Comics Commentary: Kanan: The Last Padawan #3

4.1K

Caleb Dume pivots, and Dennis breaks it down.

This review and commentary contains general spoilers for issue #3 of Kanan: The Last Padawan.

Kanan: The Last Padawan #3

Writer: Greg Weisman | Artist: Pepe Larraz | Colors: David Curiel | Cover: Mark Brooks | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga

One of the themes of the Star Wars saga has been that the evolution of the Jedi led to unintended consequences. As the Galactic Republic stagnated with the corruption of its leaders, the Jedi found themselves defenders of a tarnished government that didn’t necessarily represent the will and best interests of its citizens. It wasn’t until the end of the war that many of the Jedi, such as Depa Billaba, began to question whether they should have been serving as generals and commanders in the Grand Army of the Republic at all. The Sith, through the dark side, blinded the Senate, which blinded the Republic, and in turn blinded the Jedi to the evil that had spread through the universe. As Emperor Palpatine might say, the Jedi paid for their lack of vision.

In many ways, the story in Kanan is how one Jedi removed the blinders to survive in a galaxy after the demise of the Order. Issue three resumes the story of Caleb Dume as he flees from Kaller to Coruscant. On arriving in system, Caleb realizes the return signal from the Jedi temple was a trap. Surrounded by Clone Troopers in their ARC-170 fighters, Caleb fights for his life and narrowly escapes from Coruscant. The lesson he learned from Janus Kasmir in the last issue appears to have set in. He can no longer think like a Jedi. He must adapt. He must lie, cheat, steal, and above all, he must survive. So he does the one thing he believes anybody would expect a Jedi to do, he returns to Kaller, where he stole the Kasmiri from Janus.

Caleb’s naïve hopes that Janus would somehow would be grateful for the return of his ship were quickly dashed, and he was sent scurrying at blaster point. However, Caleb bides his time, grows his hair out, and sensing an opportunity to get into Janus’s good graces, rushes to his rescue. Caleb’s inexperience managed to get the best of him, and his apparent rescue of Janus merely disrupted a hostile negotiation between the Kalleran and a potential crew for the Kasmiri. With no other option present, Janus presses Caleb into service on the Kasmiri.

In many ways, Janus is like Han Solo. Janus doesn’t want to get involved with the problems of the greater galaxy, and he is looking out for number one: himself. However, the better side of his nature gets the best of him time-after-time. Just like Han could not help but get swept up in the drama of the Rebellion and assist with the attack on the Death Star when his new friend was in trouble, Janus can’t help but take Caleb under his wing and become a mentor.

In A New Hope, Han extended Luke an offer to join up with the crew of the Millennium Falcon after they rescued the Princess and before the Death Star attacked Yavin IV. Han’s professed this was because Luke could handle himself in a fight, and Han could use him. Luke had a counter plea to join the fight. Han’s apparent indifference to the Rebellion and Luke’s new cause was quickly betrayed by Han’s parting words to Luke: “May the Force be with you.” The difference between that scene and what happens in Kanan is that Caleb takes Janus up on his offer. He may not have had a choice, but once he does, Janus sets about molding Caleb into something a little more useful in the post-Clone Wars galaxy.

Caleb ditches the Padawan braid, ties back his now long hair, swaps his Jedi robes for the garb of a swashbuckling scoundrel, and stashes his lightsaber in favor of a trusty blaster at his side. All that is left is for Caleb to adopt the name Kanan Jarrus. It doesn’t happen here, but it is foreshadowed. Caleb bristles with irritation every time Janus calls him “Kid,” but as he points out, Kid is a lot better than Caleb Dume, who is wanted by the Empire as an enemy of the state.

Weisman’s writing in this issue continues to impress. With every page, Caleb evolves more and more into the Kanan we know from A New Dawn and Rebels. Many of the changes are subtle. Caleb resents the cruel fate the galaxy has laid out for him, but he begrudgingly adapts to his new lot in life one panel at a time. Weisman’s writing and Larraz’s art combine wonderfully to illustrate Caleb’s struggle. For instance, the panels where Caleb accepts that he must give up his name clearly and believably demonstrate shock, grief, and a grudging acceptance in three panels.

Of course, Caleb accepting his new role in life isn’t always subtle. On his first job with Janus to steal droids, he quickly observes that it doesn’t bother him that he has gone from a protector of the galaxy to a common thief. He rationalizes his feelings by noting the galaxy has been rather ungrateful for the protection he and the Jedi Order provided. It probably doesn’t help that Caleb is still young and more than a little bitter about the death of his master. The issue concludes with a cliff-hanger that seems more like a ploy by Janus than a real threat to Caleb.

Favorite Panel:

Larraz’ art impresses week after week, panel after panel in this series. His style is quite a bit different than the cinematic style used in Star Wars and Darth Vader or the softer, rounder style used in Princess Leia. It is the closest to resembling the style traditionally found in traditional super hero comic books. There is so much to like in Kanan #3, that as usual, it is hard to pick just one panel. So, I didn’t. Instead, for this issue, I’m picking a page. Specifically, I’ve settled on the page where Caleb transforms his look from Jedi Padawan to scoundrel side-kick. The page is laid out perfectly. On the left, some aspect from Caleb’s life as a Jedi is presented: his Padawan braid, his lightsaber, the holomessage from Obi-wan, and finally a drawer containing all of his Jedi possessions. On the right side of the page, Caleb disposes and replaces those items and effectively puts his life as a Jedi behind him. Expertly done.