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Qui-Gon Accidentally Predicted Darth Vader In an Iconic Star Wars Quote
One of Qui-Gon Jinn's most famous lines in The Phantom Menace may have inadvertently predicted the rise of Darth Vader in the Star Wars galaxy. Qui-Gon was never considered conventional by his fellow Jedi Masters. He often employed unorthodox methods and advocated maverick ideas, but his wisdom was also revered for his wisdom and even considered prophetic at times. This was no better illustrated than by a seemingly simple quip from the Jedi Master.
During a stopover on Tatooine, Qui-Gon and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi encounter young Anakin Skywalker, whom Qui-Gon eventually chooses to take on as an informal apprentice. The boy is incredibly strong with the Force, and it is even suggested that he has been conceived by the Force itself. Unfortunately, neither Jinn nor Kenobi could predict at that moment that the small boy would grow to become Darth Vader, the most feared Sith in the galaxy.
In Darth Vader #4, written by Greg Pak and with art by Raffaele Ienco, the man once known as Anakin Skywalker returns to Naboo to punish all those who hid the existence of his son. During his travels across his deceased wife’s home planet he encounters a Sando Aqua Monster, the most powerful underwater predator on Naboo and kills it. This is the same sort of giant creature seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which attacks and kills another creature that is pursuing the underwater vessel driven by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master. This close encounter prompts Qui-Gon Jinn to quip the line, “There’s always a bigger fish,” but at that time there is no predator on record that can stand up to the Sando Aqua Monster, at least until Darth Vader.
Though it is an off-the-cuff and clichéd bit of wisdom, the phrase actually does a good job of predicting not just the rise of Darth Vader, but the downfall of the Jedi Order, and even the death of Qui-Gon Jinn himself. At its core, the statement reflects the idea that no matter how skilled, strong, or important something is, there will always be something else that can beat it. The Sando Aqua Monsters are the fiercest creatures on Naboo, until Vader kills one. The Old Republic and the Jedi exist for thousands of years, until Sheev Palpatine destroys them. Qui-Gon Jinn is one of the most skilled lightsaber combatants in the entire Jedi Order, until Darth Maul runs him through.
“There’s always a bigger fish,” and in a way that theme runs through the Star Wars prequel movies. No matter how big or influential or powerful something is —whether it be a giant deep sea predator, the Jedi Order, the Republic, or even Qui-Gon— there is always something or someone out there waiting and capable of devouring it. In the pages of this Star Wars comic, Darth Vader proves that he is the biggest fish, tragically proving that his old friend Qui-Gon Jinn was right all along.
