Hogan Reviews

Although billed as two “story arcs” the finale to the first run of High Republic comics comes to a close really with the five part “Jedi’s End” story, and the two part “Shadow of the Nihil” is just a quick story to set it up. Still, those final few issues are great, being set to happen concurrently to the final adult novel in Phase 1 “The Fallen Star” as was obvious during the book. So let’s finally take a look at the other POV of that dramatic incident…

To quickly touch on “Shadow of the Nihil”, the gist is that Avar Kriss is continuing to act somewhat uncharacteristic for a Jedi as she becomes so desperate to finish them off that she sends the comic series’ POV Jedi Keeve Trennis and fellow Jedi Terec (of Terec and Ceret fame) undercover as Nihil, including staging them shooting down a Jedi Vector. They successfully infiltrate the group but when Keeve is told to kill the captured Myarga the Hutt in cold blood she hesitates and eventually Myarga outs the two of them as Jedi. It ends with Kisma Uttersond appearing alongside Lourna Dee and introducing the two Jedi to the Nameless creatures (or perhaps the Great Leveler itself) causing Ceret to begin to turn to stone in front of Avar, who is travelling in space with Keeve’s old Master Sskeer in hope of finding the Nihil base through the twins connection…

A dramatic rescue! … That I kind of glossed over in the review… Oh well!

This cliffhanger leads us to the actual main event of this “double bill”, like I said making “Shadow” far more of a prologue than a stand-alone “arc”. Keeve survives the encounter though suffers some mental wounds but Terec and Ceret are calcified into stone, but unlike others who shared that fate they’re still alive, at least medically anyway. This all pushes Avar even further over the edge and causes her to retrofit the Ataraxia with Nihil technology and take a group of Jedi to No Space to attack them and their “Eye” Lourna Dee (the Jedi still mistakenly believing her the Nihil’s leader) head on out of nothing more than revenge, a very un-Jedi reaction. It’s been great seeing such a pure and warm character like her slowly lose her cool, it’s been really well written. Among those heading to No Space is Sskeer and of course Keeve, who is learning to reconnect to the Force after her encounter with the creatures.

It’s a really fun story, with some good twists that all end up on board the Starlight Beacon as it hurdles towards Eiram’s surface, again as “seen” during The Fallen Star when Avar Kriss returns to the Beacon in time to take part in its final end.

Overall Thoughts:

Keeve comes face to face with her nightmare! (Great artwork!)

While “Shadow of the Nihil” seemed like it was the start of a grander storyline it still sets up what is the final run of Phase 1 High Republic comics well, and those final five issues are really fun and once again make me sad that we won’t be rejoining these characters any time soon…

So the Jedi arrive in No Space and confront the Nihil directly, which has some great scenes including Sskeer revealing his lack of a connection to the Force recently is actually a genetic illness common in his race, and Avar fighting with Dee and very nearly giving in to the Dark Side and cutting her down in cold blood. She is saved by Keeve, though it’s touch a go for a little bit! It was really fun moment. Lourna is captured and the remaining Jedi leave No Space and head to Starlight Beacon to detain her, but obviously arrive in time to see the station explode at its core.

Tempers flare!

Avar, Sskeer and Keeve arrive and soon encounter a Nameless creature who cripples everyone except Sskeer due to his condition cutting him off from the Force. He tells Avar and his old Padawan to run and let him deal with the monsters as only he can, and then we’re left seeing him dash at the beasts declaring that the Force was still with him. Dramatic possible-end for our Trandoshan Jedi! Avar and Trennis soon find Estala Maru holding the two halves of the station together by the Force alone, which Kriss helps him with as Trennis dashes to where Terec and Ceret are being held in healing pods. They awake in time to help and the three of them escape.

Lourna Dee joins the “hand cut off by lightsaber” club. It’s got a lot of members, to be fair…

Avar decides to stay with Maru to the bitter end but he gets droid KC-78 to drive her into an escape pod and send her down to the planet below safely. This nicely leads into the end of “The Fallen Star” where Avar Kriss and her long-time friend Elzar Mann say some worrying things about how they’re going to sort the Nihil out… Argh! I want to see what happens next with these characters so bad! Ah well… I’m sure Phase 2 will still be good…