The Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade 4-part mini-series kicked off last month and the first issue appears to have been a hit. While this isn’t a peer reviewed study on the matter, everyone I’ve talked to and who has commented on my posts seems to have loved it.
I did too. Porter Engle was a highlight in Phase I for me. A old man in the order who’s known for his cooking skills but with a checkered past as The High Republic’s best fighter with a lightsaber.
Recently Charles Soule sat down with Comicbook.com to answer some questions about how Porter Engle came to be and what fans should expect in the final three issues of the mini-series.
They also shared some early art previews of issue #2 of The High Republic – The Blade showing Porter taking on green blaster fire with ease.
You can check out the full interview here on Comicbok.com but this is the most interesting part to me. I mentioned a while back that Charles Soule teased an important new character appearing at the end of Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade #2. But this exchange with Comicbook.com adds a bit more insight on what to expect.
Q: What can you say about how The Blade fits into the overall tapestry of The High Republic initiative? Is this strictly an origin story for Engle, or are their other things being either revealed or set up?
A: It’s definitely giving a lot of backstory for Porter (and Barash), but it’s also setting up a very important element of Phase III. In particular, there’s a character introduced at the end of Issue 2, General Viess, who you should pay attention to. She’s very cool (and also awful).
Soule’s answer to the question tells us three things we didn’t know:
- The character’s name is General Viess, not General Vice like I had previously thought. Not really important but wanted to correct what I had previously said. I was just going off of how it was pronounced on the High Republic Show.
- Since Charles describes her as “very cool (and also awful)” we now know that General Viess is a “bad guy” in this story.
- Her actions will impact a major story point of Phase III of the High Republic. Meaning whatever General Veiss does will have consequences that last hundreds of years.
I was really glad to hear Soule clarify this. Comics are much better when they play into a bigger story and impact the larger Star Wars lore. As much as I loved the first issue of Star Wars: The High Republic – The Blade #1 I did wonder how this would fit into the bigger picture.
We already know that the backstory and origin of the Barash Vow will be told in the next 3 issues. That alone makes this a must read for me. And now that we know that The Blade will play into Phase III and that I get to obsess over every little detail… I’m even more exited.
Star Wars The High Republic – The Blade #2 comes out on January 25th, 2023. You can see all of the variants and get your pre-orders in below.
The 1:25 Suayan variant is Barash Silvain’s first cover appearance.
For light and life!
Star Wars The High Republic: The Blade #2 (of 4) | Phase 2
CHARLES SOULE (W) • MARCO CASTIELLO (A) • Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Variant Cover by DAVID LOPEZ • Variant Cover by MICO SUAYAN
UNMATCHED!
• Jedi Master PORTER ENGLE has journeyed with his sister, Barash, to a planet far on the Republic frontier in response to a desperate request for aid.
• They are certain they will succeed. No one in the galaxy fights like Jedi Porter Engle. No warrior can stand against him. No one even comes close.
• They are certain…until they see what awaits them.
In Shops: January 25th 2022
Variants:
