Today saw the release of the third issue of Phase III in Marvel’s main Star Wars: The High Republic comic-book title, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment, written by Cavan Scott.
Star Wars: The High Republic (2023) #3 begins with a flashback to Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis’s time as a Padawan serving as an apprentice under Master Sskeer. On a mission to the Triton system, they help rescue creatures from a forest fire together, with Sskeer trusting Keeve to hold back a wall of flame as he saves a calf. In narration, present-day Keeve insists that Sskeer was the kind of Jedi that “ensured no one got left behind.” Then Scott and artists Jim Towe & Marika Cresta cut to that present day, where Trennis is participating in an effort to retake the Jedi flagship Ataraxia from former Nihil operative Lourna Dee. Assisting in this space-bound mission is also the Defense Coalition starcruiser Gios and Skarabda the Hutt, the latter of which was gravely insulted by Lourna’s betrayal in the previous issue.
And as much as the Jedi and Republic forces are thankful for the Hutt’s help and ships, she’s also proving to be a bit too… aggressive in her dealings with Dee. So Commander Jahen mutes Skarabda’s comm while Keeve actually manages to daringly board the Ataraxia. Just as Jahen uses the Gios’s tractor beam to grab ahold of the ship, Trennis cuts down some enemy droids and makes her way to the cockpit to confront Lourna. But Dee dumps some containers holding living, breathing, sentient prisoners, so the Jedi piloting various different starfighters outside in space are forced to divert their attention to rescuing the hostages. Fortunately, Keeve is able to utilize her Force powers to gain an advantage over Dee while the abandoned prisoners are brought safely aboard the Gios.
This issue ends with Keeve Trennis, along with Force-bonded twin Jedi Knights Terec and Ceret, taking the Ataraxia– which is now outfitted with a Nihil Path engine– off to rescue Jedi Master Ssker, who they believe to be alive and trapped behind the Stormwall in the Occlusion Zone. This plan comes as an unpleasant surprise to Commander Jahan, who would have preferred everyone report back to Coruscant as ordered. But the three Jedi insist on seeking out Sskeer if he is indeed out there, referring back to his belief that “no one gets left behind.” Oh, and they’re bringing Lourna Dee along for the ride as a guide, as well, as dangerous as that sounds. It’s a great, intriguing start to a new adventure, though it seems just a tad inefficient that it took Scott and his artists three full issues to get there. But I enjoyed the journey through this first act of The High Republic Phase III and am still very much looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story plays out.
Star Wars: The High Republic #3 is available now wherever comic books are sold.