Chris' Midichlorian Corner for October 10th, 2012

Greetings Star Wars fans. Sorry for the delay. But I'm back now and I'm here to talk about the final installment of Star Wars: Knight Errant: Escape, written by John Jackson Miller and drawn by Marco Castiello. Last time we saw Kerra's worst fears realized. Her parents are dead and Lord Odion has taken possession of the Helm of Ieldis, the Sith artifact with the power to destroy all life in the universe (even you!). But there is a glimmer of hope as Yulan's faith in his master appears to be faltering, and all other Sith forces move to attack Odion ensuring that he never gets to use the Helm.

The issue begins with Daiman and the rest of the Sith in hot pursuit of Odion, who in turn is at his orphanage facility on Vanahame. We saw at the end of part 4 that Odion intends to use the despair of his orphan prisoners to fuel the Helm, which draws on the suffering of others to give power to its wearer. His plan to cause the orphans the most suffering is genius in its simplicity. Their lives have been nothing but routine day in and day out. There has always been light in their respective domes, dimming at the beginning of their sleep cycles and coming back to full brightness when it's time to wake up. They always eat the same thing at the same time. They always listen to the same holographic tutor for their daily lessons. Every day of their lives so far has been the same. So what would happen if that routine were violently interrupted?

Something as simple as turning off the lights is all it takes to unleash the imagined horrors in the mind of a child. Multiply that by thousands of children. An ocean of despair and it's all at Odion's fingertips. The effects of the Helm are seen immediately. Odion's disciples turn on one another. The Sith forces, once united against Odion, now tear each other limb from limb. Kerra attempts to free herself and strike Odion down, but to no avail. All hope seems lost until Yulan guns down one of the men responsible for the orphans' chambers.

All of a sudden Odion lurches forward. Something is not right with the Helm of Ieldis. There is no longer any despair coming from the orphans, but instead a horrible wave of relief and happiness. Odion discovers that the lights in the orphans' chambers have been turned back on, and at Kerra's signal, Yulan frees them from their chambers for the first time in their lives. Odion's plan has backfired on him. What was supposed to be his well of concentrated suffering has instead become and inferno of joy that burns him from the inside out. He pleads with Kerra to take him from Vanahame, but she refuses, content to let Odion suffer before the end. 

After all is said and done, the Odionate is disbanded and divided among the other Sith Lords, with Damian coming out of it with the biggest share. Yulan is left with the task of finding the orphans' proper homes. It would seem that being the first adult they'd seen in their whole life caused them to imprint on him as their father, and so he feels responsible for them. This suits him just fine as it gives his life purpose, which it has lacked for quite a long time. And Kerra is left to return to her job of protecting the galaxy as a Jedi Knight.

I enjoyed the way this story arc ended. I'll admit I was a tad disappointed that there wasn't a climactic battle between Kerra and Odion, but I can't imagine the issue playing out any better. After reading issue 4, I was imagining all these horrible ways that Odion was going to extract the pain and suffering from the poor defenseless orphans. Many elaborate torture devices were contemplated which made me feel truly terrible about myself as a person for being able to think of them. I never thought that all he'd have to do to truly create fear and despair in the orphans was to turn off the lights. It touched on how I used to be afraid of the dark as a kid and made the moment feel real. It was really uplifting then to see them saved by Yulan.

I'm very interested to see what the next arc will bring as I hope you all are too. Will Kerra be further tempted by the dark side in her next adventure? Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Come back next week, Star Wars fans, for a 2-part review of Darth Maul Death Sentence #3 & 4.

Until then, may the Force be with you.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for September 12th, 2012

Welcome back Star Wars fans! It's time again to get your Star Wars fix. Today I'll be discussing part 4 of the current arc of Knight Errant, Escape written by John Jackson Miller, & drawn by Marco Castiello. The last time we visited Kerra, she had gone with General Yulan to Skarpos, where the forces of Lords Odion, Damian, and Malakite were in a three-way battle for the Helm of Ieldis, a Sith artifact capable of giving it's wearer incredible power. Kerra blows her cover and turns on her Sith companions when they approach the cave where the Helm is said to be, unknowingly leading Odion right to it.

We open on this issue with Odion overlooking the battle. He has found the helm and Kerra is his prisoner, but the helm isn't working the way Odion expected it too. He finds that wearing it grants him no extra power. That is, until Yulan pulls from the caves a locket matching one that Kerra possesses. This is a huge blow to her, as she knows it could only have come from her parents, which Yulan says he found dead. As Kerra falls deeper into despair, Odion starts to feel a sudden surge of power.

