After the fall of the Jedi during Star Wars’ prequel era, there have been a few Jedi who have tried to rebuild the Order, but little did they know, there are ‘fake’ Jedi out in the galaxy who have effectively been written out of Star Wars canon, and who need to make their return (though, at least one of them needs a new name).
The Jedi Order arguably reached the pinnacle of its prevalence in the galaxy during the Clone Wars when the normally-pacifistic Jedi became generals for the Republic against the separatist army. Jedi were scattered across the galaxy to maintain Republic dominance and squash any sign of insurrection–and while this was a sign of strength for the Order (whether the Jedi meant it that way or not), it also weakened them. The Jedi were split up on far-off worlds, surrounded only by their Clone Troopers–and that is what directly led to the Jedi’s downfall. Little did everyone know, Darth Sidious had implanted chips within the skulls of each clone, and on his command, those chips flipped a proverbial switch in their brains that forced them to kill the nearest Jedi. Being separated and surrounded by clones, the Jedi didn’t have a chance, and most Jedi were eradicated within minutes of Order 66. However, that was just the Jedi in the Jedi Order–and little did Palpatine know, there were other Force-sensitive followers of the Jedi way out in the galaxy who were just waiting for their time to prove themselves (including one ‘Jedi’ in particular).
Don-Wan Kihotay Fixes a Tired Star Wars Trope
In Star Wars #8 (Marvel Comics, 1977) by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, Han Solo and Chewbacca are getting a crew together to go save a village on a far-off world that is being harassed by a gang of criminals and a gargantuan beast known as a Sithspawn. So, they go to a local cantina, and it is there where they run into someone who was more than ready to sign up for a mission of such valiance and heroism: the self-proclaimed Jedi Knight, Don-Wan Kihotay. According to Don-Wan, he was a Jedi who studied the way of the Order despite not being an official member. Kihotay was a Force-sensitive man with a lightsaber who studied and trained in the way of the Jedi–and while his inclusion in this Star Wars story was mostly for laughs while being a fun tribute to literature's favorite delusional 'knight', Don Quixote, his existence sets an interesting precedent.
Whenever Star Wars wants to include another Jedi to its roster, the series has to explain how that Jedi also survived Order 66, just like every other Jedi who has seemingly been in the background ‘all along’. This has happened with Cal Kestis, Grogu, and even Ahsoka Tano–not to mention Obi-Wan and Yoda, just to name a few–and quite frankly, it’s getting old. With the introduction of Don-Wan Kihotay, Star Wars opens up a whole new way to bring Jedi back into the lore. Plus, this comic confirms an in-canon reason for why these Force-sensitive ‘Jedi’ have flown under the radar for so long. Don-Wan Kihotay has a low midi-chlorian count, so he wasn’t approached by the Jedi Order when they still existed. However, Don-Wan still managed to grow his own power on his own–enough to even take on the Sithspawn single-handedly.
The inclusion of these self-taught Jedi scattered around the universe not only creates a unique way to bring in more Jedi into canon rather than giving them yet another Order 66 origin story, but it also effectively eliminates the importance of midi-chlorians, as having a low count saved these Jedi’s lives while not impacting how strong they can become–and Don-Wan Kihotay proved that. All-in-all, it seems like a no-brainer that Star Wars’ ‘fake Jedi’ need to return to canon, though in Don-Wan Kihotay’s case, they just need a new name (one that’s not an obvious parody).