STAR WARS: OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN Is One of the Best STAR WARS Stories You May Have Missed
With all of the Star Wars stories that have been told over the years that stretch across films, books, shows, and entire timelines, it’s easy for smaller, quieter tales to slip through the cracks.
One of the best examples is the 2016 Marvel Comics miniseries Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin by Charles Soule with art by Marco Checchetto. It’s a story that deserves way more attention than it gets.
This five-issue series isn’t another galactic war saga or a lightsaber-heavy spectacle. Instead, it’s a personal, character-driven story set three years after The Phantom Menace.
Anakin Skywalker is still a young Padawan, struggling under the immense pressure of being the “Chosen One.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, meanwhile, is a relatively new Jedi Master still wrestling with the death of Qui-Gon Jinn and the enormous responsibility of mentoring a boy destined to bring balance to the Force.
The story drops the duo on a forgotten, desolate planet, where they are met with physical, emotional, and spiritual danger. As they fight to survive, the story dives into their internal conflicts, offering some of the best insight into who these two chracter really are long before their fates collide on Mustafar.
Soule writes Anakin with empathy and precision. He’s impatient with Jedi teachings, weighed down by expectations, and quietly terrified of failure. The story captures both his arrogance and his genuine desire to do good. The Jedi Council might revere him, but they do little to guide him in the way he needs, leaving him isolated and misunderstood.
Obi-Wan, for his part, is still trying to figure out how to be both mentor and friend to someone like Anakin. He’s wise but uncertain, honorable yet quietly rebellious. His devotion to his apprentice runs so deep that at one point, he tells Yoda he would leave the Jedi Order to continue training Anakin if the boy ever decided to quit.
Yoda warns him that such a choice would be heresy, but Obi-Wan doesn’t flinch. His loyalty isn’t to the Jedi, it’s to Anakin and the promise he made to Qui-Gon.
That confession is one of the series’ most powerful moments, and it encapsulates the core of Obi-Wan and Anakin as this isn’t just about duty or destiny, it’s about connection, compassion, and the cost of loyalty.
Beyond the relationship at its center, the series also takes a subtle but sharp look at the flaws of the Jedi Order. It questions the rigidity of their teachings, especially their insistence on suppressing emotion.
Through Anakin’s frustration and longing for connection, Soule suggests that the Jedi’s devotion to emotional restraint might be part of what leads to their downfall.
As for the planet, with its strange inhabitants, fractured societies, and moral ambiguity, it mirrors the struggles within both Jedi. The people they meet force them to confront complex choices and see beyond the Jedi Code’s simplistic definitions of light and dark. It’s a brilliant reflection of the gray areas that define Star Wars at its best.
What makes Obi-Wan and Anakin so compelling is that it doesn’t need to be loud to be powerful. It’s a thoughtful story that digs deep into the emotional foundations of two characters who have shaped the Star Wars universe more than anyone else.
If you’ve ever wanted to understand the bond between these two character and how it formed, where it began to fracture, and why it mattered so much, this miniseries is essential reading. It’s one of those awesome Star Wars stories that reminds you how rich and human these Star Wars stories can be.
Sometimes, the best Star Wars stories aren’t the biggest ones. Obi-Wan and Anakin proves that even in the smallest corners of the galaxy, there’s still room for strong storytelling.