– Spoiler Review –
The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #3 sees a crack team sent behind enemy lines to ascertain the true depth of Moff Adelhard’s threat to the burgeoning New Republic and they quickly find themselves with unexpected foes and allies in the process, ramping up the intrigue for the maxiseries!
12 issues equal a lot of page and panel space, certainly more than some of the most recent miniseries have gotten or even the main run of The High Republic – Phase III, and I think overall it’s going to be just enough to really make the full Battle of Jakku experience a memorable one. However, at issue #3, some cracks are showing, though it’s nothing which will ruin the overall experience, but I certainly imagine I’ll end up wishing this had been 20-24 issues instead. In fact, at this pace and rate, it feels like Battle of Jakku is almost like an adaptation of a film, as instead of narration boxes giving insight into some of these characters and their actions, it all plays out like beats in a script, a tightly wound and intriguing script, but a film script nonetheless, capturing the brightest, most eye-catching moments and letting others slide to the wayside. It makes sense for the scale and scope this maxiseries is trying to capture, but it does leave one already wanting another book in this timeframe to flesh this all out and help it gel with other events we’ve already gotten.
The New Republic operatives of Kes Dameron, Rynn Zenat, Therisa Alern, and Jarek Yeager are surrounded by the Spice Runners of Kijimi before they even get started on their mission, with both the Spice Runners and the rebels debating how best to proceed given their goals. It turns out some of the rebel crew knows more than the others, as Rynn seemingly goes almost suicidal and starts to ram the Spice Runners’ ships, just as they were debating whether they’d shoot it down or let Adelhard have a chance to board them. When we check back in, it seems their mission into the Iron Blockade was short and Leia’s worries in a different scene she shares with Luke are warranted: the crew must be dead. But thanks to this somehow being part of the plan, Adelhard’s team finds the rebels alive and well, capturing them! It’s short lived, however, since Lt. Kith Alaytia, Adelhard’s left-hand subordinate (Commander Bragh is his right-hand), helps them escape, though we don’t get an explanation for how or why yet, while the crew doesn’t get much time to enjoy the freedom anyways, with Bragh and a mysteriously cloaked “Inquisitor” ending the escape effort in a near brutal fashion. Like I said, a lot happens here, very quickly, and we’re just trying to catch up like the rebels are before it all stops in its tracks until next issue. Where are the Spice Runners and are they alright (some readers will already know thanks to Poe Dameron: Free Fall)? Why did Alaytia help them, is she a spy for the Rebellion/NR? Does Bragh know she’s a spy now? How does she know Therisa? And who is this Inquisitor? I have my theory already on the last one: it’s Tensu Run from the Inquisitors comic, and while how that series ended would put a nail in the coffin, this is the dark side we’re talking about here so crazier things have happened…regardless, I imagine we’ll learn in issue #4 who is under the cowl.
While Adelhard called for Reyna Oskura’s help, the mysterious associate of the Acolytes of the Beyond, he’s pretty dismissive of her in their first scenes together in the series, leaving me to wonder why he asked for her in the first place. Sure, part of his snippy response to her has merit due to her sarcastic comments about his deductive abilities, and he does seem smart to avoid relying on the Force for help in his efforts given how well it helped Palpatine, but if he just wanted to tell her no, why call on her at all? What help does he think she can provide? Hopefully we’ll get more about Reyna and more on what Adelhard imagined she could do to better make sense of why these two are even dealing with one another.
