-thin third issue, the fourth issue of Jedi Knights gets off to a strong (and very Bounty Hunters-like) start. We’re on Malastare with Phaedra (a character we first met in Guggenheim’s run on Han Solo & Chewbacca) and not only is she being chased by Fett, but she’s also savy enough to make him an offer; three times what Jabba is paying him in exchange for a small favour.
We cut to Coruscant and the Bank of Coruscant as Qui-Gon Jinn and Shaak-Ti meet with a representative of the Banking Clan to investigate the robbery. While not specifically their issue to deal with, the theft of 10,000 IBC credits from a noted Senator is issue enough to bring them in, but the news that the thief also took funds (illegally held in the same vault) of a third party – Jabba the Hutt. The Senator is in political strife for holding funds illegally for the Hutt, but the thief is in far greater peril, and we cut to to Phaedra as she screams through space, pursued by three vessels including bounty hunter Bane Malar, bemoaning the fact that her theft included the funds of Jabba. Soon we see the other two ships are piloted by Zam Wessell and Aurra Sing who are hot on her tail as she continues to yell her innocence as we cut back to Coruscant and the bank as Qui-Gon and Shaak-Ti follow the Banking Clan representative into the vault. The rare IBC credits are a major issue, and while Jinn cannot promise anything, he requests access to the security systems and soon spots an unfamiliar ship, and footage of Phaedra – who Shaak-Ti identifies as a member of the long-lived Quaraxian species – walking into the bank.
Our next stop is Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler’s Moon, and Bane, Zam and Aurra agreeing to team up and share the spoils now Phaedra has arrived in Hutt Space. They’ve lost sight of her unique ship, and on the Smuggler’s Moon Jinn and Ti are aware of her vessel arriving at Nar Shaddaa but not landing. Suddenly he is startled, and turns sensing a threat but one unrelated to their current mission, and urges Shaak-Ti to follow him as they move into the crowds.
Meanwhile, Malak, Sing and Wessell spot Phaedra’s ship on a landing platform and quickly surround her at gunpooint, but she informs them that the ship is rigged to blow – along with the money – should she come to harm. Sing explains that Jabba wants his money, but wants to make an example of her more, but behind the bounty hunters stand Shaak-Ti and Qui-Gon Jinn, and agreeing with Phaedra’s assertion that the Jedi wouldn’t let harm come to her, they ignite their blades.
However, it’s a ploy; bringing all of her hunters together causes a distraction that allows Phaedra the chance to blast off, and we see the three ships follow her at speed as her vessel accelerates, but not before Zam Wessell fires the shot that blows her ship to pieces, and we see Phaedra on Ord Mantell, confident her ruse has fooled her pursuers. It hasn’t; Qui-Gon and Shaak-Ti are waiting for her, explaining how the fake vessel she used as a decoy had slightly different makings than the actual vessel. She explains how the swap was done when the three hunters lost sight of her, and how her droid RJ-N2 piloted it until he was destroyed with the fake ship. She points to the money, and asks if she returns it, will she be allowed to leave. Enter Benelex Marshal Buck Vancto who arrests her and leaves Ord Mantell with her. As they fly away she’s confident of escape, and that’s when we see the deal she made with Jango Fett at the start of the issue, as Slave 1 swoops in and we soon see her and Jango back on Malastare where she makes a wager on a race, using the money as the stake and reaping an incredible amount, 10% of which goes to Fett.
We end with Qui-Gon and Shaak-Ti leaving with all of the original money, presumably to be returned to the vault, thus saving the blushes of the Senator and the Banking Clan, and with it a really fun issue that zips us across the galaxy from the Mid Rim to Hutt Space and the Core as well as showing the Jedi at their best, bounty hunters at their most collaborative, and Phaedra at her most inventive. Beautiful artwork and a fast-paced and twisting story come together to make this a must-read issue of Jedi Knights.
Next up, Count Dooku, Yaddle and the Trade Federation; it doesn’t get much more TPM than that.
