Comic Review - The Nihil Make a Last Stand Over Eriadu in "Star Wars: The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi" #5
Yesterday saw the release of the fifth and final installment of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars: The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi miniseries, and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment. (Note: due to Laughing Place’s evolving sphere of coverage, this will be my final Star Wars comic review for the time being.)
The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi #5 opens in orbit around the planet Eriadu, where the climactic battle of the Republic’s war against the Nihil is still taking place. At the end of the previous issue, a giant scav droid was revealed to be the source of the destruction of the Longbeam cruiser Gios (with the Child of the Storm H’Tar having disguised it as the Jedi’s worst fear– an enormous Nameless creature). So Jedi Master Sskeer pilots his Vector starfighter in a direct attack on the droid, while even more Nihil ships emerge from hyperspace and enter the conflict. But when Marshal Keeve Trennis realizes that the Nihil retain the ability to communicate with each other despite all other transmissions being blocked, she comes up with a plan to infiltrate the giant droid and hack into the broadcast system with the help of GoNet reporter Rhil Dairo.
I’m not sure that I entirely understand the geography of how Keeve and Rhil enter the droid, but either way this plan leads to Trennis making a speech to the galaxy at large urging all of its citizens to rise up against the Nihil… this scene brought to mind the recent Andor: A Star Wars Story episode showcasing Mon Mothma’s moving tirade in opposition to Emperor Palpatine, so let’s hope for the Republic’s sake that it’s similarly effective. Meanwhile on Lourna Dee’s ship the Tempest Breaker, a vision of H’Tar appears on the bridge and enters into conversation with her former brother among the Children of the Storm, Cibaba. Despite the battle still raging outside the ship, Cibaba becomes convinced that H’Tar can still be saved from her involuntary service to Marchion Ro and the Nihil. Thankfully at this point more Republic ships arrive on the scene, with Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca, the Mon Calamari fleet, and even members of the Togruta and Hutt species pitching in against their common enemy.
At this point the tentative strategy becomes to disconnect H’Tar from the Fear Engine that’s forcing her to project her Force visions onto others, but Lourna takes things into her own hands and blows up the vessel containing the device, with H’Tar inside of it. Cibaba is devastated by the loss, but it means the end of the battle, as the Nihil surrender both in the air and on the surface of Eriadu below. News comes in from across the galaxy that the Republic has won the war… but at what cost? Readers will find out in the upcoming Star Wars: The High Republic - The Finale: The Beacon one-shot, but as stated above I don’t believe I’ll be covering that here, so I’ll just say I’m looking forward to following through on the remainder of this initiative as a fan. As for this specific issue and the miniseries it concludes, writer Cavan Scott and artist Marika Cresta managed to keep me engaged the entire time with crackling dialogue and eye-catching illustrations. The pace was intense and the stakes were high, but most importantly I connected with the characters in these pages. And I’m glad the architects of The High Republic were able to see the story through to its end.
Star Wars: The High Republic - Fear of the Jedi #5 is available now wherever comic books are sold.