A ten-issue Yoda comic recently concluded with a very interesting final issue that saw a major figure from the High Republic era make a shocking cameo.
The series included flashbacks to the High Republic era, but the ‘main’ story took place while Yoda was in exile on Dagobah. The Jedi Master is pained and haunted by his past failures, having been unable to stop the rise of Darth Sidious or the fall of the Jedi Order. But Obi-Wan Kenobi, having by this time become one with the Force, patiently prods his old friend toward healing. Obi-Wan sends Yoda into the dark side cave on Dagobah, where Yoda has to confront the past, confront the ways in which he ‘failed.’
The vision that he sees through the Force brings several people to Yoda, all of whom accuse him of failing them. There’s Dooku and Anakin, the two most obvious ones, and there’s Palpatine taunting Yoda about it. There’s a pile of bones of those Yoda supposedly failed, too numerous to count, and in the pile are Bail Organa, Padmé Amidala, and Mace Windu, driving the feelings of Yoda’s guilt deeper. But there is one more figure who shows up accusing Yoda of having failed her: Keeve Trennis.
As Yoda duels Dooku, his former apprentice, Keeve shows up. Yoda tells her that he needs her help, to which she responds, “Like I needed you? When you walked away, when you left me to my fate.” Yoda doesn’t agree, saying, “No. That’s not what happened. You made your choice. Yours, not mine.” It’s a relatively brief moment, but it’s haunting to see all of these figures accusing Yoda. It’s important to keep in mind that this is a vision through the dark side tempting Yoda, but there’s also elements of truth in it. Yoda has to come to learn that failure can be the greatest teacher, and that he can still have a purpose even though he didn’t get everything right. To say that he didn’t fail would be too simplistic, but to say that the fall of all these figures was his fault is equally so.
Which brings us to Keeve Trennis. She was a major figure in Phase I of The High Republic era, and I actually thought she was the best character from the entire phase. A Jedi Knight filled with heroics and with self-doubt, Keeve is an incredibly compelling character. But one of the unique things about Keeve is that she is one of very few High Republic characters who we actually know something about after the era, as author Cavan Scott has noted (he wrote much of Keeve’s story in Phase I and who also wrote this issue of the Yoda comic). There is a mention of a “Master Trennis” who is among the Lost Twenty of the Jedi Order by the time Dooku left the Order, and it’s certainly Keeve. So what we know is that at some point Keeve decided to leave the Order; we just don’t know why.
This issue, though, hints at the reason being more tragic than we might have previously assumed. Without any details, it sounds like there was a moment of dire need where Keeve desperately could have used help from Yoda, but received none. The fact that she shows up here alongside Dooku and Anakin could hint at even darker results, though that’s simply speculation. More definitive is the fact that Keeve was hurt and abandoned at a moment of great need.
We’ll surely find out what happened in Phase III of The High Republic era, which will wrap up this massive storytelling initiative when it begins later this year. This comic is a tease for that, and it leaves me anxious to learn more.
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