Star Wars: Jedi Academy: Leviathan

Star Wars: Jedi Academy: Leviathan, originally titled Jedi Academy: The Leviathan of Corbos, was a four-issue series of comics published between October 1998 and January 1999 by Dark Horse Comics. The story was written by Kevin J. Anderson and the comic was illustrated by Dario Carrasco, Jr. and Mark Heike. It takes place eight years after the fall of the Galactic Empire and follows a group of four: Streen, Kyp Durron, Dorsk 82 and Kirana Ti.
==Publisher's summary==
In the eight years since the fall of the Empire, Luke Skywalker has trained a new group of Jedi Knights, among them Kirana Ti, the sky-hermit Streen, the scholar and lore-master Tionne, and Luke's greatest student, the brash Kyp Durron. Once trained, a Jedi must go where he is needed, to defend the New Republic and use the Force to help those in need. And on the harsh world of Corbos, help is desperately needed after mining excavations awaken something ancient, powerful...and hideously evil!
==Plot summary==
===Exposition===
On the planet Corbos, the miners that live at the mining colony are working. Deciding to get one last blast in before the coming storms force them to go indoors, they find the bones of a huge creature. Not seeing anything worthwhile in the big fossil, they go back to the domes in which they live, but not before hearing a huge growl, which they presume is the storm which has just started.A few hours later on Coruscant, Senator Leia Organa Solo and New Republic Admiral Gial Ackbar are talking when they suddenly receive a desperate message from the Corbos Miners.
With the New Republic Defense Force still preoccupied with the Imperial warlords, Ackbar convinced Leia to ask her brother Jedi Master Luke Skywalker to send Jedi students from the new Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 to investigate the situation on Corbos. Luke had established a Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 as part of his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order, which had been destroyed by the late Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire during the Great Jedi Purge.
===A New Jedi Order===
At the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, the young Jedi Knight Kyp Durron was present for the arrival of the Academy's newest student—Dorsk 82, a clone who was created to replace the deceased Dorsk 81, as was his planet's custom. So striking was his similarity to Dorsk 81 that Kyp momentarily confused the two. Kyp soon took the new trainee under his wing, taking him out into the jungle to visit Dorsk 81's grave. There he presented Dorsk 82 with the lightsaber of his deceased predecessor. Impressing Dorsk by fighting off a battle hydra in the jungle, the new trainee pledged to become a Jedi Knight, with Kyp declaring his support.
Luke then received the message from Leia and decided that this would be an excellent opportunity for the students to put their Jedi training into practice. Luke sent Kyp Durron to investigate the situation on Corbos. Prior to leaving, Kyp asked his Master whether he could take Dorsk 82 with him. Luke consented to Kyp's request but ordered Kyp and Dorsk to make sure they call for help if they needed it. They then departed for Corbos. The two Jedi Knights arrived on Corbos to find a scene of desolation and destruction. The entire Corbos Mining City was completely destroyed.
As they searched through the ruins, they found broken weapons and blood which meant that the miners were killed. However, Kyp is still troubled because he could still hear the miners screaming for help through the Force, causing him to think they were still alive. However upon finding more blood and remains, he surmised that they must have died. Kyp then suggested that they sleep in the ruins and search for the creature the next day. Dorsk 82 went to sleep quickly but Kyp was till tormented by the screaming and wailing he perceived in his head. Deciding that it was too dangerous for Dorsk 82 to try and tackle the creature responsible for the carnage, Kyp decided to go outside and find the creature by himself.
===In the Lair of the Beast===
When Dorsk 82 woke up and found that Kyp had gone alone, he rushed back to their ship to use the comm system to contact the Jedi Academy for help. Meanwhile, Kyp slowly followed the screams in his mind and this trail took him up a a steep cliff. After climbing the cliff, he discovered the bones of a massive creature, the same fossils that the miners had found earlier. Realizing that the miners would not have had a chance against such a massive beast, he again sensed their screams and decided that he must continue to follow it.
Back on Yavin 4, Master Luke dispatched Kirana Ti and Streen to go and help Kyp and Dorsk 82 on Corbos, having received the latter's call for help.
By this stage, Kyp had accepted that all the miners had perished but still sensed their screaming. After climbing another cliff, he finally encountered the monster: an ancient serpentine Sithspawn known as a Leviathan. Kyp engaged the creature in a vicious battle and inflicted numerous lightsaber wounds on it before finally using a grappling hook to climb onto its back. There, within a milky portal, the ghoulish faces of the miners spirits stared out at Kyp. Plunging his red saber down into the portal, Kyp released the spirits—and was flung off the leviathan's back. Losing his grip on his lightsaber, Kyp was plucked up by one of the leviathan's tentacles, which proceeded to force him down its maw.
Meanwhile, Kirana Ti and Streen had joined up with Dorsk 82 . They began for Kyp down below in the mines. There, they discovered a whole bunch of Leviathan larvae. After slaying these Sithspawn, Dorsk 82, Streen and Kirana Ti climbed out of the mines. Back at the cliff, Kyp was still fighting against the Leviathan. However, he was able to calm himself and used Force lightning to electrocute the monster, killing it. He then released the miners' spirits from its dead corpse. By now the other Jedi had succeeded to climb out of the mines and found Kyp standing by the body of the monster. Dorsk 82 gave Kyp his lightsaber back, which he had picked up on the way out.
===Denouement===
Without warning, a much larger leviathan appeared and the Jedi began to fight it. After a terrible fight, they managed to force the monster into a molten lake. Believing that it had perished in the molten lava, they stood around the crater. However, Kyp realized that he could still hear the terrible screaming in his head and his words were confirmed as the monster emerged from the lava. The Jedi continued to fight it, trying to avoid the drops of lava now falling all around them. Eventually Dorsk 82 discovered a still working power generator and convinced Kyp that they should attach the cables to the monster in order to electrocute it. After much difficulty, the Jedi accomplished this task and Dorsk 82 hit the switch. Instantly the huge monster was engulfed with electricity and was killed. This ended the last known Leviathans on Corbos and marked a small victory for Luke Skywalker's fledgling New Jedi Order.
==Behind the scenes==
Jedi Academy: Leviathan is loosely considered a sequel to Darksaber, which featured Dorsk 82's predecessor, Dorsk 81.Star Wars: The Comics Companion
The placement of this tale has continued to move around the various chronological timelines over the years, ranging from anywhere between 11 ABY to 14 ABY.
==Issues==
Color code key: 	Color code key:	Color code key:
Collected (TPB) issue	Released issue 	Future issue
Issue	Title 	Publication date 	Trade paperback 	Epic Collection
1 	Jedi Academy: Leviathan 1	October 28, 1998 	Jedi Academy: LeviathanJuly 19, 2000	The New Republic Vol. 7December 5, 2023
2 	Jedi Academy: Leviathan 2	November 18, 1998	Jedi Academy: LeviathanJuly 19, 2000	The New Republic Vol. 7December 5, 2023
3 	Jedi Academy: Leviathan 3	December 16, 1998	Jedi Academy: LeviathanJuly 19, 2000	The New Republic Vol. 7December 5, 2023
4 	Jedi Academy: Leviathan 4	January 27, 1999 	Jedi Academy: LeviathanJuly 19, 2000	The New Republic Vol. 7December 5, 2023
==Notes and references==
Category:Dark Horse Comics comic miniseries
Category:Legends comic miniseries