Qui-Gon Jinn is best known for his death in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but it turns out that wasn’t the first time he died. The story of Qui-Gon Jinn is generally seen as a tragic one; the common assumption is that he would have been a far better mentor for Anakin Skywalker, and that the Chosen One may not have fallen to the dark side under his influence. George Lucas wasn’t convinced, explaining in a 1999 interview with Cut Magazine that Anakin should never have been a Jedi at all.
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Still, in a surreal twist, Star Wars has just revealed that the Jedi Master most famous for dying… actually died once before. Marc Guggenheim and Madibek Musabekov’s Star Wars: Jedi Knight #9 continues an ongoing story in which Qui-Gon attempts to uncover the secret of a mysterious assassin attempting to kill him. The assassin almost succeeded in his mission, and Qui-Gon’s heart stopped; he would have died if he hadn’t been found by fellow Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Aayla Secura.
Why Didn’t Qui-Gon Jinn Become A Force Ghost Then?
It is, of course, rather amusing to imagine Qui-Gon Jinn’s Force Ghost in a sort of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” position (“Hey, I’ve died twice,” Buffy famously sang in the show’s musical episode). But there is actually an interesting, serious point behind Star Wars’ curious decision here. Qui-Gon was the first Jedi in millennia to discover how to become a Force Ghost, becoming more important after his death than he was before, as he helped teach Yoda and Obi-Wan how to follow him. Why didn’t he become a Force Ghost some years earlier?
The answer likely lies in a subtle scene in The Phantom Menace, where Qui-Gon meditates immediately before his final confrontation with Darth Maul. People don’t just become Force Ghosts at random, but rather need to prepare themselves, finding a place of peace and serenity so they can maintain their consciousness when they slip into the Netherworld of the Force. Qui-Gon had not prepared himself in the Jedi Knights comics, which means he would have been lost if not for Mace and Aayla… and the fate of the galaxy would have been very different.
At the moment, the Jedi Knights comic book run feels somewhat tangential to the Skywalker saga. It is, however, possible that Qui-Gon’s brush with death will lead him on a new arc – one in which he seeks the secret of life after death. If that is the case, this story will take on fresh significance, and this latest oddity – Star Wars’ decision to kill Qui-Gon before The Phantom Menace – will make sense.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight #9 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
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Image Courtesy of Shueisha
