Max Nocerino 
Max takes a detour into the Star Wars galaxy to check out the tie-in comic for the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace.
Just in time for the 25th Anniversary re-release of STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE, we get a little nugget of gold in a comic, bringing back the excitement of the film.
Love it or hate it, The Phantom Menace was the rebirth of Star Wars and this reviewer’s first Star Wars experience. The expectations for this movie were unfairly high, given the love for the Original Trilogy. I genuinely believe that fanboys and girls would have had ANYTHING terrible to say about this movie, especially since it seems that fans hate Star Wars material more than they love it.
THE SAGA IN COMICS
This extra-long comic was a love letter to the movie. It delivers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the movie’s unseen moments and familiar on-screen moments, albeit altered to match the pace of the comic book structure.
The story starts slightly before Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Padme land on Tatooine. We see Anakin dreaming of himself as an adult Jedi Knight, freeing his mother with a fiery yellow lightsaber. In Legends and New Canon, Anakin has had many precognitive dreams hinting at his strong Force potential. This dream is an idealized version of what will happen in his imminent future. Interestingly, his dream form of his older self is photo-realistic to what he grows into. That’s why this dream ticks a few boxes in the Force Vision department. How else would he know what he looked like at age 20?
DREAMS AND OMENS
Anakin wakes up, and a rude and almost comical droid barges into their tiny abode and tells him Watto has a job for him. The droid’s abrupt entrance and bossy attitude made me chuckle. I can tell that Watto programmed him, possibly.
Anakin must pick up a delivery from some yucky people at Mos Eisley. While he is there, a few slavers pull up in a land speeder with their catch of the day—a Tusken Raider, whom they plan to add to their slave chain gang. The comic gives this poor individual a dialogue box with bizarre, unrecognizable symbols, perfectly capturing the foreign alien language the Tusken speaks.
Anakin feels sympathy for this individual. While it is pretty ironic (given that he will slaughter a whole tribe of them in 10 years), Anakin’s kind and selfless act shows how much he has to fall, morally, to become Vader. He is pure good at this stage and wants only to help people. He hotwires the speeder into zooming away (giving me major Matilda vibes, as she is another telekinetic savant with a sharp mind who makes a car drive away by itself) and frees the Tusken. Then, he tricks the slavers by saying he fled in the opposite direction: a kind and selfless act.
MOVIE EVENTS
The story then picks up in familiar territory. The Jedi and Padme arrive; Anakin wins his freedom and leaves his mother to become a Jedi. Darth Maul tragically murders Qui-Gon. However, it is interesting to note some differences and unseen events this comic details. I am usually a canon-obsessive gatekeeper. But I will chalk up differences from the movie as artistic license and an alteration of recollection from Anakin himself. As in the real world, memories are infallible and subject to change.
The first alteration is that after Anakin wins the Podrace, Qui-Gon takes him aside in the raceway hangar and tells him about the possibility of becoming a Jedi. In the original movie, this does not occur until Anakin returns to his home with a portion of the prize money. This was an odd alteration and unnecessary as Anakin would not be told this revelation in a different location and forget about it once to be repeated. But this is Anakin’s recollection. It may be wrong, or the movie may be incorrect. Who knows? On closer inspection, however, it can also be argued that Qui-Gon was thinking out loud with Anakin and had not told Anakin that he was freed yet.
It’s possible that both conversations could take place. I also love how Anakin sharply deduced that becoming a Jedi was indeed what Qui-Gon meant by taking the next step. This trend is repeated when Obi-Wan tells Anakin he will train him in the Naboo hangar bay instead of Qui-Gon’s cremation.
FUN REVELATIONS
Some other fun revelations. After the Council first met with Anakin and said he would not be trained, a saddened and hurt Anakin talks with Jar Jar Binks of all beings. Jar Jar gives Anakin a touching pep talk. In his straightforward and sweet way, the Gungan tells Anakin that it is only natural to fear loss and that the fact that he does proves he has a good heart.
This is a fascinating perspective and an antithesis of the Jedi way of thinking. I am very critical of the Jedi and feel that what they preach isn’t necessarily the right path. Perhaps Jar Jar is wiser than we think!
TRANSITIONS
I like how the comic smoothly transitioned over most of the pivotal events of the movie. This makes it feel like a blink-and-you-miss-it-type memory stream. I also got goosebumps when the comic kept regaling on how Anakin did the impossible twice: win the Podrace and blow up the Droid Control Ship. It reminds me just how remarkable those two feats really were, especially for a 9-year slave kid with no training (albeit massive Force potential).
