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Star Wars comic adds new Jedi Knight to canon

By Susan Lulgjuraj

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Marvel comics introduced a new Jedi Knight in Star Wars: Age of the Republic: Count Dooku No. 1. Warning: Don’t get attached.

When reading Star Wars comics, you have a pretty good sense of what you’re going to get since most of the characters are ones you have followed for years. Yet, every once in a while, you get something unexpected.

That was the case in Marvel Comics’ Age of the Republic: Count Dooku No. 1. While the story was interesting enough, telling a tale of Count Dooku dealing with his life on the Dark Side, it something new.

Photo credit: Marvel Comics/Jody Houser

While on the planet Sullust, Dooku runs into a Jedi Knight, who was a student of his while at the Jedi Temple. His name is Jak’Zin and we have never met the Togorian before.

If you want to remain spoiler free from the Count Dooku comic, I suggest you stop reading here.

Second warning: Spoilers ahead. 

Jak’Zin’s limited background is given in the comic. He was sent to Sullust to look into a crime syndicate. As it turns out, Dooku is also looking to chat with the same syndicate only for very different reasons.

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However, Jak’Zin remembers Dooku training with Master Yoda and has fond memories of those lightsaber training sessions — so much so that it seems to cloud his judgment.

Dooku offers his help and it seems the young Jedi needs it. Dooku immediately saves his life and then when they’re outnumbered, they fight the crew essentially killing everyone. But Jak’Zin’s suspicions are raised when he sees Dooku has a red lightsaber.

Red is not a good color for lightsabers.

He asks Dooku where he got his weapon, and Dooku tells him he made it just moments before he manipulates a stray blaster shot to rip through Jak’Zin and kill him.

So while we met a new Jedi in Star Wars Age of the Republic: Count Dooku No. 1, it’s also likely the last time we see him.

There’s not much to go on with Jak’Zin. He appeared on 13 pages of the comic and his short story was told in that time. He did seem a little awestruck upon meeting Dooku as an adult, remembering the man he saw a child while training in the Jedi Temple. He also seemed ill-prepared, letting one of the members of the crime syndicate nearly take him out before the mission even started.

I wonder if it was his first solo mission as a Jedi Knight as there is an interesting juxtaposition going on with that. Dooku lamented over the death of Qui-Gon and told Jak’Zin, he wonders if he had remained with the Jedi Order if Qui-Gon would still be alive.

Dooku plays off of Jak’Zin’s isolation. While we don’t know why Jak’Zin is alone, it certainly touched a nerve for the Togorian as he decided to take Dooku up on his offer.

New Jedi are interesting because we do know there were many of them out there before Order 66. We haven’t heard their stories, but the ones we have learned about have certainly touched our hearts. (I’m talking about you, Kanan).

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Check out Star Wars: Age of the Republic: Count Dooku No. 1 in stores now.

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