Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan


Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan is a comic book miniseries consisting of five issues, and it represents the second story arc within the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi comic series. This series is situated within the Pre-Republic era, with its narrative centered around the Je'daii Order, who are the forerunners to the Jedi Order. Dark Horse Comics published it throughout the winter of 2012 and the spring of 2013. The writing for Dawn of the Jedi: The Prisoner of Bogan was done by John Ostrander, while the pencil work was handled by Jan Duursema; these two formed the creative duo responsible for the highly praised Star Wars: Legacy series. The events of The Prisoner of Bogan mainly unfold in the year 25,793 BBY, a period that predates the separation of the light and dark sides of the Force. It continues the story several weeks after the events of the preceding arc, which was Force Storm. The core of the miniseries revolves around Xesh and his uneasy partnership with Daegen Lok, a former Je'daii who has lost his sanity and is the eponymous prisoner of the moon Bogan. Lok enlists Xesh to help him escape Bogan and to construct Forcesabers, with the goal of validating the vision he experienced many years prior. Subsequently, the two are pursued across the Tython system by a number of Je'daii. This arc was compiled into a trade paperback titled Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi Book Two—Prisoner of Bogan, which saw its release on July 24, 2013, and it was succeeded by the Force War arc in late 2013.

Plot summary

A few weeks following his arrival on Tython, Xesh is ambushed by Daegen Lok on the moon of Bogan as a way to assess Xesh's capabilities. Lok then proceeds to disable Xesh's restraints and tracking device, before recounting the vision that drove him to madness many years ago: a dark army wielding flaming blades. Upon Xesh identifying the weapon as a Forcesaber, Lok persuades him to create more Forcesabers to validate his vision to the Je'daii. The pair then utilizes a Pho-V fighter that Lok had concealed to flee Bogan, after Xesh restores the ship's power using his Force lightning. Tem Madog, a Temple Master from Vur Tepe, the Je'daii Forge, puts the Forcesaber to the test, but ultimately grants it to Hawk Ryo when the Ranger demonstrates his ability to wield it. When Xesh's absence from his compound on Bogan is detected, a Je'daii team—consisting of Temple Master Jake Fenn, Rangers Bel Zana, Ryo, and Rori Fenn, along with Shae Koda and Sek'nos Rath—is dispatched to the moon to find him. Xesh and Lok, aboard their deteriorating starship, reach the crystal planet of Krev Coeur, which compels them to parachute down to the surface and begin their search for the necessary crystals. Meanwhile, on Bogan, the Je'daii search for Xesh, uncovering evidence of Lok's starfighter and carvings depicting his vision. Hawk Ryo confesses to having shared the vision with Lok during an exploration of the Chasm, leading the Je'daii to deduce that Lok intends to construct Forcesabers. Consequently, half of the Je'daii pursue the two fugitives to Krev Coeur, while the remainder head to the factory world of Nox. Simultaneously, the Force Hound Trill arrives in the system, having tracked Xesh. Ranger Bel Zana attempts to apprehend Xesh and Lok upon locating them, but Lok manipulates her mind, exploiting her fear of fire to incapacitate her. Master Fenn and Sek'nos Rath arrive to assist Zana, but their confrontation takes a turn for the worse when Lok, sensing Fenn's feelings for Zana, throws her off a nearby cliff. Rath seemingly falls to his death while saving her, allowing Xesh and Lok to escape.

On Nox, Xesh completes the two Forcesabers, and Lok attempts to enlist Hadiya's former generals in his campaign to conquer the Je'daii. Shae Koda aids in tracking down Xesh, but he captures her after rescuing her from a dianoga that interrupted their fight. Xesh and Lok then flee with their new prisoner, heading to the planet Shikaakwa in an attempt to gather an army there. Rath is rescued from death by Trill, who identifies herself as a ship thief, and Trill assists him in reaching Shikaakwa to reunite with the other Je'daii. Concurrently, Tasha Ryo attempts to identify the remains of a Rakata who perished in the Devourer crash, but her efforts in the Je'daii Library in Kaleth prove fruitless until Master Ters Sendon shows her the Kwa Holocron—an ancient holocron left on Tython by the Kwa species that activates in Ryo's presence. The holocron's gatekeeper, A'nang, identifies the mysterious skull as belonging to a Rakata, and with the assistance of Master Rajivari, the Je'daii persuade A'nang to share more information about the Rakata. The Kwa explains that in the distant past, his species traversed the galaxy using their Infinity Gates, imparting knowledge of the Force to various species. However, the Rakata exploited the Kwa's knowledge to establish an Infinite Empire rooted in the dark side.

On Shikaakwa, Lok, Xesh, and a captive Shae Koda meet with Baron Volnos Ryo, Hawk's brother and Tasha's father, who aided Lok in infiltrating the Despot Army and assassinating Hadiya during the Despot War, after Hadiya had killed Ryo's father. Lok's attempts to secure Ryo's assistance quickly turn sour, and the arrival of the Je'daii transforms the encounter into a full-scale battle. Sek'nos Rath confronts Xesh and attempts to free Koda, but he fails, and Trill is pleased to observe that the memory blocks implanted in Xesh's mind by Predor Skal'nas are functioning—the Force Hound does not recognize his former brood mate when they encounter each other during the conflict. Hawk Ryo and Lok engage in their own fight, but with Xesh's intervention, Lok gains the upper hand, just as Shae Koda breaks free from her restraints and rushes to Ryo's aid. Koda's appeals for Xesh to choose his own path and not be a slave to Lok resonate with the Force Hound, who turns against the power-hungry Lok and assists the Je'daii in capturing him. Upon learning that the Rakata are likely heading to the Tython system, the Je'daii begin manufacturing Forcesabers, despite the weapon's reliance on the dark side, and they prepare for war as Xesh undergoes training as a Je'daii and Lok is once again imprisoned on Bogan. Unbeknownst to the Je'daii, Trill sends a message to her master, who prepares the forces of the Infinite Empire for war.

Development

John Ostrander and Jan Duursema collaborate on each arc of Dawn of the Jedi in its entirety, rather than working on them sequentially. They jointly develop the story for the series, with Ostrander responsible for the script and Duursema for the artwork's pencil work. Dan Parsons served as the inker for the series, Michael Heisler as the letterer, and Wes Dzioba managed the coloring. The series' cover art was created by David Michael Beck.

Continuity

Jan Duursema faced the challenge of essentially starting from scratch when designing the ships, characters, and environments for the series, given the limited prior depictions of the Before the Republic era. Duursema deliberately distinguished the Je'daii from the Jedi in their appearance, replacing lightsabers with the swords they were known to use at the time and substituting traditional robes with more personalized armor and clothing. Unlike her work on Star Wars: Legacy, Duursema could not rely on existing designs for ships and technology. Instead, she adopted a "retrofitting" approach, creating ships and technology that would eventually evolve into the technology of the modern Star Wars era. Duursema and Ostrander also independently created the worlds of the Tython system, opting to focus solely on the Tython system rather than incorporating pre-existing locations from across the galaxy.

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