Are The Jedis the Real Bad Guys in Star Wars? Acquire These Comic Book Issues That Confirm They Are
I don’t pretend to be a Star Wars expert. I have seen all of the films and some of the cartoons, but I am not a completionist. There are near incalculable stories and plot minutiae of Star Wars adventures that take place outside of the events in the films in video games, cartoons, comic books, and especially in the novels. Still, all one has to do is watch all of the films, see a few of the cartoons, and read some of the comics to confirm a wild but prevalent Star Wars theory; the Jedi are probably not the good guys.
I am not going to tell you that the Sith and the Empire were the good guys, but we are all grown adults who geek out over space monks battling space nazis in faraway galaxies — the term “good guys” is always going to be relative in this context.
An Odd Star Wars Theory
How do we know that those who are serving the Empire are the bad guys? The films tell us via the point of view of the Jedi. Think about it, the Sith are always dressed in black and the Jedi are always dressed in white.
Life is not fair. As grown adults, we are governed by other adults who act as our leaders and impose laws to maintain law and order. While we don’t always agree with them, we have to follow those laws.
But seriously, think about it, the disruption and problems in the Star Wars universe started in 1977’s Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when Luke Skywalker and his merry band of rebels started attacking the Empire.
The inhabitants of the Star Wars Empire live in the “Core Worlds” of a galaxy, which are relatively rich and prosperous, and the “Outer Rim” areas of the galaxy. While corruption is rife everywhere, the Outer Rim worlds are especially more lawless.
If you’re a fan of the Mandalorian streaming show then you know that the show takes place about nine years after the events of the first Star Wars film A New Hope. Do you know why the in-world depiction in The Mandalorian is so lawless?
It’s because the Jedi couldn’t replicate the law and order control the Empire had throughout the Core Worlds and most of the Outer Rim worlds. It never seemed to occur to the Jedis that they would have to govern the galaxy and inherit the power vacuum created after the medal ceremony in A New Hope after they blew up the Death Star.
If things got better after A New Hope, then why was lawlessness so rife in The Mandalorian? It is not a wild Star Wars theory – The Jedi were never able to replicate the law and order control dynamics that the Empire perfected before the Jedi came along proclaiming themselves to be the good guys.
I’m not saying that the Empire was perfect – but life seemed functional until the Rebels came around. Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed more obsessed with righting his wrong of choosing Anakin Skywalker, who would later become Darth Vader, as his apprentice than considering how all hell would break loose in the power vacuum that would ensue after the Empire was defeated.
If the Jedi were so determined to defeat the Empire, then they should have also considered how much more lawless the galaxy would soon become afterward.
Here are several reasons why the Jedi might be the bad guys in the Star Wars universe along with recommendations of some Star Wars comics to potentially invest in. While this list might not change your preconceived notions, you may never look at Star Wars the same way again after considering this Star Wars theory.
The Jedi Groom and Brainwash Child Soldiers
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace came out in 1999 almost 25 years ago as of the publishing of this post. I remember watching it in the theaters. But one scene in the film has always bothered me.
When Obi-Wan Kenobi goes before the Jedi Council to plead with them to allow allow him to train 9-year-old Anakin, Mace Windu tells Kenobi that Anakin is too old for training.
Think about that for a moment. A 9-year-old child is too young for Jedi training!
The Jedi prefer to train and indoctrinate children much younger than 9 years old. And Jedi training is a lifelong endeavor, so if the children have family they will never see them again.
Anakin’s mother was still a slave when he became a Jedi apprentice, and when he became a young man and tried to save her later, he learned she had died years earlier. This fact only compounded his grief.
How can we cheer for the good guys, who we know are good because they wear light-colored clothing when their modus operandi is to train and indoctrinate pre-schoolers? Jedis are trained to find “force-sensitive” children, so it is also not above them to abduct such children for this cause.
How does this make them heroes?
The Jedis Originally Commissioned the Clone Army
Without getting too lost in the weeds of Star Wars lore, a Jedi named Sifo-Dyas commissioned the creation of a Clone Army clandestinely to help the Jedi fight the Empire. There was a double cross later on where the Emipre took control, but for a while, the Jedi controlled a clone army.
The clones were human clones derived from the DNA of famed bounty hunter Boba Fett. They were human adult clones with the emotional capacities of children.
Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and other Jedis led the clones into deadly battles in The Clone Wars animated series and treated the clones as disposable soldiers, not human beings.
Before you tell me how bad the Sith are, how does this behavior make the Jedi better in comparison?
They Are Selfish
Where the HELL was Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda during the entire time Anakin became Darth Vader and the Sith Empire took over the whole damn galaxy?
They were hiding and biding their time until another force-sensitive being came along to help them take down Vader, an apprentice choice mistake that they couldn’t get over.
When A New Hope came out, the Jedis were legends, Obi-Wan Kenobi was an old man living in the past and Yoda was a recluse living on a swamp planet. Luke was way too old to be a Jedi but they desperately trained him in a few days to try to take down Vader.
The Jedi did not resurrect themselves to take down the empire – they could have tried long before Luke appeared. They saw a chance in Luke to correct the mistake of accepting Anakin and resurrect their order.
And WOW, Obi-Wan Kenobi died without telling Luke that Vader was his father or that Princess Leia was his sister. Luke and Leia infamously share an onscreen kiss in The Empire Strikes Back before learning that they were long-lost twins in Return of the Jedi – You think Obi-Wan Kenobi could have given Luke a heads up.
Qui Gon Jinn accepted Anakin as his apprentice knowing full well how attached Anakin was to his mother. When Anakin left his mother, she was a slave. The Jedi didn’t care how this knowledge would warp Anakin’s mind. (This is also probably why they only want toddlers as Jedi trainees.)
Jedis Violate the Minds of Others
One of my favorite raps is called Jedi Mind Tricks. One of the coolest things about the Jedi is their ability to telepathically control the minds of people to do their bidding.
But is it cool?
One of the most famous lines from A New Hope is the line, “These are not the droids that you are looking for,’ when Obi-Wan uses his Jedi mind tricks to compel Empire stormtroopers to let him pass through a patrol without problems.
Can we give Jedis the benefit of the doubt relative to ever abusing their mind control powers when they proudly abduct force-sensitive children, sometimes against their will, to become space monks?
The use of Jedi mind tricks is a slippery slope of power abuse tactics. And again, if these are the good guys, how does that differentiate them from the bad guys? How does this irrefutable point disprove my initial Star Wars theory?
Star Wars #1 (1977) Marvel Comics – The 35 Cent variant Issue
Even though the Jedis might not be the good guys, collecting Star Wars comics is good for business if you are a collector. While I was not able to find too many instances of Jedis acting like jerks in the comics, I have good news for you if you own a copy of Star Wars #1 from July 1977.
In 1977 Star Wars licensed their IP to be published in comic book form through Marvel Comics.
An issue of this comic book with a 9.2 CGC rating is worth $3,350. Even an issue of this comic book with a 9.2 CGC grade is worth $370.
However, if you have the ultra-rare 35-cent variant of this issue, it is worth a lot more money. In 1977 Marvel was considering raising its cover price to 35 cents and over 1,500 copies of Star Wars #1 were printed with a 35-cent cover price.
Some experts believe that only 500 copies of this rare comic exist today, although less than 300 have been recorded by comic book experts, stories, and CGC-based directories that sell such comics.
A variant issue of Star Wars #1 with a 35-cent cover price with a CGC rating of 9.2 is worth over $10,755! Even an issue with a 4.0 CGC rating is worth over $5,000.
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