Odion realizes that it is the pain and despair of others that powers the Helm. Kerra's pain alone makes him feel like a god. He begins to use his power out over the battlefield, turning ally against ally, controlling the fighting entirely. As more and more soldiers die, Odion's power grows exponentially. Even Damian begins to fall under his spell, but flees before Odion can use him as a puppet for long. With the battle won, Odion leaves Skarpos with Kerra in chains.

Aboard Odion's ship, Yulan visits Kerra to present her with a recording of her parents explaining the power of the Helm. It seems that the Helm, channeling the anguish of thousands of people at once, can destroy all life in the entire universe. Knowing this, Kerra's parents chose to sacrifice themselves in an effort to conceal the Helm from anyone ever finding it. This thought perplexes Yulan, who believes all life has no meaning, and therefore can't fathom why someone would use their death to preserve life. 

This thought is interrupted by the ship’s landing. Yulan tells Kerra that he doesn't know where they've been taken, as it was Odion who set the course of the ship. Before they can wonder about this for long though, they discover that they have arrived on the planet of Vanahame, where Odion keeps the Cloister. This facility houses thousands of orphans, all isolated from the rest of the world. Kerra comes to the realization that harnessing the power of the children's suffering will make Odion unstoppable.

This issue did a pretty good job of setting things up for the finale. As it is sometimes said, the night looks darkest before the dawn. And things are certainly dark right now for Kerra and the rest of the galaxy. There is some hope though, as it seems that the sacrifice of Kerra's parents has awakened something in Yulan. What he'll do from here remains to be seen though, as Odion does have a pretty strong grip on his mind. Another thing remains to be seen, and that is how Kerra will react to the deaths of her parents. I pointed out in the earlier issues that Kerra's obsession with finding her parents was putting her at risk of falling to the dark side. Why then should their death's not push her over the brink and plunge her into darkness? Guess we'll have to return next month to find out.

Until next time Star Wars fans, may the Force be with you.

Chris' Midichlorian Corner for August 8th, 2012

Greetings fellow Star Wars fans, I'm writing today about the 3rd issue of Star Wars: Knight Errant: Escape. Previously, we saw Jedi Knight Kerra Holt masquerading as a Sith. Working for Lord Daiman, she was sent undercover to infiltrate his brother, Lord Odion's forces. While executing her mission, she discovers that her long lost parents are actually still alive and have been forced to look for the Helm of Ieldis for Lord Odion. Risking her cover being blown, Kerra investigates the whereabouts of her lost parents, only to discover they had learned the location of the Helm- the planet Skarpos, which has just been conquered by Odion! Taking an even further risk, she decides to accompany General Yulan to Skarpos in an effort to beat Odion to the Helm.

Rather than jump right into where Kerra goes next, the issue instead begins with some backstory on why Lord Odion has such a rivalry with his brother, Daiman. Apparently there's a large fortune to be inherited by whichever brother proves himself to be a true Sith by conquering the most worlds. It's a nice peek into how Sith family and political dynamics work in the Old Republic. We're also shown the beginnings of Odion's connection to the Force and how he first started to feel pain from the existence of others. The implication that he resolved himself to the slaughter of all life in the universe at such a young age is certainly chilling and shows Odion in a much more menacing light.

The next scene only exacerbates this when Kerra discovers a massive chamber filled with orphans, who have been cut off from each other by their own individual domes. Their only companionship being their holographic tutors. General Yulan explains to Kerra that this is to produce a massive army of soldiers for Odion, completely devoid of all hope and ready to give their lives for him. Yulan explains that he once lost his children to disease, and it drove him to suicide. But before he could, he was recruited by a Claimer and told that life and death have no meaning. Latching onto this concept, he drives himself to become an ultra-efficient killing machine.

Kerra arrives on Skarpos amidst a 3-way battle between the forces of Lords Malakite, Daiman, and Odion, all of which are searching for the Helm. Upon learning of Daiman's presence, Yulan orders Kerra to search for the helm while he keeps the enemy forces occupied. When they find a tunnel leading to the Helm, Kerra quickly turns on her Sith companions, inspiring a cringe-worthy line reminiscent of the "we'll meet again" uttered by so many comic book villains past. Kerra proceeds through the tunnel and finds her mother's satchel. This fills her with such single-minded hope, that she rushes forward into the next chamber completely unaware of the ambush that awaits her. Someone has beaten her to the Helm!

I liked what this issue had to offer the series. It fleshed out 2 of the main villains very nicely and also gave us a taste of the consequences that Kerra will suffer by putting her personal interests above her mission. Her time among the Sith has changed her enough that she has lost her focus and can't see the danger around her because of her obsessive desire to discover the whereabouts of her parents. And it is because of this that someone else reaches the Helm first and takes control of its power.

What does this mean for Kerra and the rest of the galaxy? Guess we'll have to return next month to find out. Until next time everyone, may the Force be with you.