Review - An Ancient Temple Reveals Deadly Mysteries in Marvels Jedi Fallen Order: Dark Temple #4

EA's Jedi: Fallen Order is upon us. Anyone looking for a backstory into one of the game's protagonists, Cere Junda? Writer Matthew Rosenberg is about to wrap up this comic series which is just that. If you've been following along, Cere and her master, Eno Cordova, have found themselves in the midst of a conflict between two cultures on the planet Ontotho. The Fylari people are determined to protect an ancient temple on their land, while the Ontothon government ignore their sovereignty and assist a corporation which wants access to whatever is inside the temple. The brewing conflict has come to a head as Master Cordova prepares to enter the mysterious temple. SPOILERS AHEAD....







As with each previous issue, we begin in the present day with an Imperial assault on Ontotho led by the Inquisitor, Second Sister. The same ancient temple we saw Cere and Master Cordova facing still stands in present day, only the interior appears to have been the grounds for a large battle. Second Sister finds a badly damaged droid but is able to power it up. When the droid comes online, it doesn't realize any time has passed and warns the Jedi are going to get them killed, taking us back several years to the conflict between the Fylari, Ontothon government, and the Daa Corporation.







Master Cordova prepares to enter the temple, but Cere is hesitant due to the Fylari's wishes no one enter. Cordova wants to understand why a corporation as powerful as Daa would take an interest in this temple. He also wants to know why the Fylari are so protective of it and determined to keep outsiders away. Much to her displeasure, Cere is left behind to keep watch as Cordova sneaks in. It doesn't take her long for her to put aside his orders and begin making her way toward the temple.







As Master Cordova makes his way into the temple, he discovers what most of us would expect from ancient, abandoned temples...booby traps. The peculiar thing about them, though, is they don't seem to be a part of the temple's original architecture. Cordova notes they are newer, while he triggers and evades them all.







Cere has followed Cordova into the temple and comes across a group of Daa security forces. She overhears them planning to kill Master Cordova and decides to intervene. The padawan is skilled with a lightsaber, but the security forces outnumber her and soon she is contained. Then, an unexpected and very large figure emerges from the temple. It appears to be some sort of sentinel and makes short work of many security officers. Cere puts herself between them and the sentinel.







Whatever this sentinel is, I'd guess it's part of the temple's original design. Fearlessly, Cere engages it while ordering the security officers to flee. She's able to keep it at bay, but despite her selflessness, one of the security officers is still trying to take her out. Cere tells him how stupid he's being and actually continues to try and save him. A large door begins to close, which will seal them in with the sentinel, but Cere holds it up with the Force to allow herself and others to escape. When the door becomes too heavy, someone shows up to help her.







Though Cere saved Master Cordova's life, he's not happy with her. Cordova explains the reason he left her behind was to protect the Fylari and Ontothon guards, as he suspected the Daa Corporation's namesake, Dylanto Daa, had more nefarious purposes. He scolds her for coming after him when she could've protected the other guards, who the Daa forces most likely killed to gain access to the temple. It doesn't seem fair to me that he comes down so hard on Cere when he really didn't verbalize any of this. I know that Jedi teach through actions, but instructions as specific as what he says he wished should have been verbalized. Regardless of what Cere did, she shares with her master the Daa security forces spoke of an entire army headed for the temple, lead by Dylanto Daa. Cordova tells her to join the Fylari forces to stop them and she heads back out of the temple.







Um, yeah, you could say Dylanto Daa has an army with him. The snide, privileged man is determined to get inside the temple and mow down anyone in his path. He's under the impression Cere and Cordova killed all his security forces, giving him license to storm the temple. Cere and a band of Fylari emerge and she tells him what actually happened inside of the temple. He smugly disregards her explanation and expresses no concern about the lives about to be lost so he can access the temple.







The art by Paolo Villanelli and colorist Arif Prianto has been stellar and my favorite part of Dark Temple. It's great to Cere in action like this and gives me high hopes for what she'll bring to the game. The battle rages and despite Cere's best efforts, she and the Fylari are greatly outnumbered. As the corporate security forces close in on them, she comes up with a plan to end this by going directly at Dylanto Daa. Given the state of this landscape in the present day through the eyes of Second Sister, I'm not terribly optimistic.







Master Cordova has encountered a problem of his own – Neralli, the Fylari who initially made contact with Cere and recruited her help, seems to have plans of her own for the temple. She disables Master Cordova just as he's about to transmit some mysterious writing he's found along the temple wall, which also caught Second Sister's attention in the present day. One thing to note, Neralli was killed by Second Sister a few issues back, so I'm intrigued to see what her plans for the temple are and what will come when Cere discovers what's happened to Cordova.



For the purpose of providing a backstory to Cere, this comic has been a lot of fun. Writer Matthew Rosenberg has kept my interest in what the temple is and I'm concerned for the Fylari. As I don't own an Xbox 360 or PS4, I'll be looking to my fellow SWNN staff for information on where Cere's story goes, but I still have one more issue of Dark Temple to look forward to. This series is by no means necessary reading, but it's a solid story which expands the canon and I think a lot of fans would enjoy. Cere is an intriguing character and I'm excited to see where her story goes both here and Fallen Order.


<p style='text-align: center;']RATING: 7.5/10</p>








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