Today I noticed that TFAW has the Star Wars: #35 1:25 retailer incentive variant by Phil Noto up for pre-orders. It comes out on June 07, 2023.
On the listing, I noticed two interesting things in the publisher’s description for the issue.
Let’s talk about it.
First Appearance of Doctor Cuata
The 1:25 will be Doctor Quata’s first comic cover appearance and, unless he shows up in a significant way in Star Wars #34 next week, this will be the first appearance of Doctor Cuata in a comic as well.
Dr. Cuata is a Kyber expert that first came into Star Wars lore in the 2017 James Luceno novel, Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. I haven’t read that book but the wookieepedia page for Cuata is pretty light on details. This implies (to me at least) that his role was fairly small in that book.
We do know that he’s a lightsaber expert that will likely provide Luke with the training needed for him to construct his green lightsaber that we see in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. We get hints that Luke is starting this process in the preview for next week’s Star Wars #34.
It’s unclear if he’s a protagonist or antagonist though. You’d think a lightsaber and kyber expert would be all jazzed up about working with a Jedi again but then again the first line of the issue’s description says, “Luke Skywalker… In the Clutches of Dr. Cuata.”
Another Jedi to Show Up in Star Wars #35?
The other thing that caught my attention is the final line of the publisher’s description.
Luke’s life will hang in the balance…and only ANOTHER JEDI can save him!
Star Wars #35
Ummm… another Jedi?!? What?!
I typically take stuff like this with a grain of salt because comics are notorious for hyping themselves up for big reveals only to subvert expectations with a roundabout way to make the claim accurate.
So there COULD be another Jedi in this story. Someone who escaped Order 66 and has been laying ultra-low ever since.
Or this Jedi that helps Luke could come in the form of Jedi texts or a holocron and actually mean that another Jedi’s knowledge is what saves Luke Skywalker. Not the actual Jedi in the flesh.
I genuinely hope it’s another Jedi character but with the Marvel Star Wars Comics inching closer and closer to the events of The Return of the Jedi I’m skeptical that a Jedi would be introduced in the pre-ROTJ comics right now.
Also, I don’t think this is Ahsoka. Luke and Ahsoka meeting for the first time will be Dave Filoni’s story to tell in my opinion. It likely won’t happen until after Return of the Jedi as well. Wouldn’t make much sense before.
This could be a reference to Yoda. He’s on the cover A for the issue. I just am having a hard time figuring out how exactly that would work story wise.
Regardless, I’m excited for this one because we finally get to learn the origin story of Luke’s green lightsaber. This is a question that Star Wars fans have been asking since 1983. Should be a fun one.
Check out all variants for Star Wars #35 below and get your pre-orders in on TFAW.
Star Wars #35
APR230898
(W) Charles Soule (A) Madibek Musabekov (CA) Stephen Segovia
LUKE SKYWALKER…IN THE CLUTHES OF DR. CUATA! The would-be JEDI’S LIGHTSABER is all but destroyed! Enter KYBER CRYSTAL expert DR. CUATA! Only he can repair it…but at what price? Luke’s life will hang in the balance…and only ANOTHER JEDI can save him!
Rated T
In Shops: Jun 07, 2023
SRP: $3.99
Variants:
