Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars #50! Yoda, and the appearances of these two Jedi couldn’t have been more different. Obi-Wan was what anyone would assume a Jedi Master would look like: old, wise, and human. Yoda, on the other hand, was a fairly shocking visual choice for Luke’s other master (especially when Episode V first came out), as he looked like a little wood elf/frog person. However, as relatively strange as Yoda’s appearance was, he isn’t Luke’s most inhuman mentor from the original trilogy, as that honor goes to another ‘person’ entirely.

In Star Wars #50 by Charles Soule and Madibek Musabekov, Luke Skywalker and the Rebels are desperate to defeat the Empire, and he’s willing to accept the help of anyone (or anything) willing to offer it. This comic (along with this entire Star Wars era) takes place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, so the fate of the galaxy is still very much in the air, with no guarantee that the Rebels will win this war. That’s why Luke seeks the help of a very peculiar ‘Master’, indeed: the Living Sea of Gazian.

The Living Sea of Gazian is what’s known as a Vergence in the Force, an ocean of sentient fungus that absorbs fractions of the essences of everyone who visits. It’s been around for eons, and countless people have ventured to Gazian to learn its ancient secrets. Luke goes to Gazian in the hopes of obtaining another volume of Jedi Text, but instead, he learns of a weapon that can kill any target from across the galaxy. That weapon, the Grim Rose, is the focus of this story, but the real star is clearly the Living Sea itself.

The Living Sea of Gazian has Become Luke Skywalker’s Ideal Master (for 1 Bizarre Reason)

The Living Sea of Gazian Debuted in Star Wars #20 by Charles Soule and Marco Castiello

Star Wars #50 isn’t the first time Luke Skywalker has ventured to the Living Sea of Gazian. Back in Star Wars #20, Luke is training with a holocron given to him by Master Yoda, which makes mention of Vergences (locations that are especially strong in the Force), and one of these Vergences is the Living Sea of Gazian. So, Luke goes to check it out, hoping that it will help continue his Jedi training.

When Luke gets there, he meets the essence of a long-dead Jedi named Elzar Mann. This Jedi Master takes Luke on a vision journey through the history of the Jedi, and he ends his lesson by giving Luke a volume of ancient Jedi Text (the same Text fans saw Luke in possession of in the sequel trilogy). Mann also tells Luke that he isn’t the only Jedi whose essence lives in the Sea of Gazian, and that all of them will happily assist in his journey to bring the galaxy back to the side of the light.

Star Wars #20 makes it seem like the Living Sea of Gazian is kind of like an afterlife, a location where the essences of many exist separately, but in perfect harmony. However, in Star Wars #50, that proves to not be the case. When Luke goes back to Gazian, he doesn’t find Elzar Mann, but a dark sider named Alzin Rell - but this encounter is decidedly different. During their conversation, Rell keeps changing faces, as if embodying the manifestations of other people’s essences, including Luke Skywalker’s.

Elzar Mann also takes Luke Skywalker’s form in Star Wars #20!

So, why is that significant? Well, it proves one thing: the people Luke is encountering aren’t separate echoes of their former selves, but temporary ‘costumes’ worn by the Living Sea of Gazian itself. Luke wasn’t speaking with Elzar Mann one time and Alzin Rell the next, he was only ever talking to the Living Sea of Gazian, confirming that the Sea is his Master, not those who partially exist within it.

The Collective Singular Consciousness of the Living Sea of Gazian Has Its Own Agenda

What is Luke Skywalker’s Inhuman Master Really Planning?

Being a Vergence in the Force, the Living Sea of Gazian is a conduit of both the light and the dark sides of the Force, with no real stake in either. Its opinion on what’s best for the galaxy can be swayed, to an extent, based on the knowledge it collects from those who leave an imprint, but it’s not influenced by any one consciousness within the collective. That means the Sea has its own agenda - why else would it help Luke Skywalker evolve into a knowledgeable and powerful Force- through the avatars of both a Jedi and a Sith?

The only question is: what is the Living Sea of Gazian’s true goal? Sure, it could be to simply collect as much knowledge as it can from those who visit it, and help certain people just enough to keep them coming back (like Luke Skywalker), but there seems to be a grander plan at play here that hasn’t yet been revealed.

Perhaps the Living Sea of Gazian will play a more central role in the era of Star Wars comics as Luke is rebuilding the Jedi Order, at which point these questions and more will assuredly be answered. Until then, the Living Sea of Gazian will continue to play a vital role in Luke’s evolution as his inhuman Master (one that is way more so than Yoda), as there’s no way Luke Skywalker is finished going back to this well of nearly infinite knowledge in Star Wars canon.

Star Wars #50 by Marvel Comics is available now.