Star Wars’ Polarizing Sentient Rock Returns To Upset Fans Some More

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures Annual (2021)!

A sentient boulder named Geode that has been polarizing fans since his rocky debut in the novel The High Republic: Into the Dark recently returned for the second time in IDW Publishing’s Star Wars comic book continuity. Just like before, the male Vintian’s contributions are fully comedic with the intent of showcasing his absurd powers that transcend all logic.

Despite how silly it seems, Geode’s hilarious cameo ends up playing a major role in the short story “No Stone Unturned” by Claudia Gray, Jason Loo, and Megan Huang in the annual issue of 2021’s Star Wars – The High Republic Adventures. Geode finds himself in the middle of a misleading assignment from an undisclosed client with his known associates, the pilot Leox Gyasi and copilot Affie Hollow of the transport starship Vessel. Their goal is to steal a special gemstone from some ancient ruins that have ostensibly been uninhabited for centuries. But based on the fact that the trio are immediately pursued by an angry mob upon taking the stone proves this isn’t the case. Although Leox eventually decides to return the so-called Sun Jewel back to its rightful owners, it is apparently too late, for the gemstone is supposed to capture the light of the rising sun from its rightful place in mere minutes to mark “the path of our prophetess.” And because the Sun Jewel is too far removed from where the Vessel’s crew stole it and the sun is about to rise over the horizon, they can’t return the gemstone in time. As a result, the prophetess’ light will not shine this year for the indigenous people who live there.

The only way that Leox and Affie are able to return the Sun Jewel back to where it belongs in time is by leveraging Geode’s mysterious teleportation powers. Since he can appear seemingly anywhere within mere moments, Leox and Affie place the Sun Jewel on his head, and Geode suddenly transports to the right place so the gemstone can catch the light from the rising sun at the last moment. This isn’t the only time in which Geode showcases his oddly proprietary powers during this particular adventure. When initially running away from the angry inhabitants, Geode is safe from harm because he’s capitalizing on the fact that he’s basically a giant rock by hiding within a crevice.

This particular utilization of Geode’s abilities creates a very different effect than their normal use. Geode’s teleportation ability usually serves as a means to shock those who aren’t familiar with him. Most people who first meet the Vintian find his demeaner off-putting, an uneasiness that’s exacerbated when he suddenly appears in random places since he obviously doesn’t possess any appendages that would help him move. Earlier in a separate comic, Geode’s unsettling nature helped the Vessel‘s crew when Jabba the Hutt’s bounty hunters commandeer the ship to sabotage Jedi and Hutt peace proceedings in Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #6. When held at gunpoint, Geode disappears without anybody noticing and reappears next to the pirate piloting his ship, spooking him out of the cockpit so that Geode can take over piloting duties even though he doesn’t have hands.

Some fans who obviously lack a sense of humor have been critical of Geode due to his unprecedented appearance and comedic portrayal. These stone-faced critics need to realize that the Star Wars universe is inundated in ridiculous aliens that are far from serious like the Ewoks. Geode is just another rendition of some of the franchise’s more whimsical species. Best of all, in what obviously serves as a metaphor for how Geode‘s creators feel about him, the Vintian doesn’t take himself seriously and is willing to make fun of himself for the sake of a good story.

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