"There's more to life than 'honor' and your damn order...."
'Mandalorian' Season 3: An old Star Wars comic may reveal Baby Yoda's past
A 2002 comic accurately predicted a Yoda-shaped padawan — and a sad Jedi truth.
The Phantom Menace established a lot of harsh truths for the Star Wars universe. Podracing was suddenly the premier sport in the galaxy, slavery was established as a major part of the Tatooine economy, and the term "Sith Lord" was first uttered. But also, the shady practices of Jedi recruitment were revealed to fans. The practice wasn't questioned in the films, but a non-canon comic dissects its morality — and predicts Grogu's appearance in The Mandalorian.
During the prequel era of Star Wars fandom, Dark Horse Comics released a series of now non-canon anthology comics entitled Star Wars Tales. Each issue was different. Some were grab bags of vignettes from all sorts of characters from the films, some were focused on a singular character like a stormtrooper or Han Solo, and sometimes the entire issue would be dedicated to making Darth Vader and Darth Maul fight each other.
In Star Wars Tales #13, the entire issue was devoted to everyone's favorite defenestrated Jedi, Mace Windu. The stories followed him as he encountered a time paradox, hunted down a murderer, and taught his padawan a lesson about the Sith. The last of these stories, however, is the most interesting.
Depa questions the morality of the Jedi edicts.
Mace is showing his padawan, Depa Billaba (who would later teach Rebels Jedi Kanan Jarrus) the Jedi nursery. She tells him about dreams she had about her parents, or at least people she thinks are her parents, and Mace chides her for having such attachments.
Suddenly, one of the infants is stolen by bounty hunter Vianna D'Pow. Mace assumes she's going to sell the child on the black market, but Vianna reveals she was actually hired by the child's parents who regret allowing their child to be taken. Mace spares her life, but returns the child back to their parents. The last panel shows a message from Mace's parents expressing a wish to see him.
It's an intriguing story, but the most fascinating part isn't in the plot. It's in the foreground of a panel showing the Jedi nursery. Among all the infants is a tiny green being with very familiar-looking ears.
A familiar green creature is awoken by Mace Windu's fight with Vianna.
While this comic isn't canon, the inclusion of a Baby Yoda, even if it's not the Baby Yoda, opens a whole realm of possibility. Could The Mandalorian Season 3 explore Grogu's beginnings in the Jedi nursery? Considering his long lifespan, he probably spent a handful of years among the infants being indoctrinated into the Jedi order.
This flashback would serve as a great way to add context to the Jedi methods. After all, if fans are mad about Baby Yoda eating eggs, just wait until they realize the Jedi stole babies. A flashback to Grogu's beginnings could either retcon the Jedi to include a more family-friendly recruitment method, or it could steer into the skid and show what Ahsoka hinted at in her appearance — the Jedi aren't the perfect good guys the galaxy seems to see them as.
If that's the direction The Mandalorian takes in Season 3, this flashback could feed into a paradigm shift. Din Djarin could realize Grogu's Jedi training away from him isn't a good idea, and then suddenly Luke Skywalker is the villain of the show. It's a huge and lofty idea, but the ideas in this comic could grow into a major plotline in The Mandalorian Season 3.
The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney+.
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