Star Wars’ Tragic Jedi Death Is Accidentally Hilarious Out of Context

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The High Republic #15

The death of a Jedi in the latest chapter of the Star Wars mythos is absolutely tragic as it marks another life lost from the side of those who fight for all that is good and pure in the galaxy, but it’s also pretty hilarious. One of the ongoing Star Wars sagas in the comics is set during the time of the HIgh Republic which is set long before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. During that time, the Jedi are faced with an evil presence that has never been seen before, one that is successful in the accidentally hilarious, yet still obviously tragic, death of one of their own. 

In Star Wars: The High Republic #15 by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito, the Jedi Sskeer, Keeve, and Avar are tasked with saving the Starlight Beacon before it crashes into a nearby planet. However, their mission is encumbered by a mysterious and malevolent force that has the power to kill even Jedi by seemingly petrifying them in stone, leaving them to die in pain and full of fear. 

While the manner of death is horrifying, the way it was presented to the reader in this issue is accidentally goofy. After Keeve successfully fights off the dark presence, another Jedi isn’t so lucky, a Frozian by the name of Nooranbakarakana, also known as Nooran. The reason Nooran’s death is so funny is the abrupt and overexaggerated nature of the scene. On one page of the comic, the other Jedi are talking about the seriousness of the threat they face and how lucky Keeve is to be alive, then the reader flips to the next page where they are suddenly hit in the face with a cartoonishly cat-like alien who is posed in an exaggerated death rictus similarly to that of the Living Statue in the film Hot Fuzz. 

While this Jedi’s death is hilarious, it shouldn’t take away from the overall threat the Jedi of this issue are faced with, and Nooran’s demise is a perfect example of that horrifying threat. As shown through the eyes of Keeve with the outcome presented in the form of Nooran’s lifeless corpse, the monsters of emptiness and fear are some of the most terrifying beings in the galaxy. While Sith Lords wield the Dark Side of the Force and use it to commit atrocities, these beings seem to be living darkness incarnate, something that is absolutely no laughing matter. 

However, the vision of Nooran’s dead body is definitely a laughing matter. Again, it isn’t funny that she is dead, it’s funny because of the way she looks while being dead and the shockingly sudden manner in which her body was presented to readers. One moment the Jedi are discussing a serious topic and the next there is a comically dead cat-person filling up half a page. While the scene was meant to be dramatic, it just came off as corny and comical, making Star Wars’ latest tragic Jedi death accidentally hilarious.

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