VERDICT
This comic was a great homage to the movie and strengthened it in many ways. My only complaint was that some of the art deviated in some sequences—mainly the panel with Obi-Wan and Anakin dueling Maul. Obi-Wan’s face looked comical when exerting himself, and it felt like laziness (or artistic style) not to draw the features more accurately. The comic did an excellent job with photo-realistic faces, but I disapproved of this choice for the action sequence. I am very picky when it comes to art.
The ending was surprising and very satisfying. I will not spoil it in the main body of the review (but if you want a dissection, stick around for Force Facts).
STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE is published by Marvel Comics and is available to buy now.
FORCE FACTS
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In Anakin’s dream, his older self is wielding a yellow lightsaber with a fiery quality not unlike that of his future grandson, Kylo Ren’s lightsaber in The Force Awakens. Kylo’s lightsaber was that way due to a damaged kyber crystal, making it unstable, and Anakin, of course, has probably never seen a lightsaber, so this similarity is just a coincidence and based purely on Anakin’s imagination. Yet I find it odd that he subconsciously chose the color yellow. Perhaps he has heard of the different colors of lightsabers, and it is interesting that he would associate with yellow, as that color was usually used by Jedi Guardians in Legends and the Jedi Temple Guards in Canon.
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Watto’s droid assistant is an Otoga-222 maintenance droid, which is a model that was seen in the Phantom Menace in the background of Watto’s shop (which could have very well been this exact droid)
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Anakin is able to hotwire a speeder by using his prodigious engineering/pilot abilities, causing it to fly off without a driver. In the real world, you CAN hotwire cars to make them drive without the key or fob but in the case of Star Wars, it is likely that Anakin hotwired the autopilot function as we really don’t have self-driving cars in the real world yet.
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The iconic scene of Qui-Gon waiting patiently for Anakin to depart from his mother and leave with him is re-created but with an interesting alteration. As Qui-Gon stands in the “street” amongst the sand adobe houses of Mos Espa, to his left is another slave (presumably) woman with a child(?) having a brief conversation on what is happening. Anakin is free but Shmi is not, the woman tells her son. Darn! How do these two know already? Word must travel fast in the streets of Mos Espa
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When Anakin returns to the Naboo starfighter hangar bay after saving the day, he is met by a saddened Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon has just died, yet Anakin knows it before Obi-Wan confirms it. This is very interesting, as it is likely Anakin sensed his impromptu mentors passing through the Force, hinting at his powerful Force Sense abilities. Not even his son was able to sense (with no training) the destruction and mass deaths of Alderaan in Episode 4.
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When the Jedi Council arrives on Naboo (better late than never!), Ki-Adi-Mundi personally greets Anakin. Ki-Adi is the most vocal of the “background” characters on the Jedi Council and interestingly, in Legends, briefly took the role of Anakin’s master when Obi-Wan was presumed dead in a Clone Wars battle.
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A very scary foreshadowing moment happens to Shmi Skywalker shortly after her son has left. Late at night, the Tusken Raider whom Anakin saved comes to Shmi’s door and uses his Gaffi stick to keep Shmi from closing it, when she (rightfully) reacts with alarm. Yet, the Tusken has no desire to hurt her. In fact, he brings a gift to thank Anakin for saving his life. The gift Shmi receives is a black melon, a sacred staple in Tusken culture as it contains water (or liquid), which is very precious on Tatooine and something fans of the Book of Boba Fett will recognize. The Tusken tells Shmi what her son did for him through C-3PO which has remained behind with Shmi, per the correct canon of the movies. It is actually quite lucky she has him, as the Tusken language is one Shmi does not understand. Some interesting questions remain though. How did this Tusken know how to find Anakin’s home and next of kin? They do not have access to datapads or other technology and it is quite hard to get someone’s address in this galaxy. Also, how was this Tusken able to walk through Mos Espa late at night without an alarm going off by some terrified citizen who may have seen him? Yet we know Tuskens are quite stealthy, as poor Shmi will learn again in less than a decade.
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Is Shmi midly Force-sensitive? It’s true Anakin was (supposedly) a virgin born from that of the Force, but it’s not impossible that Shmi also had a higher-than-average midi-chlorian count. She has a dream of her son as an adult Jedi alongside an older bearded Obi-Wan Kenobi, and their lightsabers are both the correct color of blue, and Anakin looks the way he should as an adult. Quite prescient. Perhaps that’s how Shmi recognizes her son years later right before she dies at the hands of the Tuskens!
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
