Today saw the release of the second issue in Phase III of Marvel’s main Star Wars: The High Republic comic book, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment.
The High Republic, Phase III #2 begins shortly after where the previous issue left off, with Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis having been captured by former Nihil Tempest Runner Lourna Dee, who is now working for the Hutt Cartel. But first we get a flashback to Keeve’s Padawan trials and the fateful moment the (now missing-in-action) Trandoshan Jedi Master Sskeer chose her to be his apprentice. Then back in the present, Trennis is dragged in front of Skarabda the Hutt and demanded to answer for her perceived crime of killing Skarabda’s sister, Myarga (see Phase I). Meanwhile, out on the battlefield of the planet Ballum, Republic forces fight alongside Force-bonded Jedi twins Terec and Ceret, both of whom are evidently alive and well after Terec’s Vector starfighter was shot down last issue.
We’re also introduced to a new Jedi, named Ai-Dan Yelooc, who assists in the battle from the sky while those on the ground deal with a Nihil “Child of the Storm” (a warrior imbued with special abilities) and a deadly Nameless creature. Back in the Hutt’s chamber, Keeve bargains for her life, insisting that the Jedi Order had nothing to do with Myarga’s death, but Lourna Dee keeps interrupting her desperate pleas via electric shock. Outside, the Republic soldiers are shockingly able to defeat the Nameless, but the Child of the Storm proves to be a much more formidable foe. And at long last, Trennis convinces Skarabda to let her Force-project the true events of what happened to Myarga into the mind of one of her underlings, proving that it was in fact Lourna Dee herself who pulled the trigger. This causes Lourna to make an attempt on Skarabda’ life by collapsing the chamber with explosives, followed by the ex-Nihil making a run for it.
Lastly, back out on the battlefield, the Child of the Storm is defeated, but while incapacitated begins talking about a Jedi trapped in the Occlusion Zone “whose mask slipped,” and the reader gradually realizes who this might be. I won’t spoil the specifics of this particular cliffhanger ending, but rest assured it happens to be a pretty exciting one. On the whole, though, this was actually one of my least favorite issues of writer Cavan Scott’s usually-excellent The High Republic comic, mostly because it felt a little overly convoluted, and I sometimes found myself getting confused between the flashbacks and the stuff happening in real-time (the Ceret / Terec dynamic can admittedly be a little baffling at times, as well). The dialogue and the art are still really strong overall, but I just think this one suffered from trying to cram too much story into too few pages. Regardless, I’m still super excited to see what comes next, especially after that bombshell of a final page and the implications therein!
Star Wars: The High Republic #2 is available now wherever comic books are sold.