Star Wars: Inquisitors #1
TENSU RUN MUST DIE
Weapons of the EMPEROR sent out into the galaxy after ORDER 66 to track down and kill any Jedi who remained, the ruthless INQUISITORS are among the most skilled and deadly threats to those who serve the light side of the Force.
But there is an elusive Knight named TENSU RUN, who is on DARTH VADER’s most-wanted list!
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Artist:Ramon Rosanas
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist:Guru-eFX
Cover artist: Nick Bradshaw
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: July 3 2024
While there is the perception in certain quarters that the stories of the galaxy are in a fallow period, the truth is appreciably different. The High Republic is spawning numerous new strands of Star Wars history in novels for all ages, comics, animation and live action, and here in the realm of Marvels comic runs there have been some modern gems that stand high in over 47 years of panelogical storytelling. While it’s beyond hyperbole to claim that issue 1 of Inquisitors is anything like as important as that, the fact that this debut issue immediately grabs the reader with an engaging, beautifully crafted and clear story is undeniable. In the scroll up we learn that Lord Vader has sent his Inquisitors out into the galaxy to find the charismatic Jedi Tensu Run, and open on the peaceful world of Targyon as we see three approaching vessels – the Inquisitors. It’s the thoughts of the Grand Inquisitor we’re hearing, and we see him exit his ship and stride into the village, killing the town elder and demanding to know where Run is. The villagers are silent, to their cost. Every adult is slaughtered and their children taken back to Coruscant in a chilling scene reminiscent of the opening minutes of The Force Awakens.
We jump to Vader’s vessel, the ISD Devastator and see the Inquisitor kneel before his master. We hear Vader explain the legend of Tensu Run, and we see how that legends grew. He survived Order 66, and we see him in an outpost at Regis Kor taking down Stormtroopers and TIE Fighters, freeing the local captives and earning their trust as he watches them fly away to safety. Back with Vader it becomes clear just how much he wants to end Run and extinguish any flickering embers of hope – Tensu Run must die.
We hop to the agricultural world of Zayron where Run, Brother Uhron and Pan Delesec all convene, Run clear that the dark side is coming for him. They try their best to make clear how vital he is to the future of the Jedi, and we watch as he leaves to visit his own master, Eman aboard the huge vessel the Voyager Dawn. Elan is sure Run is the one who will someday lead the order, and we switch to another world – Gerrenthum – where the Inquisitor is questioning a bar full of patrons, most of whom know nothing but one who recently saw Tensu Run. We cut back to Master Elan, being tended to by his medical droid when alarms start to blare and the Grand Inquisitor docks, ordering his fellow Inquisitors to destroy the defensive vessels. Elan knows his time is almost at an end – a premonition that quickly comes true – and as the Grand Inquisitor throws the now useless metal leg of Elan into a room full of Jedi trainees we see him slaughter them without mercy as we cut back to Zayron as he senses their deaths, and that of his master. Run opts for a change of tack, and determines that instead of running it’s he who will go after the Inquisitors.
A stuning first issue, gripping and pacey, explanatory without being too expositional and beautifully drawn and coloured by Ramon Rosanas. There’s very little to pick at here although the depiction of Vader is one of the few issues in this stellar opening issue. In much the same way Boba Fett sometimes talks too much, here Vader is far too elaborative and descriptive in his speech, floridly detailing events to the Inquisitor like a narrator. Again, the modern lack of the narrative panel (even though visibly that’s exactly how Vader’s words are presented) means we need an expositional speech which doesn’t feel at all in keeping with the character.
However, a very small note on an issue that has laid down the gauntlet for future issues and the era itself. Order 66 may have seen the decimation of the Jedi, but in a galaxy of countless trillions there were always bound to be Jedi who heard Kenobi’s message to stay away. Here, the Inqusitors earn their keep for the dark side, tracking them down and hunting them out; after this debut, we’re all in for it.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Barnes, Rodney (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 08/07/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
