Monday, July 5, 2010

3951 BBY: Unseen, Unheard


Unseen Unheard is an origin story for the Knights of the Old Republic 2 video game – or so I presume. We’ve moved ahead five years in Star Wars history, bringing us ever closer to the end of another era in Star Wars chronology.

In Unseen Unheard there are no character names, and there is no indication to the reader who the two protagonists are. Knowledge of them, I assume, is assumed. This six page black and white comic’s story is told in 200 words, but it’s not the words which convey the message – is the stark black and white images which depict the coming together of these two characters.

Doing a little bit of internet research, enough I think to clarify this story and not give away too much of the KOTOR 2 video game, we are presented here for the first time with Visas Marr and Darth Nihilus, an apprentice to a Sith Master, and a Dark Lord of Sith Lord who cuts a fairly intimidating form.

The story itself gives the account of the destruction of the planet Katarr at the hands of Darth Nihilus. At the end of the tale, Nihilus has rescued Marr from the destruction, and has brought her onto his ship to make her his pupil – I, once again, presume.

Some things of note I found interesting in this story:
Firstly, I found the reference to “hungered” by Marr interesting. It seems Darth Nihilus “feeds” on death and destruction and hungers for such things.

Secondly, I at first thought that Marr was Q’anilia from the KOTOR comic series, but she is not (because I had to remind myself that Q’anilia died of course). She is, however, of the same species as Q’anilia, which is Miraluka; a species which does not have eyes to see, but sees the world through the eyes of the Force.

Thirdly, the emergence of this new Sith Lord is interesting. I look forward to finding out what Darth Nihilus is all about.

The ending of the story was a little beyond me though. When Marr wonders why Nihilus has saved her from the destruction, the answer becomes clear to her. She said Nihilus saved her because: “he wanted my people to at last see”. This point is further exclaimed by having Marr’s non-existent eyes plucked from her head, as she stares out into space through gaping holes where eyes once were. I’m not sure what these means, and I hope its meaning is made clear to me once I immerse myself in the story of KOTOR 2.

My continuance in the SWCP will once again subside with this post. From here I am moving on to the source KOTOR 2, and of course it will take me a while to get through it. Hopefully I’ll be a little more efficient this time around. I think before I finish the game there will be a new Old Republic novel due to release, so if it’s before the KOTOR 2 timeframe, I’ll give it a read and report on it when I’m done. Until then my friends, may the Force be with you.

1 comment:

  1. If the upcoming novel you're referring to is Fatal Alliance, then I'm pretty sure it'll be set after the KOTOR 2 game, since it's a TOR tie-in. However, there may be another TOR timeline entry (set prior to #8) that comes out before you finish the game.

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