Star Wars: 30 greatest moments not seen in the movies

24. Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin #1

The time between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones was like the missing link. Most understood the transition but wanted the smoking gun. Thanks to writer Charles Soule and artist Marco Checchetto, there is nothing more to want. Their wonderful comic Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin fills the gaps perfectly, and covers the critical moments between the movies.

If you ever thought, “How did that little kid with the bowl cut turn into the morally compromised doofus we see later,” then this comic is for you. Obi-Wan and Anakin are Jedi Knight and Padawan, on a random planet that doesn’t know about the Jedi Order. If you want to see teacher and student simultaneously bond and struggle through lessons similar to the Luke and Yoda swamp tests, then this is your comic.

How did Anakin turn to the Dark Side?

Perhaps the most important aspect of the comic is it shows the beginning of Anakin’s transition. Early on the other Padawans recognize emotion rules Anakin. The Jedis notice this as well and take away his lightsaber. Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, however, notes that he is in charge of the Senate and the Senate controls the Jedi. It’s his needling that first inserts doubt in Anakin’s brain. Add that to a confusing lesson from Obi-Wan – he shows Anakin the annihilation on Carnelion IV as a cautionary tale, but Anakin’s ambivalent because the Jedi could have stopped the death – and it’s not difficult to see how the Chancellor eventually influenced Anakin.