Published: May 10, 2023
Rating: T
Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Ario Anindito
Inker: Mark Morales
Colourist: Frank William
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher
Cover Artist: Rafael De Latorre & Marcelo Maiolo
The synopsis;
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE!
• Vildar Mac has been haunted all his life.
• Now, as the Leveler is unleashed, the Jedi Knight faces a terrible decision – resist the lure of the dark side or become what he fears the most to survive.
• Will TEY SIRREK pay the ultimate price for Vildar’s choice?
The reivew;
Lightning bursting around him and wielding a gauntlet with an air of madness, Tey Sirrek looms above a cowering Vildar Mac in this dramatic direct cover by Maiolo & de Latorre. It’s a far cry from the sarcastic Sephi fans have come to grow and love, especially as his eyes glow from an unknown power. Meanwhile Bustos’ variant focusses on a lone Matty as she faces off against the creeping limbs of the Leveller, and the plucky Padawan also has a gorgeous portrait on Aja’s variant, only made more striking by its plain background. Finally, Kirkham’s variant feels like a candid shot of a battle-weary Oliviah as she retrieves her lightsaber from the ashes of Jedha.
Having tracked down the Path of the Open Hand to the statue of the Final Protector, Vildar Mac and Tey Sirrek watch as a Jedi is consumed by the horrifying Leveller. Now that the Path have combined the two pieces of the Rod of Power, the monster is fully under their command, and a threat to the Force. While Matty fights valiantly alone to protect the injured citizens hiding in the ramshackle tap-bar of Enlightenment, Vildar and Tey have only one choice. Face the Path or die…
Teaming up with Tey Sirrek is exactly what Jedi Knight Vildar Mac doesn’t want. The two are complete opposites, arguing about anything and disagreeing with each other constantly. It’s a banter that Scott has portrayed so well, yet it changes quite a bit in The High Republic (2022) #9. With the Leveller on the loose, and a Jedi reduced to a crumbling husk, the two suddenly agree on something. The Path of the Open Hand must be stopped. With the Leveller’s influence incapacitating Vildar, it’s up to Tey to save his unlikely teammate.
Vildar has come to accept quite a bit of Tey’s antics at this point in the storyline, trusting the Sephi to save Oliviah and even with his own life – even after Tey’s stopping his heart incident. And while it has been a hard-earned trust (aforementioned heart stopping), once Vildar is crippled by the fear inducing presence of the Leveller, he’s helpless. Only Tey can protect Vildar from the Path. Heavily outnumbered and with his weapons malfunctioning, it’s not the greatest day for the Sephi.
Yet that doesn’t stop Tey from barging right into the action to protect Vildar. All along this has been Tey’s story and he steps to the forefront of The High Republic #9. Some witty comments and John Wick inspired moves later, the Path are solely focussed on Tey instead. It’s at this point that we finally get to see a bit of Yana Ro. Up until this issue she’s been pretending that the Leveller is under her command, secretly hiding one of the Rods of Power in her robes. Once the Herald combines the pieces, he sees through Yana’s deception, and any power she commanded within the Path dissolves. When Yana tries for mercy, an uncommon trait for a Ro, the Herald refuses. This continues to tie The High Republic (2022) perfectly into The Battle of Jedha and builds on the rifts formed in Path of Deceit. No longer are the Path quiet Force pilgrims. Now they are a cult to be reckoned with. And the Herald still has conflicted feelings about Yana, anyway, blaming his daughter’s death partly on the Evereni.
Realising he’s outnumbered and outgunned, Tey searches around the Final Protector’s vault for anything that will help. There’s something he doesn’t realise though. This is a Bogan collection, a place the Jedi hide Dark Side artefacts – just like the Hand of Siberus he decides to put on. While the power boost helps Tey to chase off the Leveller, it consumes him, making Tey oblivious to the threat of Yana. Tey saves Vildar, but at the expense of his own life. After running from responsibility for so long, Tey embraces it finally, dying a true Guardian. So, that’s another character Cavan Scott has made us love, then brutally taken away! There’s no safety for anyone in The High Republic!
This part of the comic is a beautifully tragic moment to talk about the art (and throw the comic at the wall in grief). Anindito strikes yet again with an issue packed full of action, plus some amazing full panels of the monstrous Leveller. We haven’t got to see it much in this series, so it’s a horrifying yet very cool addition. He also perfectly communicates Vildar’s crippling fear, the Jedi Knight hugging himself and motion lines suggesting his terrified shivering. Even against the odds, Tey’s still determined, throwing his useless blaster at an enemy in a particularly fun panel. But it’s his scene of sacrifice that is so beautifully drawn, a stillness between two very dynamic scenes, with Vildar’s heartbreak palpable.
As Vildar mourns Tey’s sacrifice, he reaches out to the Force. Only for nothing to call back. With anger coursing through his veins, the Jedi Knight reaches for the gauntlet. With his allies gone and no faith left in the Force, will Vildar succumb to the Dark Side? It all concludes in a path of vengeance in The High Republic (2022) #10.
Availability;
Star Wars: The High Republic (2022) is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue is available via The Marvel App, ComiXology and from all good comic book stores and retails at $3.99.
