Canon Comic Review: The High Republic Adventures #14 – Phase III

– Spoiler Review –

The Battle of Eriadu is no longer avoidable, as forces collide in the fight for the key planet behind the Stormwall, and as always, writer Daniel José Older doesn’t lose sight of the characters, surprisingly on both sides, in the fracas of The High Republic Adventures #14 – Phase III!

From waiting to see what side the Tarkin family will take in the coming battle for Eriadu, freeing Valo from its oppressors, and even time for a wonderful, long-awaited wedding, The High Republic Adventures – Phase III switches towards the endgame as it begins its Battle of Eriadu arc, the penultimate bit of storytelling before wrapping up with its 20th issue later this year. It’s really felt like we’ve been building to this for some time and the opening salvo in the fight is worth the wait, as the scale and stakes come alive thanks to all the time we spent focusing on the characters and their arcs beforehand, while Farzala Tarabal taking center stage also feels overdue and well implemented by the time the issue wraps up, especially since it seems like his actions will be vital to the success, or failure, of the battle. The fact the issue even has time to explore the Warden, the vicious Nihil who’s been the bane of our heroes’ existence for a while now, speaks to the depth Older has planned despite the big battle, so it’s good to see his typical character focus won’t be taking a back-burner to the spectacle (but really, has he ever let us down in this regard?).

Back in Phase I, Farzala’s work on negotiations with the Hutts on behalf of the Republic gained him a main role and earlier in Phase III we saw him do so again when the Republic came to liberate him and other prisoners from a Nihil prison ship run by the Warden, of course. Ever since his introduction, the Warden’s been a pain in our heroes’ various rears, with his unpredictable nature making him a fun being to hate throughout it all. They are two very different characters, at least on paper, so it’s an interesting pair to bring to the forefront for the big battle of the series. I’m definitely not sympathetic to the Warden after this issue, as while we get a key moment of his backstory when joining General Viess’ special mercenary team, we also see him commit some rather heinous actions like leaving injured Nihil behind and bombarding indiscriminately, but the already entertaining villain having more dimension raises the stakes of the battle and its eventual outcome. His personal stakes in bringing victory to the Nihil on such a pivotal planet, without help from Nihil leadership (outside of a deadly destroyer droid they send him), shows he has something to prove beyond being an annoyingly effective (for the most part) antagonist and will make his come-uppance all the more satisfying.

On the flip side is Farzala, also needing to prove himself as a Jedi in this pivotal moment of history, yet when he closes his eyes, he glimpses a dark future: only destruction, but he knows he has to push ahead, he has to fight, because it’s all been leading to this. The issue begins with a sweet flashback to a young Farzala being trained by Jedi Master Obratuk, a victim of the Nihil and Marchion Ro’s Nameless at the end of Phase I, who teaches the young Padawan about dancing in a literal and figurative way, with the lesson touching on the need to dance with the flow of the Force, not be a rock in its tide toward history, something which sounds like a call to action for readers, given the historic times, in the worst of ways, we live in, as well as hint at hope that these days will be over so might as well be the change in them we want to see. While Farzala comes to understand his Master’s words and charge ahead, especially after he has to step up when Qort is injured (reader, I will tell you, I SHOUTED in fear but he seems okay for now…), the destruction is still there, still hovering at the edges of his concerns and actions. I think we’ll see Farzala struggle in the issues ahead, especially in the face of an enemy like the Warden who doesn’t really have any guardrails when it comes to slaughter and the loss of life, so hopefully he can pull through, though given the support group all around him, he has to…right? While stories don’t always go the way we want it, especially in real life, which the Warden’s actions certainly seem to parallel the mindset and disregard for the sanctity for human life Israel perpetrated against the Palestinians, the Jedi do win against the Nihil at the end of this era, but I think we’ll see the HOW they did so is far more important than the outcome.

