Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito have given us another exciting High Republic adventure with artwork that is absolutely stunning.
A short recap of issue #2:
Jedi Keeve, Sskeer, Terec, and Ceret discover a Hutt ship that has been attacked by the Nihil. On board, they find a dead Hutt, barley from the planet Sedri Minor, and a member of the Nihil, which Master Sskeer (in a very un-Jedi-like way) quickly slices in half and then continues to hack apart in a blind rage. Sskeer has been struggling with loss from The Battle of Kur in which he lost an arm and his friend, Jedi Master Jora Malli while battling the Nihil.
Sskeer and Ceret are sent to Sedri Minor to investigate why the barley was on the dead Hutt’s ship. While meeting with the locals (some friendly, some not), Ceret wonders off only to be captured by a tentacle of some unknown creature in the barley field.
Issue #3 recap/spoilers:
Being twins and Jedi allow Ceret and Terec to have a deep connection to each other. Terec has been very distraught ever since Ceret went missing on Sedri Minor. The issue begins with Terec and Master Sskeer in a heated exchange. Avar Kriss is constraining Terec while trying to defuse the situation.
While the fighting is going on, Keeve is standing outside the ship, wondering what to do. Her former master, Sskeer, has been acting very aggressively since they first started investigating the wreckage of the Hutt ship. The dark side seems to be taking hold of both Terec and Sskeer.
Two local children come over, introduce themselves, and offer Keeve fresh-baked bucco bread. Two Rodians also appear with bread and tell Keeve how their son Julus and others have disappeared and also how the crops have all been failing. Kal Sulman, who we met in the last issue, and who does not like the Jedi interfering with local maters, shows up to essentially tell the Rodians to stop talking to the Jedi.
Keeve senses the locals’ fear and decides to go off to investigate on her own since the other Jedi are busy fighting with each other. On the way, she runs into Bartol, one of the local children who brought her bread. He wants to tag along so that they can find his friend Julus (the missing Rodian child).
They find a massive sinkhole in which Bartol decides to jump straight into, somehow knowing that Keeve would catch him with the force. Keeve senses something in the sinkhole, something dark.
Back on the ship, Avar Kriss has a discussion with Sskeer about the dark side and her disbelief that he did not sense it here on the planet. He apologizes for his behavior, but the discussion is interrupted by a call from Jedi Estala Maru, who is conducting an autopsy on the dead Hutt. Kal Sulman then appears to tell them that Keeve has gone missing. She tells Sskeer to stay with Terec while she goes to find everyone.
Inside the sinkhole, Keeve starts hearing dark voices telling her that she will be consumed. They then find Julus and Ceret. Roots are growing in and around them. Unfortunately, Julus is dead but Ceret is still somewhat alive. After the roots are removed from Ceret he tells Keeve to “beware” and that “no meat is safe”. Then out of nowhere, a Drengir (a giant plant monster) appears.
Marvel Comics
Back on the ship, Terec sits up and tells Sskeer that the “darkness has them now”. Sskeer, in a much better mood, tries to calm Terec, but he has now been possessed by the Drengir (twin powers in full effect). He spews out darkness all over Sskeer, who immediately becomes upset again about losing his friend, Jora Malli. At his lowest, Terec, consumed by the darkness tries to get Sskeer to succumb to the darkness.
Back in the sinkhole, Keeve is battling the Drengir, and Ceret is consumed by the darkness and takes Bartol captive. Just as Keeve thinks to herself that she could use some help, Avar Kriss comes in from a hole above the Dengir and cuts it in two on her jump down. This is a beautiful panel with Kriss glowing green from the light of her saber. She convinces Ceret to come back to the light, which he does. All seems well until the two halves of the Dengir come to life as two separate monsters. At least that is how I see it. Maybe these are two new monsters. Anyways, the final panel shows these two monsters being led by none other than Master Sskeer, who is visibly being controlled by the Dengir. This last panel is another beauty. This time everything is awash in the glow of Sskeer’s white saber.
Marvel Comics
My take:
Cavan Scott’s writing and Ario Anindito’s artwork are exceptional. I love the details we see on Sskeer in the last panel and of Avar Kriss splitting the Dengir in two. It gives us more of an idea of what the Jedi looked like during this time period. You also get to see details on each of their lightsabers.
In this issue, we did not get introduced to any new Jedi, but we did learn more about what’s been making Sskeer act out of sorts and what took Ceret. Keeve continues to be a real go-getter and I look forward to seeing more of her in future issues. I’m still not sure what to think about the twins except that they really creep me out. Maybe they will just fade out over the next couple of issues. We didn’t get anything new on The Nihil or the Hutt situation but I’m thinking there is more to come on that in the next issue.
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