He’s the baddest Jedi in the galaxy, wielding a unique purple lightsaber and cutting through battle droids like butter during the Clone Wars. I’m talking, of course, about Jedi Master Mace Windu, who was memorably brought to the screen in the Star Wars prequels by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Even if you’re not a fan of Episodes I-III, it is hard to deny that Mace Windu just oozes cool, largely due to the actor who portrayed him.

Mace Windu had two of the best moments in the prequels: first when he arrived in Count Dooku’s arena and took on Jango Fett, and when he fought the Emperor himself. Sure, he may have lost that fight, but if you’re going to go out, may as well get taken out by the most evil dude in the universe. Also, let’s not forget — he never trusted that Anakin kid. The galaxy would have been a much better place if everyone had just listened to ol’ Windu.

Now, as announced on StarWars.com, the folks at Marvel Comics and Lucasfilm are launching Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic — Mace Windu, a new five-issue miniseries coming this summer, written by Matt Owens and illustrated by comics legend Denys Cowan. In this new series, Master Windu faces possibly his greatest challenge yet in a story that picks up right at the start of the Clone Wars. You can get a first look at artist Jesus Saiz’s cover for issue #1 below, which shows off Mace Windu taking care of some pesky battle droids with a massive Force push.

Here’s the official description for the new series from Marvel:

“For over a thousand generations, the Jedi have been the peacekeepers of the galaxy…but now, at the dawn of the Clone Wars, they find themselves in a new role: generals in the Army of the Republic. As Mace Windu, one of the Jedi’s greatest warriors, leads a small unit of Jedi into battle shortly after the war begins, the Jedi must make peace with their new role, or be lost to the violence around them!”

The Clone Wars animated series was the coolest thing to come out of the prequel era, so a series set during the conflict should please many fans. And although the series stars Master Windu, I wouldn’t be surprised to see other well known Jedi Knights like Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, or even Ahsoka Tano appear in this series.

The first issue of Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic — Mace Windu hits comic shops in August. In addition to the cover seen above by Jesus Saiz, there will be several special Star Wars 40th anniversary variant cover by Russell Dauterman, along with variants by Rahzzah and Javier Rodriguez.

Are you excited for Mace Windu to get his moment in the spotlight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.

Images: Lucasfilm / Marvel Comics