– Spoiler Review –
As the quest to uncover the being stealing Force artifacts around Jedha puts the Jedi in the Guardians of the Whills’ sights, a trip down memory lane fills in the intriguing backstory to Tey’s past, allowing The High Republic #3 – Phase II to both carry the story forward and gain some much needed context.
Ever since Jedi Master Vildar Mac and Padawan Matty Cathley crashed into the life of Tey Sirrek, the search for missing Force artifacts has taken some twists and turns, and that’s only through the first two issues. The High Republic #3 – Phase II begins right where we left off, the Guardians of the Whills surrounding the group as they approach the Temple of the Kyber, trying to figure out if the thievery is an inside job or not. The Guardians reveal they are after Tey, not the Jedi, so Vildar is quick to take the establishment’s side, not Tey’s despite the progress made last issue, going so far as to call him a reprobate after he leaves peacefully so the Jedi can go inside and investigate; once again the man’s assumptions and quick judgements make it hard to like him yet intriguing to follow him. In the exchange, where Matty tries to mend the breaking friendship but Tey’s not having any of it, Vildar souring his taste for both of them, we learn a surprising yet expected truth: Tey was once a Guardian of the Whills! I loved this opportunity to explore Tey’s past, as while I know we’re at a limited 10 issues this run, there has to be enough space to fit both the advancement of this story and some character building as well, given he actually is the main character. Scott handles the past and present well, jumping between the two without distracting from either, resulting in necessary and excellent context for Tey which further pushes on my feelings about Vildar.
In the past, while Tey was a Guardian, he was a restless one, not willing to just stand by and only protect the Temple of the Kyber when he saw others in need. Specifically, he finds little street urchins pick-pocketing visitors of Jedha, and he tries to stop them, only to learn the truth is more complicated, as the kids do it for local goon Wozo, just trying to survive, like Han and the White Worms or Oliver Twist. The other Guardians are adamant their purpose is only to secure and protect the Temple, but Tey’s too good a person to let injustices go, but his recklessness in pursuing the case puts him in the sights of Wozo. And when Guardian Captain Viss holds him back from the confrontation, it causes big trouble for the poor children, who are beaten within an inch of their lives, one killed! It’s a horrific moment, Ario and team’s art showing just enough to emotionally hit readers, and it moments reveals both why Tey prefers to work alone and how he’s been consistently misunderstood and listened to for a long time, only making Vildar’s distrust of him even more glaring because we now know the truth of Tey’s heart. Viss tries to sell him the Guardian company line about this not being their concern anymore, but Tey isn’t having any of it, wondering how a bunch of kyber could ever be more important than children’s lives, and goes out to seek vengeance for the children, one of whom did die, his little floating droid the one Tey’s had since we met him. Tey finds and kills Wozo, recognizing it as a moment he can never come back from, but makes peace with it since it prevents more children from being hurt in the future. I didn’t expect Tey’s past to be filled with such tragedy and it makes a lot of sense why he has such a bone to pick with Force sects, as if they aren’t always worried about the lives of those around them, what good is the thing they are protecting instead of saving lives.
In the present, as Tey has left the group so the investigation can continue, Vildar and Matty are escorted to the artifact in question’s plinth, all the way there being reassured of the safety and security within the Temple of the Kyber and how Tey isn’t to be trusted, only for his information to be correct about the missing item. Even Vildar, while loathe to say it, takes Tey’s side despite Viss and the other’s feelings it probably was Tey who did it. As this is unfolding, Tey sneaks his way into the Temple takes to Skoot, the little droid, only to find an explosive hiding nearby Vildar, Matty, and the others. While he picks it up, Vildar senses him and immediately jumps to conclusions again, believing the explosive is Tey’s idea, jumping into action and throwing it away with the Force, the issue ending with a view of the Temple from the outside, the resulting explosion billowing out of the building, the fates of all those there let uncertain until next issue! Can Vildar get over his assumptions? Will this make the real thief’s goals easier or harder? And who or what is actually stealing these items…I’m assuming the Path of the Open Hand given their mission is to liberate Force objects from the hands of other sects, especially Jedi, but the truth might be an intermediary to help create from plausibly deniability? And who will live or die from this explosion? Another stellar issue leaves us on the edge of our seats, Scott making the shorter issue count work in his favor.
Once again, the art is unmatched by Ario Anindito’s pencils, Mark Morales on inks, colorist Frank William, and Ariana Maher lettering, hauntingly so given the horrific scene of the poor children beat by Wozo. What a haunting, terrifying panel Anindito and Morales have crafted, the bodies slumped against walls or draped over crates, one human kid’s face mostly in shadows, one hidden hanging over the crate, the two alien faces leaving it unclear if they are alive or dead, while William’s colors are bleak and dark, framing how terrible this scene is before Tey, the sole light from the little Skoot highlighting the poor dead Skoot, while Maher’s lettering for Tey’s shout, the red thick lines around the word bubble, make the shock, then eventual tears on Tey’s face only the natural next step for him seeing this moment. One little thing I liked throughout was Vildar’s cloak whenever he jumps into action, as it billows around him, as if he has to be as showy as possible when he does something, so everyone knows and sees he isn’t weak, be it when he Force pushed Tey when he resists the Guardians trying to escort him away or later when he turns to confront Tey with the explosive, his assumptions in full bloom; in fact, when he’s admitting the theft being Tey’s doing is dubious, the pain on his face is clear, so is the disappointment on Matty’s face when he doesn’t go the full way of clearing Tey from suspicion, all of which Maher pulls us down to with her word bubbles so their faces are what we see in the close-up panel after their little back and forth plays out. In the past, the pleading look on little Flim’s face, a little Cragmoloid that’s basically looks like a two legged elephant, after Tey’s eyes bearing down on the poor kid, his face hanging in disappointment as Wozo carts the child away, was a heartbreaking little scene that only adds to the eventual terrible one later when Tey finds the kids. Scott and Anindito have done horror, like scary, evil monster horror, but this was a different side of horror, those of the actions of a normal being, which almost hits harder, especially due to the almost too gruesome panel seen here.
Here are a few other things:
- Our review for the upcoming audio drama The Battle of Jedi, out January 3, should be out prior to its release! I’m not going to say too much about it here other than there’s plenty of aspects to enjoy about it and how it carries the era’s story forward, though I’ll be curious how much this comic manages to reference events in the audiobook given how…sparsely it references this series. Stay tuned for our full review and make sure to check out The Battle of Jedi next week!
- I like how going into this issue, our assumptions can get the better us again, as the cover seems to almost make Tey out to be badguy in some sense, especially given only what we’ve learned about him so far in the series, but in actuality the cover depicts him trying to rescue the children from Wozo, as we saw in this issue’s glimpse of the past.
- In case you didn’t read Path of Deceit yet, and you should since it’s a great way to kick-off Phase II, we learned it was an ex-Guardian of the Whills who actually starts the Path of the Open Hand!
The High Republic #3 – Phase II manages to juggle past and present with aplomb, furthering our investment in the real lead character while deepening the mystery of missing artifacts, all while giving us a new year’s cliffhanger!
+ Exploring Tey’s past
+ Despite trip to past, pace isn’t hampered
+ Art team captures the horrifying big moments and small things so damn well!
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.