As for Leia and her concerns, while it’s not the first we’ve heard her express regret for her decisions regarding sending people on dangerous missions they might not come back from, I appreciated how Segura’s script has her acknowledge it, saying it’s difficult no matter how many times she does it. It’s only our second scene with Luke and Leia in the series so far and seeing them interacting as siblings isn’t going to get old anytime soon. Her concern for the rebel crew’s lives stems from Agent Calder Behrens intelligence contacts, claiming the crew seems to be dead, though it’s not clear if this is from Buccel Trune, who appears in a hologram here (and was first introduced as a reliable source in Segura’s Return of the Jedi: The Rebellion #1) or Alaytia, while the mysterious Operator (but not really mysterious, it’s Gallius Rax, Palpatine’s primary proponent of his Contingency plans for the Empire) isn’t giving them enough actionable intel so things are looking hectic for the New Republic on all fronts. The issue ends with Luke doing something a little surprising, going all The Mandalorian Season 2 finale and breaking into Adelhard’s ship to rescue the rebel crew, which was neat to see only because it means Luke and this Inquisitor will get to fight, but it felt a little off to see him get so directly involved all of a sudden given his absence in most other content already in this era/him doing his own thing here already. I was enjoying seeing him being aloof, focusing on the Force, though since solicitations for future issues are teasing he’s going to be doing more of his own thing but parallel to the main story, I’m not as concerned as I would’ve been about this.
For issue #3, Leonard Kirk is not alone, as Jethro Morales shares duties, while it’s the usual Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Caramagna on colors and lettering, respectively. Morales has often worked jointly on issues in the past and I think it’s because he does such a great job of blending his style with whomever he’s paired with, as while I can still mostly tell when it’s him, sometimes a quick read or flip makes it a little harder to tell. As much as it pained me to see it, one sequence which really stood out to me was the madcap escape of the rebel crew and the devastating beatdown they get shortly after, bringing their efforts to a halt. We have the expectation set Rynn, Yeager, Kes, and Therisa are very, very alone by the establishing shot of Adelhard’s Star Destroyer against the vastness of space, followed by small, tight panels of the crew debating what just happened and what to do next, bathed in an oppressive red by Rosenberg, until Caramagna’s klaxon blaring sound FX seems to suggest a surprise, which is when we see Therisa smiling and a turn to the next page has Lt. Alaytia opening the door for them! There’s only two panels with their freedom dash before Rosenberg brings shadows to many of our escapees’ faces, and the next page has a small and brutal SFX “Thwack!” with Bragh’s fist clocking Kes, and the following panel has Bragh in all his imposing armor looking larger than the remaining conscious rebels, standing in the way of their escape. When the Inquisitor shows up, the framing, despite their smaller, skinner stature, has them looming over Therisa and the recovering Kes, the highlight of color on the lightsaber blade igniting, a large SFX alongside it, making sure we focus on additionally deadly problem about to face the rebel crew. The beatdowns only continue until the crew is subdued, a quick, yet longer series of events which makes it seem even less likely they’ll survive this, even with two of the four full of plot armor. The issue continues to tease they have no chance, as when Luke arrives, he doesn’t look much different than how the Inquisitor was drawn, and it’s only once his blinding green and very familiar lightsaber ignite do we know for sure who this actually is, even if he’s cutting through stormtroopers along his way.
Here are a few other things:
- It’s confirmed via the crawl on the credits page of this issue that the Acolyte of the Beyond redheaded woman in issue #2 who talks to Luke was the one named earlier in the same issue. Doesn’t mean she couldn’t end up being someone everyone thought she was, Mara Jade, in canon, but only time will tell (and I’ve been doubting it since day one). However, the solicitations for January, which include details on the final two issues of the maxiseries, do a promise a historic character’s first appearance….is it bait or is it going to be something which will have fans buzzing? We’ll thankfully not have to wait long to find out!
- Here’s the current release schedule for the remaining Battle of Jakku story: 11/6 Insurgency Rising #4; 11/20 Republic Under Siege #1; 11/27 Republic Under Siege #2; 12/4 Republic Under Siege #3; 12/11 Republic Under Siege #4; 12/25 Last Stand #1; 1/8/2025 Last Stand #2; 1/15/2025
- Last Stand #3; 1/22/2025 Last Stand #4.
The Battle of Jakku – Insurgency Rising #3 keeps things fun, breezy, and engaging, even if some cracks are showing.
+ Deepening mysteries with unexpected allies and cowl-ed Inquisitors
+ Fast and breezy pacing…
– …though it feels like we’re just seeing the highlights, not the details
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BATTLE OF JAKKU MAXISERIES REVIEWS
Insurgency Rising: #1 | #2