Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker Officially Faces The Empire’s New Inquisitor in Their Historic First Battle

In the new chapter of Star Wars set after the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker is facing an Inquisitor head on, promising a legendary battle that will demonstrate how powerful Luke truly was in his prime as a Jedi Knight. And deliver a historic first in Star Wars canon, too.

Luke Skywalker became a Jedi Master in the days following Return of the Jedi, but failed to deliver fans what they most crave: a lightsaber duel. His eventual showdown in The Last Jedi was memorable, but not technically a real fight, and his equally memorable battle sequence in The Mandalorian was too one-sided to call a ‘duel.’ Now the official preview for Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #4 finds the Empire’s newest Inquisitor preparing to send a message… before they’re interrupted by Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker To Face A Sith Inquisitor in A True Lightsaber Duel?

Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #4 by Alex Segura, Leonard Kirk, and Jethro Morales

At this point in the story, the Inquisitor and Imperial forces have defeated Princess Leia’s new elite team of Rebel spies, and are about to kill them to demonstrate their power to the newly emerged Imperial leader, Grand Moff Adelhard. So the stakes couldn’t be higher as Luke orders the Inquisitor and Commander Bragh to stand down, with both their lightsabers activated and in hand. And while Luke is there to fight for good, the Inquisitor may have something greater to prove.

In the ‘Reign of the Empire’ era of the Star Wars timeline, the Inquisitorius also employed the services of Purge Troopers, a group of special forces specialized in hunting Jedi. These soldiers were originally Clone Troopers, but were eventually replaced by recruits from the Stormtrooper corps. Commander Bragh is one such Purge Trooper, and if he proves to be as skilled at fighting Jedi as the others seen so far, Commander Bragh teaming up with this new Inquisitor will give Luke a run for his money. Even demonstrating to Luke just what Jedi faced during the great Jedi Purge.

Our Take on The Inquisitors’ Future in Star Wars Canon

Prior to this new storyline in Star Wars comics, the last time the Inquisitors appeared was the season two finale of Star Wars Rebels, where they were defeated by Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Ahsoka Tano, and Darth Maul. By the time Luke Skywalker left Tatooine the majority of Jedi were believed to be extinct, making the Inquisitors unnecessary, and phased out of service (or killed by Palpatine or Darth Vader). So while this return makes it possible for Luke to have a worthy lightsaber wielder to take on, it also signals a change in the status quo Luke is entirely unprepared for.

Aside from this new Inquisitor, there is also one other known to be active beyond the Empire’s height: Marrok, the servant of Morgan Elsbeth in the Ahsoka TV series. That series revealed Marrok was actually a corpse reanimated by Morgan’s dark magic, meaning they had died sometime before the events of Ahsoka. If this mysterious Inquisitor happens to be the future Marrok, then it’s possible this story will show how that character meets their demise. And it’s possible they could fall to Luke’s lightsaber directly. But if this inquisitor survives this interaction with Luke, they could still become a reoccurring threat to Luke in his post-Return of the Jedi era.

See Luke face the mysterious inquisitor in Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #4 November 6, from Marvel Comics.