– Spoiler Review –
Lourna Dee on the run and news of Sskeer’s potential survival pull at Jedi Master Keeve Trennis’ priorities…which will she choose?! Find out in my review of the exhilarating The High Republic #3 – Phase III!
I’m enjoying the little flashbacks we’re getting of a younger Keeve and Sskeer, prior to the events of The High Republic – Phase I series, not only because they offer a glimpse into happier times for the two, but how writer Cavan Scott uses these moments to show how far Keeve has come and/or how much she’s learned about being the Jedi Master she is today because of Sskeer’s teachings. Scott also uses parallels to show Keeve’s growth as well, which combined with these windows into the past, her progress is nothing short of remarkable, leaving me hooting and hollering how much everyone needs to respect her name. While this issue doesn’t see her confront or find her old Master yet, will the progress she’s made be helpful or will it come undone a bit before she taps back into it, stronger again, to save her friend? It’s not gone swimmingly for her these first three issues, yet it’s not been too much of a struggle, so you know it’s coming, yet with her strength of will and resolve, it seems insane to think she’ll become one of the Order’s Lost. What will happen to take this Jedi Master, who has come so far despite not totally believing in herself, to become disillusioned with the Order? Their response to Sskeer? To her actions in saving him/the struggles ahead with the Nameless? Yoda is potentially involved, according to Scott’s Yoda #10, but how? In the end, this knowledge hangs over every rousing moment for Keeve in the name of the Jedi, so I do my best to celebrate her successes before she goes through the ringer.
With Skarabda’s crushing of the Nihil envoy and Lourna Dee’s betrayal of her, the Hutts and the Republic enjoy a temporary truce, chasing after Lourna as she makes her getaway in the stolen Jedi ship, the Ataraxia. But while the Republic and the Jedi are already allies, they aren’t exactly on the same page, which becomes increasingly clear as the effort to stop Lourna continues. When Terec accidentally reveals the Ataraxia has a Path drive, the only way through the Nihil’s Stormwall currently, Republic Commander Jahen becomes concerned over Keeve’s focus. Are the Jedi taking back the Ataraxia to stop Lourna or because they want to take it back for their own purposes? Keeve doesn’t care to respond to such questions, jumping out of her Vector the moment the Gios has the stolen ship in its tractor beam and cuts her way into the Ataraxia, making quick work of Lourna’s droid guards. She’s stopped short of storming the bridge only because Lourna jettisons a bunch of cargo ships, which Keeve can sense fear emanating from. Jahen and the Gios confirm the worst, Lourna’s packed the cargo pods with people as a way to force the Republic to drop its tractor beam hold.
As the other Jedi help guide those people to safety, Keeve confronts the former Nihil Tempest Runner on the bridge, commenting on how they’ve been here before. Lourna whips out her blade and engages Keeve in combat, getting the upper hand only thanks to a remaining guard droid, and returns the acknowledgement of how similar things seem to what happened before between them…though no Avar Kriss present this time. In a way, Keeve’s actions feel similar to the Avar Kriss’ led attack on the Nihil’s No Space base in the final arc of The High Republic – Phase I series, though it ended with Kriss standing over a defenseless Lourna, whom Keeve saved from Avar’s anger, while this time it ends with Lourna standing over a seemingly defenseless Keeve, though no one else is aboard to save her. Much like Keeve saving Lourna proved the younger Jedi had grown into every bit of a Jedi she never thought she could be, even passing Avar in that moment, how she continues to refuse to kill the Twi’lek woman, instead using the Force to make one of Lourna’s droids turn on her and knock her out, shows she’s a Jedi Master like she doesn’t believe she can be.
