Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi #3 Review

Review by Henry Wood

Written by Cavan Scott

Drawn by Marika Cresta

Colored by Jim Campbell

Lettered by Ariana Maher

Edited by Danny Khazem, Drew Baumgartner, Mark Paniccia, Robert Simpson & Grace Orriss

The final battle has begun! Marshall Keeve Trennis and her crew race to Eriadu to cut off the Nihil reinforcements from reaching the planet as she is forced to make a choice about her role in the fight, while Tey Sirrek is assaulted by visions of his past and the need to use his dark weapon.

Cavan Scott’s script does a great job of balancing the large cast of the Gios, Keeve Trennis’ ship, somewhat like Jedi Master Obra-Lin is balancing how many times he splits himself into more and more pieces, which has been a running plotline through Phase III’s Marvel comics. That literal splitting serves as a metaphor for Keeve Trennis’ deteriorating sense of self with her being split between what she feels she needs to do and her duty as Marshall of the Jedi battle group. 

This comes to a head in this issue as Commander Velko Jahan of the Republic Defense Corps reminds her of her responsibilities as leader of the group. The crew is in the middle of a large space battle over the surface of Eriadu (the ground battle is being chronicled in Dark Horse’s Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures series). Keeve has remained on the bridge of the Gios, but once she sees Obra-Lin stretching himself to the point of being both a liability and in danger, she wants to join the battle. Velko chastises her and reminds her that her responsibility is to the whole battle group and preventing the Nihil’s reinforcements from attacking Eriadu.

While this is happening, Tey Sirrek, aboard the Lourna Dee, is bombarded with dark feelings of guilt over the death of his lover Vildar Mac and struggles to deal with the withdrawal from his uses of the Hand of Siberus, an old Sith weapon. This guilt is something that Tey has clearly been dealing with for some time and has avoided facing, which is now coming back to haunt him (literally). Cavan Scott is able to use both plotlines, along with a few others, to deftly weave his story together as the end of the High Republic nears.

Marika Cresta’s art is serviceable, but not extraordinary. It feels somewhat rushed and unfinished in some places, that is until the very last page, where she and Jim Campbell outdo themselves with a haunting and iconic full-page spread that portends doom for both our heroes and the galaxy at large and I am excited to see the final chapters of this epic story.