Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) #1
THE HIGH REPUBLIC
BALANCE OF THE FORCE
Chapter I: The Pilgrim Moon
It is a time of great exploration. In an effort to unite the galaxy, the Chancellors of the Republic, working alongside the courageous and wise Jedi Knights, have dispatched dozens of PATHFINDER TEAMS into the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim.
But it is also a time of great uncertainty. Communication is unreliable, and tall tales of
mysterious planets and monstrous creatures abound. Prospectors and pirates roam the frontier, and the worlds of Eiram and E’ronoh are locked in a FOREVER WAR.And on the far-off planet of DALNA, a new threat to the galaxy is beginning to emerge….
Writer: Cavan Scott
Pencillers: Ario Anindito, Andrea Broccardo
Inkers: Mark Morales, Andrea Broccardo
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Colorist: Frank William
Cover artist: Ario Anindito
Editor: Mark Paniccia
It’s a brave move, to spend over a year developing and nurturing an entirely new era in the Star Wars canon, etching it into the wider fabric of the broader story of the galaxy and by the end of the first phase successfully cementing it as a legitimate and engaging arena for storytelling. It’s even braver to then step back over a century to an even earlier period in the timeline, for the most part setting aside characters and situations and embarking on an entirely new set of stories and threads while still set in the High Republic era. Based on this first issue of the second volume of The High Republic title from Marvel, once again steered by writer Cavan Scott, it’s set to be nothing less than an intriguing tour around the pre-Prequel era galaxy.
We open with the traditional scroll, explaining we’re in an age of exploration and expansion as the Republic send Pathfinders teams into the Outer Rim, where reliable communication is far from assured and where legends of ‘mysterious planets and monstrous creatures‘ are rife. We open on Kiffex in the Inner Rim (a world seen on maps in my 2016 article ‘Where In The Galaxy Are The Worlds of The Force Awakens‘ on StarWars.com and first seen in Galaxy Guide 1 from West End Games) where we meet young Vildar Mac, a Kiffar of the same species as Jedi Master Quinlan Vos. An encounter with an evil he couldn’t control haunts him to this day, and as we switch to the now where he sits on a commercial flight to Jedha, the Holy City from Rogue One. Here he is greeted by the talkative Twi’lek padawan Matthea Cathley who is tasked with taking him to her master, Leebon. Vildar quickly learns that the Jedi are far from welcomed by all on Jedha as they stumble across a streetshow as a ‘Truthsayer of Bpfassh’ puts on a show, claiming to control the Force until a real Truthsayer angrily piles in, confronting her. It quickly becomes clear that in this time period the streets of Jedha are filled with less pilgrims and more pickpockets as the Truthsayer is distracted while his pockets are emptied, something Vildar spots and takes off after the nimble thief.
Finding only a dead end, Vildar is commed by Matty who finds herself in an increasingly hostile situation as the various factions continue to argue and interceding in the fight, Vildar sees what appears to be a phoenix in the skies of Jedha, reminding him of his almost debilitating childhood trauma. Igniting his blade, he prepares to attack and here we get a very cool throwback to earlier days of the Star Wars story as it’s revealed the person is a Sorcerer of Tund, giving us a huge nod to the classic Lando Calrissian trilogy of 1983 and Rokur Gepta, the villain of those stories. Matty defuses the confrontation, explaining to Vildar her knowledge comes from the Convocation which sees dialogue between believers of differing religions. Heading to the Shrine of Sarrav we see that religious artifacts have been disappearing across the city, with spice runners the most likely suspects until they discover Sarravi blood and the small hovering droid they’d spotted in the marketplace spying on them. They follow the droid and find their thief, confronting him, but his speed was no mere fluke as he dodged Vildar’s swings with his lightsaber and used the Force to stop the Jedi knight’s heart.
Yes, the main character of the first issue ends up dead on the floor with the killer our narrator as he sprints away and we move on to the back-up story which sees a young padawan called Oliviah contacted by Master Leebon (seen here via hologram, only referred to in the main story) and sent back into the Holy City after enjoying some peace near one of the huge statues we see laying in the sands outside the city in Rogue One. She enters a temple to see a number of different beliefs physically clash, breaking it up despite plenty of annoyance directed her way, and we end with a new arrival – Radicaz ‘Sunshine’ Dobbs, who isn’t at all sure he is in the right place, a feeling Oliviah Zeveron very much agrees with.
Clearly there’s a lot to digest here in a first issue that introduces a LOT of new concepts and characters. Thankfully, the setting is familiar, the city of Jedha another fascinating place to use as a backdrop for storytelling, and the concept of different views on the Force and it not being exclusive to the Jedi a fascinating one. It’s certainly an issue that will require a couple of reads to absorb all the new names and factions, but as the series continues it’s pretty clear that will pay off for the reader. The High Republic is not a tale of broad strokes but a complicated weave of story, characters and beliefs, and this opener to volume two is no exception.
Cavan Scott is clearly having a ball here, laying in classic elements (the Sorcerers of Tund, the Guardians of the Whills) with plenty of new ones, and complimented by the always attractive and engaging art of Ario Anindito on the main story and Andrea Broccardo on the back-up, we look set to be heading into another fascinating series of High Republic adventures.
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