The High Republic: Eye of the Storm #1
ACT ONE: Ro. The Truth. The Lie. The Kill. In which we reveal the true origins of MARCHION RO, the Eye of the Nihil and sworn enemy of the Jedi Order. In which the lie at the heart of his familyis exposed. In which the doom of the High Republic begins…with a single kill.
Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Guillermo Sanna
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Colourists: Jim Campbell
Cover artist: Ryan Brown
Editor: Danny Khazem
Publication date: January 12, 2022
What a fascinating start to this two-part investigation into the past of Marchion Ro and the Nihil. Starting on the world of Everon, a plant of tumultuous storms that roil and brew around its people, we begin to see the seeds of what will become the Nihil. The storms are embraced by the people, but they learn that the world beneath their feet cannot be trusted, and so start a sequence of events that lead to any sense of trust and security the Evereni have being chipped away. Government fails them, war breaks out, starving families turn on one another, and when their final meagre technologies allow the remaining few to leave their world behind and strike out into the stars, their finely honed sense of self-preservation is understandably brought to the fore.
Now in the era of the High Republic, we meet young Marchion Ro as he meets Mari San Tekka, the savant who can read and traverse hyperspace. Marchion gravitates to her, his own grandmother refers to him as the point of the Evereni blade. It’s one of her final acts before she is murdered by Marchion’s father Asgar. He believes the time of the Nihil is here, while Shalla opts to wait. The ball now rolling, Asgar offers up Marchion to the Nihil including Pan and Kassav. If they kill Marchion, they can take his position and have the Gaze Electric. Little do they know, Mari San Tekka is aboard, helping guide Marchion with battle paths. Using these paths he cuts a swathe through the Nihil fleet, destroying vessels seemingly at will until his father orders he stand down. Initially he refuses, until Asgar threatens to order Mari to deactivate the paths.
Asgar lays down his terms, explaining how his mother brought together the Nihil as a Caretaker, but how he – with the secret leverage of Mari and her paths – will become the Eye of the Nihil, taking his own cut and letting the Tempests and Storms have their glory. Cut to a decade later, as Marchion watches his father die before his eyes and takes the familiar helmet of the Eye for his own, blood still dripping from it. Kassav questions his steel, praising – as much as Nihil do – his father Asgar and grandmother Shalla for their vision, and asking if Marchion has that same insight. Placing the helmet on his head, Ro replies; “I believe I do”.
By now, regular readers of Star Wars comics know they can rest easy in the confident hands of a number of writers, and Charles Soule is high on that list. Here, he presents Eye of the Storm in acts, flashbacks that bolster the legend of the Nihil, giving flesh to the bones we’ve picked up along the way and impetus and drive for the actions of Marchion Ro. We know – in the now – of his relentless drive and his use of Mari San Tekka, and his merciless thirst to twist the knife when the last breath of his enemies draws near. Here we see a youngster honed into a weapon by his grandmother, tempered by his father and edged by his own inner drive to prove himself. The fickle Nihil are no doubt a constant challenge to oversee, but as we end the issue we simply have to know how issue 2 will stamp down that authority.
Great work from Soule as always, complimented by excellent character work from Guillermo Sanna and colourist Jim Campbell, wrapped in a striking cover by Ryan Brown. As Phase One ends, and given the breadth of storytelling we’ve received so far from Project Luminous, it’s hard to see The High Republic as anything other than a very solid success. Phase Two has a lot to live up to, and with a dip into the past to look forward to, how relevant will Eye of the Storm turn out to be?
Star Wars: The High Republic: Eye Of The Storm #2 (Noto Variant) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
