Charles Soule’s Star Wars The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight catches us up on four storylines leading into Phase Three:
Issue #1- The Guardian Protocols: Master Yoda and Azlin Rell go on a mission to find more secrets of the Nameless.
Issue #2- A Resonance of Hope: Elzar Mann and Avar Kriss find themselves distanced from each other literally and figuratively
Issue #3- The Will of the Force: Bell Zettifar looks to gain some control amidst uncertainty.
Issue #4- Ever Victorious: Marchion Ro makes two new powerful allies.
Soule introduced these characters (except for Azlin Rell and Yoda) in Light of the Jedi he fills in the gaps between Phase One and Three while referencing Phase Two. But the four-issue series always starts with the tragedy of the Starlight Beacon—from certain points of view.
The Guardian Protocols
The Story:
Master Yoda returns after disappearing for most of Phase One with Azlin Rell, a Jedi Knight who mysteriously disappeared 150 years prior after encountering the Nameless. Believing that Rell is the key to defeating the Nameless, Yoda helps Rell work through his darkness. Unfortunately, Rell might have other plans.
After the Jedi Council enacts the Guardian Protocols, recalling all Jedi and grounding them on Coruscant, Yoda appeals to the council to work with Rell. Yoda tries to help Rell into his mind and sees when he encountered the Nameless, the aftermath, and Rell attempting to track down Dass Leffbruk, who supposedly had a compass to the Nameless’s homeworld.
The two travel to where Leffbruk’s descendants settled, and unbeknownst to Yoda, Rell mind-tricks a pilot to destroy part of the planet to prevent any information from getting into the wrong hands.
So, how will Yoda move forward with Rell now that the Jedi Grandmaster better understands who he is dealing with?
Of the four stories, “The Guardian Protocols” is the most relevant and hints toward the direction of Phase Three overall. However, that has more to do with the mystery of Azlin Rell, who was introduced in Phase Two but will play a more significant role in Phase Three.
The Characters:
Yoda continues to operate outside the Jedi Council, bringing in Azlin Rell, who has prolonged his life using dark side techniques.
Of course, Yoda bears much responsibility for the Nameless becoming a larger problem. The Jedi Grandmaster’s decision, along with Creighton Sun in Phase Two, not to record the creatures’ existence in the Jedi Archives or research them further has led to this attempt at a course correction. And it is unclear if the Jedi Council will discover Yoda’s secret.
Meanwhile, there is a significant gap in character development for Azlin Rell. Rell appears early in Phase Two but is mainly absent until his encounter with the Nameless and his descent into madness (depicted incredibly well in The High Republic, The Edge of Balance: Precedent manga.
Canon Contributions:
Ady Sun’Zee from the Tales from Galaxy’s Edge VR game makes her first appearance in comic form as a listening ear to Reath Silas’s concerns about Rell. Sun’Zee also appears in The High Republic Adventures and is becoming more integrated into The High Republic stories. This issue also confirms that Rell was the figure accompanying Yoda at the end of Midnight Horizon in Phase One.
A Resonance of Hope
The Story:
Immediately after the Fall of Starlight Beacon, Elzar Mann tells Avar Kriss that he killed Chauncy Yarrow in a rage, not realizing that she was trying to help keep Starlight Beacon from crashing. Avar, who also blames herself as the Marshall of Starlight, decides not to comply with the Guardian Protocol and leaves for Nihil territory.
Months later, Avar is trapped in the Occlusion Zone but does what she can to help people in need on Allard. Meanwhile, Elzar builds a Tythonic Resonator from instructions from the Jedi Archives to communicate through the Stormwall with the help of JJ-5145. The first attempt ends with the resonator being destroyed, but Elzar is successful with the second attempt and makes contact with Avar. With Elzar’s hope renewed, he vows to keep working on a way to find her.
The Characters:
Elzar Mann might be the pick for many readers of a Jedi who could turn to the dark side. There are plot beats similar to Anakin Skywalker, including a rage killing and a forbidden love. Stellan’s death seems to have driven the two apart initially. However, the time has also given them growth. They remain separated in The Eye of Darkness, but this begins their journey of overcoming guilt over Stellan’s death. Avar finds a new purpose in helping a village in the Occlusion Zone and falls in love with being a Jedi again.
JJ-5145 also shines as Elzar’s former droid, which was given to Stellan and then returned to Elzar. JJ acts almost like a stand-in for the late Jedi Master, as the droid has also learned from Stellan.
Canon Contributions:
The Tythonic Resonator allows Force-sensitives to communicate across the galaxy, similar to the stone on Tython in The Mandalorian episode “The Tragedy.” GRogu sits on the stone to send a message to any Jedi, leading to Luke Skywalker’s appearance in the season finale. Therefore, the Tythonic Resonator likely got its namesake from the planet, and perhaps Ahsoka came across this information in the Jedi Archives at some point since she directed Din Djarin to Tython.
The Will of the Force
The Story:
After Bell Zettifar rescues Burryaga after the Fall of Starlight Beacon, the two are knighted per the Guardian Protocols. Bell becomes obsessed with Marchion Ro, now knowing he is responsible for Master Loden Greatstorm’s death.
