– Spoiler Review –
Surrounded, with the threat of the disaster which brought them to Trymant IV a distant memory, a young group of Padawans, a Force-sensitive young girl, Master Yoda, and…Buckets of Blood(?!!) must fight through the Nihil if they wish to survive in The High Republic Adventures #2!
Under the cover of the chaos of the Legacy Run pieces hurtling towards Trymant IV, sometime after the worst of it has been contained, the Nihil swooped in to rescue the leader of a cult. They took a considerable force with them, even the Eye of the Nihil himself, Marchion Ro (confirmed by his helmet), in attendance, for such a simple mission, and the force arrayed against them looks puny in comparison (sorry, Yoda!), and their odds grim. But when it’s several Jedi, even if they are mainly Padawans and one’s nickname is misleading, the odds are probably stacked in their favor. There’s not as much in-depth character work or thoughts here like we got in the opening issue, besides some time with Krix who was overshadowed, and it’s mainly an action-packed, and fun action-packed issue. Lula is the de facto leader of her group and leads the charge in defending themselves against the swarm of Nihil, though she’s so nonplussed that she can’t stop and discuss with Masters Yoda and Tormund Buck that Zeen has seen her friend with the Nihil and wants to rescue him; talk about calm under pressure! Lula said her secret was she needed to put on a mask to hide her concern and doubts, but if she was here, she makes it look effortless, buoyed by the help from Zeen’s surprising Force abilities. Yoda decides to take off after Krix, with Zeen’s pet, Cham-Cham, and a communicator, leaving the Padawans to protect the mighty Buckets of Blood. Wait…protect the imposingly large Jedi Master who nicknames himself Buckets of Blood?!? Writer Daniel José Older has been teasing Torban’s nickname for some time now and very quickly we learn here it’s not what we think it means…or what anyone thinks it means. It’s a rather hilarious turn of events, and Older plays up the moment with comedic zing: turns out Torband is a healer, not a fan of fighting, and the nickname is a reference to the buckets of blood he’ll bring to help heal injuries; I thought I had bad jokes! But this joke hits right, in a moment of levity after some big actions scenes, that makes my bad jokes jealous.
This “younger” Yoda shows off his mischievous and limber side this issue, be it his epic destruction of a giant molten projectile or him sneaking around with Cham-Cham on-board the Nihil’s spider ship; I’m more interested in the new characters at the moment, but I suddenly on-board with more Yoda in this era due to his hands-on approach. Yoda’s conversation with Krix is traditional Yoda, in the sense he doesn’t force the young boy’s hand in choosing to leave with him or not, letting events play out as the Force wills it, as he knows the boy doesn’t want to be rescued and it would only further his anger at Zeen’s ‘betrayal’ if he doesn’t make the decision on his own. Despite Krix alerting everyone to Yoda’s presence on the ship, the diminutive Jedi pokes around the ship, opening crates to discover its secrets, though we don’t quite learn what he discovered, if anything important….just yet (what’s in the box, Yoda?!). And while Yoda would have no problem getting off alive by himself, Cham-Cham’s appetite offers a hilarious assist, chomping his way through some Nihil, relayed to us in more humorous lines from Older.
With Zeen and Lula in the backseat to the action, Krix’s struggles with his life-long friend’s betrayal steps forward, though without the thought bubbles and a lot of pauses/mumbling, it’s not as engaging of a moment as Zeen or Lula’s was in the first issue. Regardless, it’s clear Krix is torn about what’s happened. He doesn’t necessarily want to be with the Nihil, far away from his friend, nor is he totally sure he’s angry at her considering their years of friendship, but the poking and prodding by the his cult’s leader (we still don’t know why Ro would want him beyond the Path connection) and Marchion Ro (who now has his Characters of The High Republic animated video!) force him to make a choice without understanding how he actually feels. It might not start off as the most engaging, but it’ll be interesting to see how things progress with Ro’s influence and if chats with Zeen, over the transponder Yoda left him, will have any chance of winning Krix back.
With Older’s script, Harvey Tolibao, & Pow Podrix assisting on art, with Rebecca Nalty on colors and Jake M. Wood lettering, together create another enchanting issue for the eyes, even if the action gets a little too chaotic for its own good. In some of the bigger actions scenes, it wasn’t always terribly easy to follow what was happening and one giant page of the Padawans and Buckets of Blood swarmed by the Nihil was almost so full it felt empty. But these gripes are very minor, as the rest of the issue and art continues to provide excellent scenes of heroism from the Padawans, the insecurity of Krix, and helping Older’s humor hit right. Krix might’ve had his mouth open in surprise most of the issue, but the panels where the reality of what happened between him and Zeen, and the feelings inside of him about it, wash over him, the contemplation and sadness the team gives him helps us empathize. We’ve only seen Marchion in concept art and some other comic covers, but I liked the imposing figure the team gave him here, like the creepy spiral etched helmet he’s become fond of wearing. Otherwise, Yoda’s big swirl cut of the projectile and all the surprised or expressive faces offered more highlights from a team I’m eager to see more of each and every month.
Here are a few other things:
- We have a page dedicated to The High Republic, which is where you’ll find all our reviews, news articles, and a list of what content is yet to come. I’ll cover that below, but you can always refer to our THR page in the future!
- The Galactic Data File this week gives us a clearer look at the Nihil’s Spider Cruiser and the Jedi’s Star Hopper, even including how many crew needed to get the thing flying…unless you’re Hera Syndulla or Poe Dameron.
The High Republic Adventures #2 is a great, action-packed romp with humor and heart, while it also adds new mysteries, wrinkles, and the beginnings of a strained relationship that could go either way as the story continues.
+ Yoda showing off his younger age
+ Fun action and humor
+ Potential of Krix and Zeen problems
– Art a little too chaotic
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
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