Last week saw the release of the tenth and final issue of Star Wars: The High Republic Phase III from Marvel Comics, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this release.
The High Republic (2023) #10 begins with our Jedi heroes aboard the Ataraxia racing toward the homing beacon that one of their allies– they’re not sure which– must have planted aboard Baron Boolan’s ship at the end of the previous issue. But when they arrive at the signal’s source, they only find an asteroid field… or so it seems before closer inspection. So it comes to be that Jedi Knights Keeve Trennis and Ceret investigate Boolan’s secret asteroid base along with Master OrbaLin, former Guardian of the Whills Tey Sirrek, and the Yacombe youngling that was being protected by Master Sskeer in previous chapters. They split up into two groups, and when Ceret, Sorrel, and the youngling round a corner, they are shocked to come face-to-face with former Nihil Lourna Dee and Ceret’s Force-bond twin Jedi Terec, both of whom had been presumed dead.
Meanwhile, Keeve and OrbaLin follow the sense of dread they detect from the Nameless creatures toward Baron Boolan’s laboratory, where the Nihil mad scientist is experimenting on Sskeer with electric shocks. Trennis watches from the shadows in horror as her former master invites the Nameless to feed upon him, and then when she can stomach it no longer she intervenes. Sskeer breaks free of his chains and stops the Nameless from attacking Keeve, and back in the other section of the station Ceret discovers that Terec has severed the Force bond between them, and that Terec and Lourna Dee were responsible for the homing signal that led them there. Dee attempts to save one of Boolan’s living experiments but ultimately finds it’s too late, and then we see Trennis and Sskeer clash lightsabers amid the chaos of the Nameless attacking OrbaLin. We learn that Boolan has promised to reconnect Sskeer with the Force, and there’s a back-and-forth before the Trandoshan Jedi Master finally decides to kick the scientist to the curb.
So this issue concludes with the twins having been reunited (but separated in a way they have never been before) and Baron Boolan in captivity, with Keeve and Sskeer vowing to take the Nihil back to Coruscant for questioning, in the hopes that this valuable prisoner will help them gain favor with the Jedi Order even though they had both gone rouge from their respective duties. And while issue #10 does mark the conclusion to this particular run of issues, we do already know that extremely talented writer Cavan Scott will be back with a miniseries entitled Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi in February of 2025 to more definitively close out Phase III of this publishing initiative in comic-book form. Overall I really liked what Scott and artist Jim Towe put together here, although as a Star Wars fan with an avowed distaste for fake-out deaths, the reveal that Terec survived again bummed me out even more than the specific circumstances surrounding their disappearance did Ceret. Seriously, how many times have these characters almost been killed so far? I honestly lost count a couple phases ago. But otherwise this is still great stuff and I really do love Baron Boolan as a villain. I’m hoping he continues to play a role as The High Republic moves into its endgame, and I’m very curious to see how things continue to play out in Fear of the Jedi.
Star Wars: The High Republic #10 is available now wherever comic books are sold.