Yesterday saw the release of issue #6 in Phase III of Marvel’s flagship Star Wars: The High Republic comic book, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment.
The High Republic (2023) #4 begins with Force-bond twin Jedi Knights Terec and Ceret threatening Tey Sirrek, who at the end of the previous issue appeared from pretty much out of nowhere to save them and Goonral Monshi from an attacking Nameless creature. The Jedi have noticed that Tey– a former Guardian of the Whills who we got to know in The High Republic Phase II– carries and uses a Sith weapon called the Hand of Siberus. They also spot a lightsaber on his belt and attempt to reclaim it from him in the name of the Jedi Order, but Sirrek interrupts to tell them about his background, and give readers a flashback to the period after the events of Phase II that takes up the bulk of the issue. So we find ourselves on Jedha once again, with Tey having joined the Convocation of the Force at the behest of Jedi Master Vildar Mac, who we learn later in the issue has become the Sephi’s lover– though how that illicit affair sits with the Jedi High Council (or if they are even aware of it on Coruscant) is not addressed here.
The Convocation is dealing with a rogue Force-user who is evidently going around Jedha City bullying business owners into paying a protection fee to a local mob boss. And Tey Sirrek wants to deal with the situation himself, as he has experience on the streets of Jedha, but instead they send a member of the Fallanassi (another Force-worshipping religious order) named Sirené to take care of the situation. Meanwhile, Tey sneaks back into the Temple of the Kyber and steals the Hand, which we first saw him acquire from a hidden vault earlier in the timeline. He uses this gauntlet to intervene in the conflict between Sirené and the ruthless Naldi “free-wielder” known as Zervo. But the power in the Hand immediately goes to Sirrek’s head, and it takes Vildar Mac to bring him down from his trance. Here writer Cavan Scott cuts back to the “present” of Phase III, with the Jedi still hesitant to accept Tey’s help, though that conversation is interrupted by the return of Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis, former Nihil Tempest Runner Lourna Dee, and Jedi Master Sskeer, who has begun to recover from his disease-induced rampage.
The cliffhanger ending of this issue deals with the child that we met at the conclusion of #5, about whom we get precious little more information: she’s been under the protection of Sskeer, she’s scared of the Nameless (Who isn’t?), and she also wields the Force. The latter she uses to push away either Ceret or Terec (I admittedly sometimes can’t tell the difference) and we are left to wonder what’s to come in later installments. There wasn’t a ton of forward momentum here in the main story, but that doesn’t mean this issue was any less excellent than usual. I’ve said this numerous times before, but Scott has really cemented himself as one of the best comic writers working in Star Wars today, and the art by Jim Towe and Laura Braga (I’m assuming they split up the two different eras), with colorist Jim Campbell, is top-notch and highly engaging. At this point whenever someone asks me where they should start if they want to get into The High Republic, I always point them toward the comics, and this issue is a shining example of why. I loved getting to spend more time with Tey and Vildar back in the Phase II period, and getting another peek at how the Convocation of the Force operates on Jedha was a real treat, as well. Now I’m looking forward to more adventures with Keeve, Lourna, Sskeer and the gang when this title returns for #7 next month!
Star Wars: The High Republic #6 is available now wherever comic books are sold.