Warning: The following contains spoilers from Star Wars #20, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Ther's no doubt that the Star Wars sequel trilogy was controversial among fans. From the handling of certain classic characters to redundant plots, some fans could not stand Disney’s vision for the franchise. On the flip side, other fans thought that the sequels were an original and fresh take a logical continuation of the Skywalker story.
One of the most debated parts of the sequel trilogy was The Last Jedi’s introduction of the Force Dyad. Through their inherent bond, Rey and Kylo Ren regularly communicated over great distances. Disney isn’t done with the concept of distant Force-communication as seen in Star Wars #20 (by Charles Soule, Marco Castiello, Rachelle Rosenberg and VC’s Clayton Cowles) .
Communication through the Force is taken to an entirely new level in this storyline. While looking for Jedi artifacts and a way to advance his training, Luke found a way to communicate with a former Jedi -- not over distance like Rey and Kylo did -- but by breaking the very bounds of time.
Recent issues of this series have shown just how fearful and depressed Luke became after dueling Darth Vader in Cloud City. His confidence was shattered, and that became even more apparent during the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover comics. Now, Luke has left the Rebellion for a time in order to focus on following his Jedi Path. Sure enough, the young Jedi Knight visited a number of planets, and acquired a Jedi holocron. Luke's former master, Yoda, left a message inside the holocron that took him to the planet Gazian.
The entire planet contained powerful Force energies. More notably, as a living organism, the planet itself took an imprint of every visitor’s consciousness and made a replica of it. So, when Luke arrived, he encountered a Jedi from the High Republic, named Elzar Mann. The two talked about the following Force, maintaining hope, and the roles of the Jedi. By the end of their conversation, Luke seemed to be in a better headspace, but it’s likely that Luke didn’t understand the magnitude of what he had just accomplished.
Palpatine said that because of their special bond members of a Force Dyad “could even pass physical objects through time and space.” Kylo and Rey never had opportunity to mess with the fabric of time, but according to the greatest Sith of all time, that was a possibility. Luke, on the other hand, didn’t have that bond with Master Mann or anyone else. He was only able to communicate with Mann because of the inherent power of Gazian, not through his own Force abilities.
This wasn’t the first time that a specific planet allowed Jedi to speak with someone from the past. In The Clone Wars’ Mortis Arc, Obi-Wan and Anakin were able to speak to Qui-Gon because Mortis was a conduit of the Force. Although it was a completely different concept, the premise is the same. Qui-Gon wasn’t able to physically manifest elsewhere, but the power of Mortis made him able to do so.
Essentially, Luke got to experience the Force in a way that he would never have thought possible. However, it’s not likely that Luke will ever do something like that again. Without Gazian’s unique abilities, Luke won’t be able to replicate his telepathic time-travelling adventure. Regardless, the Force provided exactly what Luke needed to grow on his Jedi path, and this probably won’t be the last time that Luke has to learn to trust in the Force.