Burryaga shares his concerns about Bell with Grandmaster Pra-Tre Veter, who enlists both Jedi Knights to join the Republic Task Force to assist planets on the edge of the Occlusion Zone.
The Nihil, under the direction of Melis Shryke, attack the Jedi when they arrive on the planet Asternin. Veter sends Bell and Burryaga away for help and manages to fight many Nihil without his lightsaber, but he is ultimately captured just as Bell and Burryaga arrive with help.
“The Will of the Force” is the least focused of the stories, not helped by partly covering the short story “All Jedi Walk Their Own Path” (an excellent Bell Zettifar story) for the first three pages. It is a weird decision that feels like a three-page ad for another High Republic novel more than something necessary for the story in the issue.
The Characters:
As mentioned, The High Republic has better Bell Zettifar stories. Still, we do see Bell interact with his new Master, Indira Stokes, who was one of the few Masters to survive an encounter with the Nameless on Starlight and knights her Padawan.
The High Republic has found a way to deal with Wookiee interactions without having the other participant repeat what the Wookiee said but instead inferring through their responses. Chewie walked so Burryaga could run. In one scene, a Youngling looks at the Wookiee Jedi’s drawings, which are all of dead Jedi Masters, including his own (Master Nib Assek). There is no dialogue from Burryaga, but we don’t need it to know that he, like Bell, is dealing with immense grief.
Pra-Tre Veter, who gets the most out of this story, is a character we have only seen briefly in other comics like Yoda. Given Veter’s fate in Eye of Darkness, this comic is the most rounded portrayal of the Jedi Grandmaster, who encourages Bell to connect with the people of Asternin by being on the ground instead of in a ship.
Canon Contributions:
The 47 lightsaber nullifier was invented by Klerin Chekkat and powered by the illegal substance recainium. It was first introduced in Rising Storm, where Kierin and her mother, Mantessa, attempted to sell the technology to Senator Toom, who had them apprehended for using an illegal substance. Both escaped and while Mantessa was killed, Klerin survived and sold the technology to the Nihil. How the 47 nullifier will play a part in Phase Three remains to be read, but its presence could allow the Jedi to showcase their abilities without the iconic weapon.
And one of those abilities Veter uses is Shon-Ju, a deep cut in Star Wars Legends lore. Shon-Ju was a Jedi who learned to direct his Force abilities through his hands in place of a lightsaber. It is possible that Shon-Ju is still a Jedi of legend in canon but, here, it is introduced as a technique.
Ever Victorious
The Story:
Marchion Ro has given the Nihil the most significant victory in destroying Starlight Beacon and adding insult to injury by claiming a large part of the galaxy with the Stormwall. Yet, with consistent partying and celebration, Ghirra Starros warns Ro that they are not gone even though he has weakened the Republic. There are forces within the Stormwall, planets loyal to the Republic, Jedi—and it will only be a matter of time before those factions organize.
One of the planets loyal to the Republic, Sarumo, attempts to fight back but is sabotaged by an advisor, General Viess, who takes control of their defense system, disables it, and offers the planet to the Nihil in exchange for a military command. Revealing herself to be a Jedi hunter, she offers her expertise and muscle in hunting Jedi in the Occlusion Zone, and Ro welcomes her to the Nihil.
Later, Ro recognizes the name Boolan of a prisoner on Ryloth (which was folded into the Occlusion Zone). When Ro pays a visit to Boolan, the Ithorian scientist recognizes him and says that he knows his ancestors (referring to the Evereni Mardo and Yano Ro), which does not sit well with Ro.
Ro says that Boolan can save his life by making the Nameless more powerful but controllable. Boolan agrees.
“Ever Victorious” is similar to the Eye of the Storm miniseries, which explores Ro’s species and family history as a window into his motivations. In fact, this issue is a perfect sequel to the two-issue series more than a connective tissue to The Eye of Darkness.
A nice touch to “Ever Victorious” is the narratory boxes, which take on the tone of the Nihil. One box describes Sarumo as a “pathetic planet making a pathetic attempt to resist Nihil rule.”
The Characters:
Since Ro was revealed to be a narcissist and the mastermind behind the events of Light of the Jedi, his endgame has been unclear. The Eye of Darkness goes into more detail, but “Ever Victorious” sharpens the point that no one truly understands Ro. Not the Jedi, the Republic, or even his inner circle.
We see the ambitions of Ghirra to govern, General Viess to command, and Baron Boolan to experiment, all playing to what they think Ro wants. Ghirra comments that it’s “not about conquest. It’s not about destruction. It’s about what you leave behind.” But, for Ro, what he leaves behind is conquest and destruction, which is all that matters to him.
Canon Contributions:
An older Baron Boolan and General Viess return from Phase Two. Boolan’s connection with the Ro family goes back to The Path of the Open Hand, and it makes sense that Boolan knows who Marchion Ro is from his past with Marda. However, how Marchion Ro knows of Boolan is still a mystery since he was not a part of Marda’s revamped The Path of the Closed Hand. At some point, Ro learned about Boolan (a kid during Phase Two) and knew he was familiar with the Nameless.
Either way, Rell, Boolan, and Viess could use more page time between Phase Two and Phase Three, especially since they are positioned as antagonists for the Jedi Order.
Credits and Canon 