To bring the big battle to life, Harvey Tolibao is back with Michael Atiyeh on colors and the usual Comicraft lettering duo of Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt. There was some cool water moments towards the end of the issue that I now wish to see more of, as I feel like it’s not very often the comics put characters out on the water, especially in a fight, though I get it’s probably a lot for an artist to draw continuously so I’m not mad it hasn’t happened more. It all starts with Qort and Farzala, hiding backseat on special speeders, coasting through the water, waves splashing around them, as they approach a big Nihil gunboat and slice into it from the sides, resulting in its big explosion (maybe that’s why we don’t see water stuff too often as well, it’s over pretty quickly!). The sound FX for the blades tracking through the gunboat’s sides, matching the colors of Qort and Farzala’s blades, is satisfying against the Nihil’s chunky, old-school looking boat. Tolibao always outdoes himself and the next page flips us to a two-page spread of epic proportions (our preview copies were missing it!), but on the left we essentially have the whole wedding party (also seen in an earlier full-page), still in their outfits, leaping across the water, like they’re a wave themselves, as little waves crash towards the Nihil on the other side of the water, tons of uniquely masked beings, with some pouring out of a ship, blasting away at the crowd. The little water effects in this scene are just so good, one doesn’t need SFX to hear them crashing or swooshing about. He follows this up with ANOTHER two-page spread, but this is a deadly, less hopeful one than the last, as there’s a lot of negative space between the beats of the moment, Qort and Farzala bring down some Nihil but then the new destroyer droid appearing like a Terminator, its gun appearing on the edge of the first panel, it’s blast covering the negative space, Farzala’s call out to Qort placed above it, like it’s already too late, followed by the blast splitting into the next insert panel of Qort, impacting with his back, as if to denote they truly don’t see this coming. The Destroyer droid takes up a big portion of the middle of the spread, blasting away again, more of its gun and droid body seen in an insert panel now, as it’s been revealed to them as a threat. After Farzala bats away more blast fire, seemingly damaging the droid, the way his face progresses from those moments onward, from the shock when Qort picks Farzala to lead the battle, the seriousness when he, on the next page, has Qort promises him they’ll all get out of this together, melting into his determined, hopeful look, really works well with how he comes to terms with what he has to do. I loved the small panel of Lula, Zeen, Kantam, Torban, Ram, Qort, and Farzala in the Star Hopper, laughing and cheering together, as it’s not only nice to see what Farzala also imagines beyond the destruction he can’t avoid when he closes his eyes now, but because it takes me back to simpler times, early in Phase I, leaving me to hope these characters can have such a moment as well…but it makes me worried not everyone in this imaginary future will be there. Brings me shivers just thinking about!

Here are a few other things:

  • I don’t know why I was so concerned initially about not knowing the Warden’s name outside of his self-proclaimed title, as we learn it here and it’s nothing important, but I do get why he’d rather be called the Warden than his real name!
  • It really is the beginning of the end, folks, as the cover for Charles Soule’s Trials of the Jedi, the final novel of the era, was finally revealed this week!
  • As for upcoming High Republic releases, January 29 is a big day, as not only does this issue and The High Republic Adventures #14 – Phase III come out, but also The High Republic Adventures Phase III Annual and The High Republic Adventures: Dispatches from the Occlusion Zone #4. Beyond January, on February 12: The High Republic Adventures #15 – Phase III; February 19: The High Republic: Fear of the Jedi #1; March 19: The High Republic Adventures #16 – Phase III. Keep up to date with our release schedule on our High Republic page!

The High Republic Adventures #14 – Phase III kicks off the big Battle of Eriadu in a character-focused fashion like only Older can do!

+ Characters take focus as the battle begins…

+ …which means Farzala and somehow…the Warden?!

+ Tolibao kicks off the opening salvo in stylish fashion

Some characters feel sidelined too quickly

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.

DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this comic from the publisher at no charge in order to provide an early review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.

THE HIGH REPUBLIC ADVENTURES – PHASE III REVIEWS
Vol. 1: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 Vol. 2: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 Vol. 3: #11 | #12 | #13

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