Star Wars: The High Republic Teases A Villain Scarier Than The Nihil

Preview pages for the upcoming second issue in the Star Wars: The High Republic comic series tease that there may be a villain working in the shadows even more terrifying than the Nihil.

When Lucasfilm originally unveiled the new publishing initiative, they promised that the narrative would take us to the glorious days of the Galactic Republic, when the Jedi Order was at the height of its power. It stands to reason, then, that the creative team also had to come up with an adversary who’d challenge these experienced and proud Jedi Knights. Enter the Nihil, a group of dark side space pirates whose technological capabilities are far superior to those of the Republic forces.

These villains have already cost the Jedi Order a lot of good fighters, especially during the conflict in Charles Soule’s Light of the Jedi, though according to preview pages for Star Wars: The High Republic #2, they might end up being the least of our heroes’ worries.

Here’s the official synopsis for the second issue:

“WHO DESTROYED ONE OF THE JEDI’S DEADLIEST ENEMIES? The NIHIL strike! A ship found adrift in space, the crew brutally slaughtered and cargo stolen. What terror awaits the THE JEDI OF STARLIGHT BEACON as they explore the wreck? Newly knighted KEEVE TRENNIS must overcome her insecurity in the face of new teammates, but can she trust her closest ally?”

As you may know, the first issue revealed that Jedi Master Sskeer has already fought the Nihil before, and lost an arm in the process. But since he’s a reptilian Trandoshan, it’ll most likely grow back. The disconcerting issue with the final pages, though, was the scene that showed Sskeer retreating to his quarters on the Starlight Beacon and going through something of a PTSD episode from his previous encounter with the villains, which is weird in and of itself since we’ve never seen the Jedi lose control of their emotions like this. Or is it that Sskeer is hiding something from her Jedi peers about the Nihil?

Now, the next issue of Star Wars: The High Republic will send both the Master and his Padawan, Keeve Trennis, to the derelict spaceship to face off with the sinister pirates again, though if the synopsis is any indication, the villains have already been taken care of by an unknown, and perhaps infinitely more terrifying force. Suffice it to say, it’ll be intriguing to see who could’ve been powerful enough to destroy the Jedi’s deadliest enemies in that time period.