Star Wars: Jedi — The Dark Side

Star Wars: Jedi — The Dark Side is a five-part comic book series written by Scott Allie. Set in 53 BBY, the story arc follows Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Xanatos as they are sent by the Jedi Council to prevent civil war from erupting on Xanatos's homeworld of Telos IV. The first issue was released on May 18, 2011.^[4]

The story arc is an adaptation of the backstory described in Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival, although it follows a very different storyline.

Publisher's summary

Twenty-one years before the events in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn is dispatched to prevent the outbreak of a civil war on the homeworld of his Padawan Xanatos—whose father is king. It is a mission that will lead Qui-Gon into close contact with the dark side and start him on a quest that will have a major impact on the future of the Jedi Order!^[4]

Plot Summary

Qui-Gon and two Padawans are engaged in a duel in the Jedi Temple, and Qui-Gon deftly slashes his opponents lightsaber aside, kicking him back, as the other attacker strikes from behind. The second combatant is blasted backwards with the Force, as the first gets back up and charges yet again. The two Padawans attack at the same time, lightsabers slashing and crashing and whirling through the air, but one of them is blasted backwards yet again, and the other uses the opportunity to duck Qui-Gon’s swing and kick his lightsaber away from him, winning the duel.

As Qui-Gon is telling his Padawan Xanatos not to boast, Jedi Master Tahl enters the room, and tells him that Yoda requests his presence in the council chambers. Once there, Yoda and the other council members assign him, Tahl, and his Padawan a mission to the planet Telos IV, where a death must be investigated and a war prevented. Xanatos questions why they aren’t sending a diplomat like Dooku, but Yoda immediately shuts his idea down, and Qui-Gon tells him not to question the council, leaving Xanatos feeling angry and bitter. Xanatos thinks the Council is trying to get rid of him by sending him back to his homeworld, but Qui-Gon tells him not to make assumptions.

Once on their way to Telos IV, Qui-Gon is concerned about why Yoda sent two masters, but Tahl assures him that she volunteered. Once they come out of hyperspace, they are immediately shot at by another ship, which damages the thrusters and sends them into a crash landing. Qui-Gon and Tahl use the Force to slow their descent, but the ship still crashes into a building on the planet below. The four of them exit the ship, and are shot at by blaster weilding mercenaries. They ignite their lightsabers and start deflecting and slashing away bolts, cutting down several of their enemies, but Xanatos is disarmed by a shot to the hand, and Qui-Gon tells him to get back in the ship. He doesn’t listen, however, and charges at one of the mercenaries.

Ducking under a blaster bolt, he attempts to snatch his enemy’s weapon away from him, but the blaster is trained on him, and just before he can get shot down, several militia soldiers arrive and a gunfight ensues, blaster bolts flying everywhere and several combatants getting shot down. Xanatos grabs a blaster from a fallen guard and joins the fray, gunning down several attackers. Meanwhile, Tahl is targeted by a mercenary on a speeder, and she dodges several shots then slashes the speeder in half with her lightsaber, sending it crashing to the ground and the man on it flying off. Once the enemy combatants have been taken care of, the lead soldier reveals himself to be Xanatos’ father.

After a tense interaction between father and son, the Jedi explain their mission and are given lodgings in a nearby building. Later on, Xanatos messes with the security cameras in their room, switching the feed so that the guards can see only themselves. Xanatos’ father explains that Toprawa, a nearby planet, seeks to rob them of their wealth, and the four Jedi head out to investigate the recent assassination of Priestess Lora. Once there, Xanatos questioned whether it was actually murder, as she was old, and could have simply fallen to her death from the top of the building, but Qui-Gon says that he senses something disturbing about the scene, and that a Force-user must have played a part in it.

Meanwhile, Master Tahl overhears several humans discussing the attack on the ambassadors ship, and confronts them. They train their blasters on her, but she expertly deflects the bolts with a series of sharp slashes and swings, and cuts them down, but one of them escapes on a speeder. Simultaneously, Xanatos accuses the Telosians of being xenophobic, and is introduced to his sister, as an Ithorian tells him to shut up. Qui-Gon and Tahl discuss what happened with the conspirators, and she reveals that the one who escaped was an Antarian Ranger, a member of a Force using organization that had close ties with the Jedi.

Later on, Qui-Gon and Xanatos’ father argue over the idea of sending Xanatos to work with the Antarian rangers, as he has no trust in them. Meanwhile, Xanatos still feels that this will be his last mission with Qui-Gon, and the Jedi are planning to abandon him. Qui-Gon later attempts to reassure him, but he doesn’t believe him. Qui-Gon then tells him that his behavior may be what will end up causing the very outcome he is trying to avoid. Xanatos finds out about the Antarians, and says they should inform his father, but Qui-Gon tells him they need to keep it to themselves for now.

Later, Xanatos races his sister on a speeder, and they discuss what little they remember of their mother. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon infiltrates a group of arms dealers, who target him with their blasters when they discover he is a Jedi, but he ignites his lightsaber, deflects several shots, then kicks one of his attackers into the wall. Not wanting to waste this opportunity to get inside the organization, he uses a Jedi mind trick to convince one of them that nothing happened, and he should proceed with introducing him to their leader later that day.

Soon after, a gunfight suddenly breaks out in the plaza, between mercenaries and the royal guard. The Jedi jump into the fray, dodging and deflecting bolts with their lightsabers, hitting enemy fighters with their own bolts and cutting others down. Xanatos’ sister is hit by blasterfire as the two Jedi Masters continue blocking shots with their sabers, and Xanatos is distracted and runs to her. A mysterious, heavily scarred soldier suddenly joins the battle, shooting down many of the attackers, and Tahl impales the last remaining survivor.

Xanatos’ father tells him to come with him, and Qui-Gon recognizes the new arrival: Dairoki, a man that he used to know. Tahl notes that this might not be Xanatos’ test, but rather Qui-Gon’s. She also mentions that the council has ordered her to return to Coruscant immediately.

Continuity

Many of the characters and places in Jedi — The Dark Side are based on those that originated in Jude Watson's Jedi Apprentice series by Scholastic: Xanatos, Crion, Tahl, Thani, Landor, etc. The story is an expansion on Watson's introduction of the Telosian Civil War and Xanatos' fall to the dark side upon the "murder" of his father Crion by his Jedi Master.^[5]

The final issue of Jedi—The Dark Side promises further comics chronicling Qui-Gon Jinn's life before the Jedi Apprentice series, but they never materialized.^[6]

Media

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Issues

Color code key:
Collected (TPB) issue	Released issue	Future issue

Issue	Title	Publication date	Trade paperback	Epic Collection	Marvel Omnibus
1	Jedi — The Dark Side 1	May 18, 2011	Jedi — The Dark Side March 6, 2012^[7]	Rise of the Sith Vol. 1 September 8, 2015	Rise of the Sith Omnibus February 8, 2022
2	Jedi — The Dark Side 2	June 22, 2011
3	Jedi — The Dark Side 3	July 20, 2011
4	Jedi — The Dark Side 4	August 24, 2011
5	Jedi — The Dark Side 5	September 21, 2011