One of the coolest Star Wars projects in recent memory has launched: a Jar Jar Binks comic one-shot.
Now, that by itself can be pretty cool, but that’s not the reason why I called it one of the coolest. The reason for that is because the story is about a team-up between Jar Jar and Kelleran Beq – the two characters Ahmed Best has played in the franchise – and the story is written by Best himself, with Marc Guggenheim. It’s pretty cool to see an actor write a story all about the two characters you’ve played on-screen in Star Wars working together. What a fun idea!
But the story itself is a compelling one, too. And it ties in to some pretty significant developments in the franchise.
The comic was recently released, and it follows Binks – a junior representative from Naboo – on a diplomatic mission to Urubai. Unbeknownst to him, it was actually Beq, a famed Jedi Knight known as the “sabered hand” due to his skills with a lightsaber, who arranged for Binks’s visit. Beq shows Binks a side of Urubai that goes ignored, as a group of people known as the “unseen” are forced to work in the mining operations without escape. Binks protests that this isn’t allowed in the Republic, but Beq explains that it is allowed now, thanks to the emergency powers granted to the Supreme Chancellor.
It was Binks who, in Attack of the Clones, proposed that the Senate grant those emergency powers to Palpatine, unknowingly aiding the fall of the Republic and the rise of Darth Sidious. Upon hearing Beq’s revelation, Binks breaks down, overcome with guilt and saying that “this is mesa fault”. Beq doesn’t blame him, but wanted Binks to see what was happening so that he could be a voice for the “unseen” in the Senate. If Binks regrets his part in Palpatine’s powers, he can try to make up for it. Binks and Beq help one of the workers escape – one Mira Bridger, who would later give birth to Ezra Bridger.
Back on Coruscant, Binks speaks with Palpatine about the situation, and while Palpatine seems sympathetic, he puts up a political stonewall to keep the plight of the “unseen” mired in bureaucracy. But Palpatine tasks Jar Jar with being the voice for the “unseen”, to help them. He resolves to do so, but he resolves to do much more than that. In a meeting with Beq after the fact, Jar Jar expresses his fear that Palpatine has bigger plans in store, and if that’s true, he tells Beq that they must start a network of radios and people across the galaxy. Jar Jar gives Beq the assignment to go throughout the galaxy in search for people like the “unseen”, which he agrees to.
This moment is quite significant, because it sows some early seeds of rebellion, with a network forming underground to aid those who are being overlooked and oppressed by the Republic’s rule. That would, of course, be escalated in tragic ways under the Empire, and the Rebellion would continue to grow and fight. But to have Jar Jar Binks playing a part in the early seeds of this is cool, and it’s a fitting development for him. He’s a kind-hearted being whose naivety was manipulated by Palpatine, leading to Binks playing a role in Sidious’s rise. But that doesn’t have to be the entire story for him, and he’s committed to playing whatever part he can in making the galaxy a better place for those who are hurting.
While other Senators like Padmé Amidala of Naboo, Mon Mothma of Chandrila, and Bail Organa of Alderaan were pivotal in the early seeds of rebellion, there were plenty of others. I love that Binks is among them. It’s also pretty heartbreaking, however, to read of just how devastated Jar Jar is over his part in Palpatine’s rise. He was doing what he thought was right, but he didn’t realize just how he was being manipulated, and he now desires to atone for his sins however he can. I think this aspect of his story is also a very compelling one.
Star Wars Thoughts 