Review: ‘Jar Jar’ One-Shot Comic Has Binks Team Up with Kelleran Beq
The _Jar Jar_ one-shot comic sees the loveable/controversial Gungan senator team up with Kelleran Beq during the Clone Wars. Though there are some interesting insights as to what Jar Jar Binks “actually” thinks about his role in giving Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers, there’s plenty of Jar Jar’s trademark humor on display here so your enjoyment of this story really hinges on your opinion of the character.
Of course, if you didn’t like Jar Jar Binks then you likely wouldn’t be picking this comic up anyway. Fans of Jar Jar will appreciate the dumb humor beats, though the physical clumsiness is kept to a minimum (the Gungan stumbles his way through the final action set piece, but it has nothing on some of his slapstick moments from _The Phantom Menace_).
When it comes to Kelleran Beq, I’m not entirely certain the comic does him justice. We do get to see him use his lightsaber (just the one, not twin blades like in _The Mandalorian_), but despite him easily defeating a notable _Star Wars_ villain, there’s very little flashy lightsaber action. The dialogue is also intent on giving the Jedi some cool lines and catchphrases, but writers Ahmed Best (who of course portrayed both characters) and Marc Guggenheim try a little too hard and it comes off a bit forced and clunky.
Ultimately, this is a harmless story that really just exists as an excuse to get Ahmed Best’s two _Star Wars_ characters leading a story together, which is no bad thing, and despite the corniness and winks to the reader (why yes, Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq do have something in common!), its success is in teaching us a little bit more about Jar Jar Binks in an interesting period. There’s also a surprising link to _Star Wars Rebels_ , which absolutely didn’t need to be there but adds another interesting wrinkle to the tale.
Curiously, it seems that this might not be the last time we see the duo team up in a comic, if the ending is anything to go by. If that’s the case, future stories will need to be a bit more compelling, but this was a pretty good start.
**Spoilers ahead…**
AHMED BEST & MARC GUGGENHEIM (W) • KIERAN MCKEOWN & LAURA BRAGA (A)
COVER BY TAURIN CLARKE
So, the premise of the story is that Senator Jar Jar Binks is sent to the planet Urubai during the Clone Wars to meet with the planet’s ambassador. After getting naïvely waylaid by a local miscreant, he is rescued by Kelleran Beq, who reveals he lured Jar Jar to the planet as a pretense to investigate what is essentially slave labor on a Republic world.
The planet’s locals, called the “Unseen”, are being forced to work long hours for little pay (or possibly nothing) and terrible treatment in order to mine coaxium for the Republic’s war efforts. Much of the story at this point is Kelleran Beq getting Jar Jar up to speed, and once we got about halfway through I was wondering when the fun might actually begin.
Thankfully, things start getting interesting when a local named Mira reveals that she has used a new form of crystal to invent a highly secure radio frequency, one which will be highly coveted by Palpatine and force the Unseen to work even harder with no reward. Shortly after Mira reveals that bounty hunters have been hired to kill her and take her technology, Aurra Sing and Rum Sleg show up.
These two were wise picks from the writers. Aurra Sing is notable enough to peak our interest and actually worry about how our heroes might get out of this one, while Rum Sleg is a deep cut for eagle-eyed fans; the character appears very briefly in the background on Mos Espa in _The Phantom Menace_ and that’s it. It’s fun to see a bit more of a character we know so little about.
Aurra Sing manages to jump on board Jar Jar’s ship as they flee but is soundly defeated by Kelleran Beq as the Jedi Force-pushes her into a wall. There’s actually a cool panel where we see Beq easily deflect her blaster bolts in rapid succession, which I guess is about the most you can do to show off his lightsaber skills in a comic when he’s only going up against blasters. Presumably Sing was arrested after this too, but we don’t actually know how she escapes.
It was pretty funny watching Jar Jar struggle to pilot the ship with Rum Sleg in pursuit, using his tongue to control the joystick, allowing for a bit of his trademark clumsiness without going too overboard. By the end, we learn that the mechanic Mira is actually Mira Bridger, mother of Ezra Bridger from _Star Wars Rebels_. It’s a touching element to add to the history of our two lead characters, knowing that Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq actually saved Mira’s life during the Clone Wars. If not for them, the rebels might never have stopped Grand Admiral Thrawn.
While Kelleran Beq is obviously the cooler character of the two, it’s Jar Jar who we get the most insight into. He regrets giving Palpatine emergency powers even during the war, though it’s not entirely clear if he feels that way generally or if this is purely related to the plight of the unseen.
Then later, in a meeting with Palpatine, we see the chancellor begrudgingly give Jar Jar oversight of the Urubai people to make sure they are no longer mistreated. In a conversation with Beq, Jar Jar is perceptive enough to realize that Palpatine is humoring him and thinks he will fail in the task (much smarter than he appeared to be at the beginning of this comic).
This is all interesting stuff, and I’m glad the comic took the time to give us this insight; it allows this to be more than a superficial team up between Ahmed Best’s two characters.
_**Rating: 6/10**_
##### Josh Atkins
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Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
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Review: ‘Jar Jar’ One-Shot Comic Has Binks Team Up with Kelleran Beq The Jar Jar one-shot comic sees the loveable/controversial Gungan senator team up with Kelleran Beq during the Clone Wars. T...
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