Jedi Knights 2

Jedi Knights 2 is the second issue of the canon 2025 ongoing comic series Star Wars: Jedi Knights. The issue was written by Marc Guggenheim, illustrated by Madibek Musabekov and Luis Guerrero, and published by Marvel Comics on April 9, 2025.

Publisher's summary

YODA AND VETNA MOONCREST FACE THE TYRANNY OF ATHA PRIME! The JEDI face a new threat on a strange, fantastic and mysterious world… But the planet's surface ruler has a dark secret he wants hidden from the REPUBLIC! The first story featuring a never-released Kenner action figure…ATHA PRIME!

Opening crawl

THE DEEPEST CUT

Jedi Knights Yoda and Vetna Mooncrest have been dispatched to investigate the remote moon of
Veeros, where dark experiments are rumored to pose a dangerous new threat to the galaxy.

Veeros is populated solely by its enigmatic leader, ATHA PRIME, and his loyal army of droid attendants.
Little is known about him, and his efforts on Veeros are shrouded in mystery.

The Jedi do not know what potential threats or unspeakable horrors await them on Veeros….

Plot summary

"Are they not glorious? Mindless. Obedient. Deadly. My Scalpel to wield against the Galaxy's ills."

―Atha Prime, to Yoda^[3]

Jedi Master Yoda and Jedi Knight Vetna Mooncrest arrive together on the planet Veeros, meeting with the Majordomo, Blue-Tark. The two Jedi request to see the renowned Bio-fields, tended by the Prime, concerned that the Majordomo is deceiving them, they ask for refreshments, so the Jedi can speak privately. The Jedi decide that the best way to find more malevolent experiments rumoured to be conducted is to leave. Onboard the Consular-class light cruiser, the ship travels to the south side of the planet, and the two Jedi jump from the cruiser undetected.

Meanwhile, Blue-Tark returns to his master, Atha Prime, informing them that the Jedi had visited and shouldn't suspect that anything unethical is being conducted. Secretly exploring the palace, Master Yoda sense a darkness around beneath the Bio-fields, feeling empty vessels corrupted by the evil of their creator. While exploring, Vetna's implants for her congenital condition begin to malfunction from a type of radiation in the planet. Exploring further into the palace, the Jedi come across a room full of chambers growing creatures. Inside the room, the two are attacked by one of the creatures, which can effectively resist the blade of a lightsaber. Yoda discovers that the creature has a vulnerable spot on the underside of its body, which they promptly exploit. Upon the death of that creature, the rest of them are released and begin attacking the Jedi.

Noticing that Atha Prime is watching over the battle, Yoda Force jumps to him and confronts the evil creator of the Xerexi. Atha explains that the creatures were created as a powerful army to wield against the galaxy, and begins to fight with the Master Jedi. After successfully knocking Yoda to the ground, Atha Prime stabs Yoda in his shoulder, but giving the Jedi the ability to strike his mask and revealing the evil beneath it. Although being injured, Yoda and Vetna continue to chase the fleeing Atha, however, they are too late, and the scientist has escaped in his cruiser. Several Jedi are called to Veeros and help exterminate the remaining Xerexi left in the palace on Veeros. Having searched the palace, the Jedi learn that the creatures are fully capable of replicating themselves autonomously. The Jedi hope that the collection of Xerexi on Veeros are the only ones in the galaxy, but little do they know, Atha Prime has several with him on the cruiser he escaped aboard.

Back on Coruscant, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi are training. Qui-Gon stops the exercise as he senses something troubling the Padawan. Obi-Wan explains the Force vision he saw when training with Master Yoda, and shows a hologram of the assassin that attacked him on Vekura that he found in the Jedi Archives. He also explains that he saw the assassin kill him and found out his name is Corlis Rath, however Qui-Gon claims that he has never seen the man in his life.