Following up on the first Dawn of the Jedi series, Prisoner of Bogan continues the story of Xesh, the Rakata Force Hound who came across the home planet of the Je'daii, a group of Force users who strive to achieve a balance between the light side and the dark side, and sought to bring the full might of the Rakatans' Infinite Empire upon them. But, things didn't go as planned, and Xesh crash-landed on the Je'daii home world and ran across three Je'daii students. Through their actions, Xesh changed his mind about destroying them and wound up saving them from the planet's dangers instead. Although Xesh helped to save the students, the Je'daii Council exiled him to the moon of Bogan, the prison for those who are out of balance with the Force and lean toward the dark side.
I like the format that Dawn of the Jedi is using, focusing on a selection of miniseries rather than stringing together dozens of issues. The first issue of Prisoner of Bogan quickly catches up new readers on the events of the first arc, Force Storm. The series continues to be fast paced and introduces new characters and concepts to the Star Wars universe, while at the same time exploring the origin of many of the beliefs and devices taken for granted in later time periods.
This issue dives not only into the Je'daii's system for handling prisoners but has Xesh looking internally to his origin and the way Force Hounds are trained and used. The idea of the Rakatans essentially having a Sith on a leash is a cool device to introduce variety into the Infinite Empire's ranks, and the competitive fraternity among the group has a ton of storytelling potential. The issue doesn't just focus on Xesh but finally introduces more information about Daegen Lok, the other prisoner of Bogan who has been fairly mysterious up to this point. Daegen and Xesh are fun characters to place together. Neither of them seems completely evil, but they both have twisted morals, which frequently sees them butting heads, and both are paranoid that the other one is going stab them in the back at any moment.
One of the things I continue to love about this series is the fun it's having in a universe where Force users aren't light vs. dark. As the Je'daii further discuss what Xesh's arrival means for them, their different points of view become clear, some advocating war while others are quite selfish. These sorts of Jedi characters would come across dramatically different were this set later in the timeline. They'd have been thought of as radicals. This different perspective also applies to the use of Force abilities. Force lightning is not that frowned upon at this time, and the creative team is having a lot of fun finding dozens of uses for this power set which usually belongs to only the bad guys.
I don't want to spoil anything, but the end of this issue has so many interesting possibilities for the rest of this series. Dawn of the Jedi is the freshest take on Star Wars in years, and that extends far beyond introducing the origins of Force users. There is a story to tell here, and it's shaping up to be an incredible ride.
