– Spoiler Review –
Like readers charging in with expectations to a story, Jedi Master Vildar Mac found himself out of his element by assuming he’d have control over the situation on Jedha, but his rude awakening is only the beginning in The High Republic #2 – Phase II, another excellent issue which explores more of the characters without sacrificing its pace.
Ending on what appeared to be Vildar Mac’s death and a neat narrator twist to boot, The High Republic comic for Phase II, written by Cavan Scott, opened in a truly unforgettable way. While issue #2 doesn’t surpass those narrative surprises, and I wouldn’t expect it too, it instead turns towards building out the characters of Vildar, Padawan Matthea Cathley aka Matty, and even Tey Sirrek, the Sephi man who “killed” the Jedi Master, while pushing forward the story of events happening on Jedha, becoming an excellent new part of the story in its own way.
Vildar survives Tey’s ‘ancient methods’ just as Matty’s trying to call for help, but rather than slow down and heal, Vildar jolts up and doesn’t put his second (well, now his third, technically) chance at life to waste, ready to set off and bring Tey to justice. Instead of bumbling around the streets, he grabs the bolt Tey shot at Matty to pin her down and opens himself up to the Force, gaining a vision to find out where Tey went. Both in this moment and later, Vildar’s over-confidence is a glaring, yet intriguing trait for a Jedi Master, as we want to consider him the hero but he’s too full of himself at times it’s hard to side with him… but also hard to look away as you can almost see the mistakes he’s going to make before he does, leaving me clinging to the hope he’ll find a way to overcome these shortcomings before it’s too late. He dismisses Matty’s answer for an object in his visions as an unnecessary compliment of his skills and later he’s barely willing to listen to anyone else’s explanation of who Tey really is, even from Tey, his mind already made up. We saw these problems last issue too, as he equated the Sorcerers of Tund’s Convocation (the Force religion council on Jedha) representative to the one who decimated his village as a child, making an assumption before he had all the facts, while also when he assumed Tey was responsible for the death of the woman in the shrine they were investigating (hence his aggressive nature to Tey that led to his ‘death’). Even in little ways he’s let being a Jedi Master get to his head, how he’s always right or needs to protect others, as he bats someone’s hand away from Matty and she’s very adamant she can take care of herself afterwards, while it’s clear how pained he is to ask for Matty’s help, as if doing so allows for him to be wrong or not the strongest person in the room. Do all these issues stem from the haunting past we’re slowly seeing unveiled when the Tund sorcerer attacked his village? We still don’t know how he made it out alive, this issue opening with another flashback where his death seems all but certain, so could his survival and how it comes about help push him to be this way? Or simply never wanting to feel that fear again, to be the weakest person in the room, is why he’s like this now? And most importantly, will his assumptions get the best of him or will his new associates help him find some humility before he dies again?
Matty leads Vildar to the Enlightenment, a fittingly named bar in the holy city, the place in his vision where Tey might be next. Vildar is so out of his environment and still hasn’t learned anything yet, as instead of playing Kradon’s games for information, he’s the barkeep and owner of Enlightenment, when they enter he instead strikes out when he senses Tey sneaking around, bringing Kradon’s bouncers down on them. Matty promised her Master she’d not to go back to the bar and then this time it’s not even her fault she might get thrown out! Matty unfortunately seems used to being underestimated and looked over and Vildar is just par for the course, as while she should be the lead in a city she understands and he doesn’t, he continues to take it and get them in trouble or get himself nearly killed. But despite that, she’s still willing to help Vildar, from wanting to get him to an infirmary after his heart stopped, taking him to Enlightenment despite her promise, and later checks in with him to see how he is mentally after everything at the bar. She’s got a heart two sizes too big that Vildar doesn’t deserve, but it could be what he needs to help him come back down to earth and for Matty to prove to everyone they shouldn’t underestimate her anymore.
With Vilar and Matty pinned to the bar by the Twinkle Sisters, a deceptively fun name for the ginormous bouncers, Kradon and the bar laugh at Vildar’s assertion Tey’s a dark sider, the two playfully debating who should tell him the truth. It turns out Tey’s been investigating all the stolen artifacts in Jedha as well, since the Jedi or other Convocation members haven’t bothered, while he also didn’t kill the woman, finding her dead like Vildar did when he arrived; his evidence is his droid projecting an image of him being shocked as he sees the woman dead, and while it’s convincing enough, one could wonder if it was staged, but considering his reputation in the bar, it’s hard not to believe him. As for his knowledge of dark rituals that stopped Vildar’s heart? As a Sephi, it’s a pheromone they developed to temporarily knock predators back, so he was simply trying to warn off and scare away Vildar before he had to use it to subdue him. Matty wants to team up, since they are both trying to figure out the same thing and he clearly knows a lot about Jedha, but Vildar’s continued battering of questions leads Tey to leave, though thankfully Kradon’s willing to reveal where he went. They find Tey working on a lead into who is stealing the artifacts by dangling Vildar’s stolen lightsaber in the contact’s face, which Vildar grumpily admits he’s impressed by later, and finds another artifact in the contact’s stash. The moment a gun comes out, Vildar once again assumes he has to be there to protect others, knocking away the contact’s gun and then nearly being shot by his second, hidden gun, with Tey and his body armor saving Vildar but letting the contact get away. My doubt about Tey’s photo with the dead woman earlier dissipated after he so willingly protected Vildar, proving everything he’s said so far in one big gesture. Matty and Tey lament the loss of the contact, but Tey seeing the starbird artifact leads him to determine the Guardians of the Whills are missing an item, though since they haven’t reported it missing, it leads all three to wonder what could be going on. Looks like they and us readers won’t have to wait long…the Guardians surround the three as the issue ends!
