Obi-Wan and Anakin’s Comic History

Have you tried Marvel Unlimited yet? It’s your all-access pass to over 29,000 Marvel comics, available at your fingertips.

“You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

Two masters of the Force: One restrained by control and honor, the other ruled by impulsiveness and unchecked power. In the Star Wars saga, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker represent two sides of the same coin—only their paths have differed.

Revisit the comics history, and defining beats, from this Jedi Master and a fallen apprentice. All of these comics, in addition to hundreds of Star Wars stories, are available to read on Marvel Unlimited now.

THE FIRST MEETING

After rescuing the disguised Padmé Amidala from the Sith-influenced Trade Federation, a much-younger Obi-Wan and Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn stop on the planet of Tatooine for some unexpected repairs...

In the settlement of Mos Espa, Qui-Gon has his first encounter with the “Chosen One,” a Force sensitive kid named Anakin Skywalker. While Qui-Gon is determined to train young Skywalker in the order of the Force, he unfortunately meets the wrong end of Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber, leaving Padawan Kenobi master-less and now a master.

A promise is made, and the vow is kept: Obi-Wan becomes Anakin’s new teacher in the Force.

A NEW APPRENTICE

Padawan Skywalker discovers that there’s “always more to learn, there is” while on a mission to retrieve a Jedi holocron from the planet Dallenor.

Now one of the older initiates in his Jedi education, Anakin stands out from his fellow trainees. But, the Council still has mixed beliefs on his potential. It’s decided that if Anakin is to become a legendary Jedi, at least let him be a well-trained one.

Even though he has reservations on bringing Anakin along, Obi-Wan bonds with his student by sharing his own Padawan past. Here, we get a glimpse at Kenobi’s earliest days on Coruscant under Qui-Gon Jinn, and the very different path that led him to his training.

But as Obi-Wan reminds Anakin: the Jedi Council isn’t always right. And because they have doubts now, it is even more important to prove them wrong later...

TRUST GAINED, TRUST EARNED

Writer Charles Soule and artist Marco Checchetto deliver a tale of two Force-wielders at their peak of power.

Set before their military heroism in the Clone Wars, the teacher and student have grown closer over time. But it hasn’t been easy. When Kenobi and Skywalker are called to the remote planet Carnelion IV for assistance, the pair are pushed to a breaking point that kicks in their survival instinct. As they find themselves stranded on a strange world of primitive tech and deadly locals, their trust in each other is one of the few things keeping them alive.

Through a series of flashbacks, this series also teases out how Senator Palpatine first gained influence over Anakin, laying the groundwork for their Sith-fueled partnership down the line...

FORBIDDEN ATTACHMENT(S)

A now-teen Anakin and a more-settled in Obi-Wan act as Jedi Knights for a crumbling Republic in the prelude to the Clone Wars. Now facing planetary secessions that funnel control to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Republic is losing its democratic power. With allies scare and loyalties scattered, Skywalker and Kenobi try to dismantle the Separatist movement at its head.

For Anakin, his role in this war is personal. After losing his mother and falling head over heels for Senator Amidala, Anakin strays from the path of restraint. Obi-Wan senses a shift in his less disciplined disciple, but chalks it up to inexperience or impulse. Although, this attitude does cost Anakin in a duel with Dooku...

A JEDI’S SACRIFICE

Anakin learns there is no easy side to war as he seeks to strike a blow to the Separatist cause. Now on equal footing to Obi-Wan, the new Jedi still seeks guidance from his longtime mentor, but is beginning to challenge his place in the Republic.

With both the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems internally divided, Anakin is in the right to question what it’s all for. And, while on a mission to a droid foundry, the sight of living beings as bartered goods brings Anakin right back to his childhood and the loss of his mom...

VADER RISING

This is it. Corrupted beyond measure by the temptation of the Dark Side (and the unlimited promise of power by former politician Darth Sidious), Anakin loses himself to the anger of loss. Recount Obi-Wan’s fateful showdown on Mustafar in 2005’s STAR WARS: EPISODE III - REVENGE OF THE SITH comic adaptation, or see the other side’s perspective in this wish fulfillment fantasy issue.

A battle between brothers gives rise to Darth Vader, two destined twins, and the near-end of the Jedi. But Obi-Wan’s only disappointment is that he has failed his Padawan.

THE FORCE THAT BINDS

After leading a monastic life as a virtual recluse on Tatooine, a disgraced “Ben” Kenobi sought to restore the Force through its expert use. But the Force that binds also breaks. Despite a new Jedi-in-training with all the potential of his first apprentice, Obi-Wan still had to answer to the former Skywalker. Read STAR WARS: DARTH VADER (2020) #8 for Vader’s haunted memory of Kenobi’s death. A visit to Mustafar brings it all back.

The story continues in STAR WARS: DARTH VADER (2020). Revisit simpler times in OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN (2016), and find even more Star Wars comic entry points here.

Follow Marvel Unlimited on Twitter and Facebook to stay tuned in to weekly announcements, articles, and more, all at @MarvelUnlimited. Follow us today to join the conversation with thousands of fellow fans, and let us know what you’re reading!