Last month, writer Charles Soule introduced us to a younger version of Jedi Master Porter Engle in the excellent Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade #1 from Marvel Comics. And now, in issue #2 (released last Wednesday), Engle and his Jedi sister-by-choice Barash Silvain have traveled to the planet Gansevor in the Tammuz Sector of the Outer Rim on a mission to settle a dispute assigned to the two peacekeepers by the Office of the Frontier.
The High Republic – The Blade #2 begins with Porter and Barash meeting Seleen, an orange-haired envoy from the walled city of Firevale on Gansevor, which has been seized by the army of a rival land known as Bethune.
After getting some additional backstory about the conflict, our two Jedi travel to Firevale, accompanying a delivery of medical supplies, food, and other essentials. Arriving at the walled city, the convoy is fired upon and Engle and Silvain must deflect the missiles before landing and confronting the Bethune head-on. Here artists Marco Castiello and Jethro Morales are given the opportunity to demonstrate more of Porter’s lightsaber skills, giving readers further understanding of just how the Jedi got his nickname. Once the Bethune’s defenses have been worn down, the two Jedi meet with their field marshal, a man named Tozen, with whom they negotiate a seemingly peaceful way to bring this conflict to an end. The comic also flashes back again to Porter and Barash’s youth for a couple pages, telling us how they figured out a way to stay together after the Jedi Council decided they were growing too close as a pairing. It’s an interesting showcase of this duo’s willingness to bend the rules a bit (and even– gasp– mislead their Jedi superiors) in order to stay by each other’s sides indefinitely.
Back in the “present,” Engle and Silvain convince Tozen to allow them to travel into Firevale and deliver the much-needed survive, on the condition that they retrieve the supposedly kidnapped princess of the Bethune people. Of course, the residents of Firevale and that land’s own royal family have a very different perspective on just how this whole mess got started, but the Jedi don’t have much time to sort all of it out before Tozen betrays their trust and calls in a fleet of mercenary ships to attack the city. There’s a lot going on here, and quite a bit of it reminds me of the war between Eiram and E’ronoh that we’ve seen plenty of in other The High Republic books and comics, but Soule also references that particular conflagration here, so I’m guessing (not to mention hoping) he has something very different up his sleeve for the outcome. There’s a tease on the final page of this issue of a new Mirialian antagonist who appears to be the leader of the mercenary troops, so she may turn out to be a pretty interesting character. And though this issue sets up a lot more than it pays off, I’ve learned to trust Charles Soule enough to let him take us on this journey and try not to worry too much about where it’s going. In the meantime, this is already a fun adventure punctuated by some exciting action by way of Porter Engle and his undeniably substantial saber skills.
Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade #2 is available now wherever comic books are sold.