While issue #1 threw a lot at us, the Convocation, new characters, dueling ideologies, and a big mystery on Jedha, it never felt overwhelming, so to have issue #2 keep up the pace but still manage exploration of its characters helped elevate it into something special again. The work of the art team does this as well, as Ario Anindito on pencils, Mark Morales for inks, Frank William as colorist, and Ariana Maher lettering bring another visual captivating and layered issue to life. One of my favorite panels this issue is Vildar’s vision, not just for the neat way it’s presented, but how it conveys his assumptions and biases as well. Tey’s visage is hooded, teeth bared, almost Emperor Palpatine-esque since Vildar sees him as a dark sider, as someone evil who killed someone, so it’s interesting when Vildar pins Tey’s hood later it’s almost the same look, though instead of evil, Tey looks pained from how Vildar arrests his movement; Kradon, while insectoid-like, with large eyes as we see him later and mostly friendly demeanor, looks demonic, like a giant bug ready to eat whomever comes across their path, showing Vildar’s bias against the other; and the doors to Enlightenment are twisted, darkness behind their barely open hinges, as if only the dark and evil could go in there, this bias and assumption clear when he seems positively shocked Matty knows where the bar is. Anindito and Morales’ work, especially since it’s three images overlapping, makes Vildar’s vision look a bit like stain glass windows, while William’s colors feel distant with the choice of whitening the vibrancy of how the objects of the vision actually look, as if to help denote things are not what they seem. And even Maher’s lettering, the smallest of word bubbles, snuck in a blank spot of the vision, almost as to suggest he’s missing something despite what he sees. Elsewhere, the pained look on Vildar’s face after he comes back to life, struggling to stand, and sweating after his vision, details the strain the experience has on him and his preconceived notions of his abilities, he’s so desperate to get moving, to go after Tey, because he can’t let things end like they did or for Tey, now almost a stand-in modern day for the Sorcerer who killed his village, to do it to someone else. His face is pale, making Matty’s red-ish, pink hued skin a stark contrast, like she’s full of life and color and he’s not, living in the past instead. The designs for Kradon and the Twinkle Sisters, which we first saw at the NYCC High Republic panel (though they were first introduced in the Tales of Enlightenment short story for Star Wars Insider 213), are stand outs of the issue. With the Twinkle Sisters, I loved how they were always seen with the perspective of us looking up at them, their mouths barely visible over the armor up around what I can only assume is their necks, their size and intimidating nature a constant reminder to combat their ironic name; and with Kradon, from the four arms making him an efficient barkeep and drink maker, the circular, crown-like protuberance making him seem sort of like royalty, of someone in power, while the gold coloring makes him look welcoming, friendly, especially compared to Vildar’s vision. I really liked Maher’s lettering in a quick succession of panels, Vildar spinning around to throw Tey’s dart at him after sensing him, his forceful “You!” highlighted by the red-lined bubble, the “ffwsh” SFX defining the great speed of his turn and thrown, followed by the Tey-colored SFX in the next panel as the dart traps him in a way showing this dart was his, and then the “thamm” of one of the Twinkle Sisters slamming Vildar’s head to the bar top follows up on the promise of their might.
Here are a few other things:
- When Vildar knocked someone’s hand away from Matty, it was a member of the Path of the Open Hand, who are in the middle of establishing their presence on Jedha. This tracks with how things ended in Path of Deceit, so make sure to read the excellent Phase II starter when you can!
- Speaking of the Path, in a recent Characters of the High Republic video about their leader, the Mother, we learned her full name is Elecia Zeveron. Curiously enough, the young Jedi Knight we met in the back up story to the opening issue of this series is named Oliviah Zeveron. Could the title “Mother” be a very literal thing?!? I have zero doubts they are connected, especially as it can help explain the Mother’s actions so far, as if she felt her daughter was unjustly torn from her by the Jedi, what better way to get back at them then using your own Force abilities to take over a cult already aligned against the Jedi, pushing them to take it further than pacifist ways to eventually get revenge? With Phase II only being two waves, the pieces are coming together quickly and I can’t wait to see where they all go.
- While we were first introduced to Kradon and the Twinkle Sisters visually at the NYCC High Republic panel, they appeared first in the Tales of Enlightenment short story for Star Wars Insider 213.
Whether it’s the expert pacing, intriguing and flawed characters, or the gorgeous art, The High Republic #2 – Phase II proves the first issue wasn’t a fluke and we’re in for something truly special in this 10-issue run.
+ Characters come in focus
+ Pace continues
+ Truth of Tey
+ Art work exploring Vildar’s biases. Plain great stuff all around!
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.