Her choice with Lourna and taking the Ataraxia, so she can go behind the Stormwall and rescue Sskeer, despite orders from her own Jedi Council (with Terec and Ceret at her side), both stem from the issue’s opening reflection on her time as Sskeer’s Padawan. The memory is one where he and Keeve hold back a raging forest fire and try to save every single living thing in the forest while doing so, putting their lives at risk in the process. Her key takeaway is how Sskeer taught her anyone was worth saving and no one gets left behind, which informs an easy to her decision: if Sskeer is out there, even if he is terrorizing people per Lycos’ (who died, I guess!) report, he’s worth saving, and he can’t be left behind, so it was a foregone conclusion for her to retake the Ataraxia and use it to go after him, keeping Lourna in an attempt to help navigate once they are behind enemy lines. It’s this clarity of vision, of purpose, which makes Keeve so compelling, as she’s not hesitating to do the right thing, even if it puts her in danger or is against orders. Keeve might doubt that she’s a Jedi Master, but she’s already with the best of them due to that instinctual drive, which is exactly why, after her successful boarding, battle with Lourna, and taking of the Ataraxia for her own purposes that I was jumping up from my seat on the coach and shouting “MUTHA EFFIN’ JEDI MASTER KEEVE TRENNIS!!! LET’S GO.” I still feel this way, reading it again and writing about it, as it’s such a great moment, full of layers, of what’s made her such a great Jedi.
Much like the opening issue featured two artists I didn’t always have the easiest time discerning was drawing which page or panel, Jim Towe and Marika Cresta pull off a similar feat for issue #3, while colorist Jim Campbell and letterer Ariana Maher return. Speaking of how badass Keeve seemed this issue, I LOVE the panel of her standing in the doorway to the Ataraxia’s bridge, her robes and braids billowing around her, a stern yet determined look on her face, lightsaber lit, backlit by Campbell’s white light surrounded by a teal-like color. While she’s taking up the focus of the panel, Lourna Dee ain’t no slouch in the panel either, as she takes up a considerable amount of the forefront focus, glancing over her shoulder, not surprised but ready for battle sketched over her face, with a darker sets of colors compared to the heroic light Keeve gets. The next panel is a smaller one but it’s when the two clash blades and, much like their comparable size despite being in different fore-back grounds of the previous panel, they are the same size in this one, denoting how matched they are in the moments to come. Maher’s work pulls us through this moment, taking us from the heroic Keeve entrance, Lourna’s commanding readiness in the moment, their blades initially clashing with a great “krakkle” sound FX, dipping us across the encounter and into the close-up of Dee, letting us be surprised when her droid sneaks in with the stun blast on the opposite end of the next panel. In the opening flashback, the panel where Sskeer emerges from the fire, holding a cute little animal, is such a beautiful way to show the juxtaposition of a Trandoshan Jedi Master. He’s menacingly large, the panel taking up the majority of the page to support it, while his red eyes and grim face are frightening, to say the least, yet he’s gently walking away from a raging fire, Campbell laying on the heat with his work, softly holding a cute woodlands creature in his giant arms, his robes flying out behind him, singed from the flames he just escaped; menacing, yet gentle, and you can feel why Keeve would still want to try her hardest to save her friend, her mentor.
Here are a few other things:
- I liked hearing Keeve knows more about Lourna, including details we found out in the Tempest Runner audiobook! I’ll be interested to see if this knowledge and her stubborn insistence not to kill Lourna will be Keeve’s pathway to turning or saving the ex-Nihil where others have failed.
- Though it comes out in April, issue #6 of the series was advanced solicited in March’s solicitations, and it caused quite the stir, as the cover featured Tey Sirrek, one of three leads for Scott’s The High Republic – Phase II series! Was he somehow alive in Phase III, 151 years after his time? Scott took to Bluesky to clarify the issue would feature a one-time jump to the past, so I’m very curious to learn why!! The Nameless prophecy does mention past and future combining…
- In case you missed it, Scott and Rachael Stott will bring Ty Yorrick back to the forefront in April’s The High Republic Adventures – Saber for Hire!!
- There are a few more releases, High Republic-wise, this month: January 24 sees The High Republic Adventures #2 – Phase III hit comic shelves, while the Escape from Valo novel is out January 30!!
The High Republic #3 – Phase III is an exhilarating fun issue showing off how far Keeve Trennis has come!
+ Showing how far Keeve has come, make sure to put some respect on her badass name!
+ Using the past to inform the present
+ Art team really lets readers feel Keeve’s might and righteous fury
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.