Since its first issue in January 2021, Marvel’s High Republic comic series has hit the ground running, and it is not letting up with any of its twists and turns. I may not have always been a fan of Star Wars comics, but this one is shaping up to be a fantastically epic story. Although it is only set for 15 issues, the artwork by Ario Anindito is some of the best I have ever seen in a Star Wars comic, and Cavan Scott’s story is a great introduction to the High Republic era. The ninth issue, which was just released last week, is an excellent addition to the story, and it almost provided one of the biggest betrayals since Anakin Skywalker. Needless to say, there will be SPOILERS AHEAD for the entire High Republic series up to this point.

In the preview of the issue released on StarWars.com last month, we saw the series’ protagonist Keeve Trennis controlling a Nihil stormship and opening fire on the Jedi Wayseeker’s ship. This led a lot of fans to speculate that Keeve may have turned to the Dark Side and betrayed the Jedi. Of course, a lot of astute fans figured this to be a ploy. This would turn out to be correct.

We do open with Keeve’s attack on the ship of Jedi Wayseeker Orla Jareni by Keeve. It then flashes back to a council meeting with several Jedi, Keeve included, wanting to take the fight to the Nihil due to their relentless marauding. One of the Jedi council members, Stellan Gios, basically responds in typical Jedi fashion with “Patience.” This leads to what we all suspected. The other Jedi have Keeve and Terrec go undercover with the Nihil to gain more information about them and their plans. It honestly reminds me of the episodes of The Clone Wars where Obi-Wan goes undercover to prevent an assassination attempt.

Anyway, the story continues with a mock space battle between the Jedi and the Nihil (mainly Keeve and Terec), which ends with Keeve blasting the engines of her former master Sskeer. For a moment I actually thought she has killed him too. However, it is later revealed to be a ruse to get Keeve and Terec into the hands of the Nihil so they can begin their undercover investigation. They are warned that they will be tested when they are with the Nihil. Keeve thinks that this test will come in the form of an initial physical scuffle with one of the Nihil they meet on their return. However, it is a far more drastic test than that. Keeve meets one of the Nihil leaders, Zeetar, who decides to really test Keeve. Zeetar plans to have Keeve execute the prisoner they have been keeping, and the prisoner turns out to be Myarga the Hutt. Zeetar orders Keeve to split her head open. Forced to confront her morals and beliefs, Keeve realizes that she will have to forget everything about being a Jedi if she wants to maintain a place with the Nihil.

All in all, issue 9 is a strong entry in The High Republic comic series. I have already sung the praises of the artwork, but the story is just as gripping. Although, I am still unsure as to how the story will wrap up with only six issues to go. I really like where the story is at so far, and it has a lot of potential going forward. Of course, the fake betrayal is a little predictable, but I am genuinely concerned that Keeve may not be able to remain a Jedi and stay undercover with the Nihil. In the end, she may pull an Ahsoka Tano and leave the Jedi Order completely. Either way, I am really excited to see where the series will go, and it is really nice to finally get to see this previously unknown era represented in the Star Wars canon.

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