Comic Book Review: Eye of the Storm #1
From the moment he was announced as the big bad of The High Republic, I have loved Marchion Ro. The joke I made then - and maintain to this day - was that I had no choice. After all, he is a tall, strong, angry boy with dark hair, a mask, daddy issues, and a tragic backstory.
That last part was mostly conjecture, as up until now the books and comics of The High Republic have been fairly light on details about the Eye of the Nihil’s past, apart from the odd hint sprinkled in here and there. That all changes with Eye of the Storm, the two-part Marvel series from Light of the Jedi author Charles Soule.
The first issue, “Ro”, begins onboard the Gaze Electric, with Marchion Ro himself seemingly speaking to the reader, telling us there is a reason we are afraid of him. From there, the issue dives into the backstory of Marchion’s people - called the Evereni in their language - who hailed from a world fraught by storms. Over time, he explains, they grew fractured and untrusting, eventually taking to the stars when their home became inhospitable.
Before even providing a backstory to the villain we have all come to learn about, it is made clear why the Nihil operate the way they do, on such an individualistic basis. The Nihil are brutal because they have to be, because their circumstances shaped them in such a way.
Marchion himself, once the issue dives into his background, is much like a young Ben Solo (stay with me). He is a quiet little boy and a proficient pilot, who only wants to make his father proud. Novels like The Fallen Star describe him as easy to irritate, or unfeeling but being raised in an environment where even your own father refuses to ensure your safety and survival must have an adverse impact on a person.
His father, Asgar, as mentioned in the Tempest Runner audio drama is brutal, and aggressive, and certainly no Han Solo (though the two do share that roguish swagger). If anything, the role Asgar fills is more like that of Snoke, grooming Marchion for a leadership position the boy is determined to fill, while ultimately paying the price for fostering such ambition in poor circumstances.
Guillermo Sanna’s artwork is gorgeous, and appropriately vivid, and grand. For a story telling the long and complex history of how the Nihil came to be, he infuses it with a grandeur and a richness very evocative of stained glass, or a standalone painting. Soule has said before that Marchion is drawn the way he is - presumably meaning like a bluish-gray, dark-eyed Henry Cavill - on purpose. I would like to take this moment then, to thank Sanna for not only continuing in this glorious trend, but for ensuring that the father is every bit as handsome as the son.
It’s true that not everyone needs a tragic backstory, or even really any sort of backstory, but I would argue for Marchion it was essential. Much like Ben Solo before him, I already empathized, but it was obvious many others didn’t. In that respect, Soule adds necessary context and shades of gray to someone written off by many as a one-dimensional baddie. Marchion has played such an instrumental role in driving the conflict of The High Republic that it was past time to learn what it is that drives the Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm #1: Ro is available now.