As the Empire fractures in the wake ofReturn of the Jedi,Star Wars' Acolytes of the Beyond have an important new role in the saga. TheAcolytes of the Beyondare worshipers of the dark side of the Force that follow the ways of the Sith. Now, they’re joining up with Grand Moff Ubrik Adelhard, an imperial officer who denies the death of the Emperor. Indeed,the Acolytes have even found a way to give Adelhard his own Inquisitor.
The identity of the new mysterious inquisitor is revealed inStar Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #4by Alex Segura, Luke Ross, Jethro Morales, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Joe Caramagna. Surprisingly, Adelhard’s enforcer is Reyna Oskure, one of the Acolytes of the Beyond. Reyna even gets into an anticlimactic fight with Luke Skywalker, but is quickly overpowered.
After Luke defeats Reyna with a Force push, he disarms her by knocking her lightsaber out of her hand. Luke titles Reyna a pretender, but she expresses how little he knows about her and the Acolytes, hinting thattheir influence is only growing following the destruction of the Death Star.
I’m Surprised How Influential Palpatine’s Successor Is Becoming in the Star Wars Franchise
The person chosen to take over after Palpatine is already making history, but who is Grand Moff Adelhard?
Grand Moff Adelhard Gets His Own Inquisitor, Thanks to a Turncoat Acolyte of the Beyond
The Acolytes of the Beyond Collect and Use Dark Side Artifacts
The Acolytes of the Beyond collect Sith artifacts, originally sacrificing them in a tribute to their original owners. Eventually, the Acolytes began keeping the Sith artifacts they found, believing they needed to arm themselves against the rising New Republic, to return order to the galaxy using the dark side of the Force. They eventually became one of the biggest influences within the Empire after the destruction of the second Death Star.
On Grand Moff Adelhard’s ship, as Reyna Oskure poses as an Inquisitor of the Empire, she wields a lightsaber that resembles one of an Inquisitor from the Reign of the Empire era. With the history of the Acolytes of the Beyond collecting Sith artifacts, it is most likely that this lightsaberdidbelong to one of the Inquisitors of old. If that’s the case,even the Acolytes may not understand what they’re about to unleash.
The Acolytes Could Allow the Sith to Return
The Dark Side Presence Inside a Sith Artifact Can Influence Its User
Many dark side artifacts are possessed by remnants of the Sith who originally used them, and powerful artifacts (for example Darth Momin’s helmet) can possess those who come into contact with them. Reyna Oskue’s comments about Luke underestimating the Acolytes of the Beyond suggestsshe may be channeling Sith artifacts deliberately. Perhaps the dark side presence inside the artifact can do more than influence her actions, but also her connection to the Force, as the Acolytes aren’t usually Force users. That’s especially worrying, given the issue ends with Grand Moff Adelhard declaring his intention to exploit the Force’s ‘magic’ himself.
Most information about the Acolytes of the Beyond comes fromChuck Wendig’sAftermathnovel seriesthat takes place in the same time period as thiscomic series and ends with the Battle of Jakku. Hopefully, theBattle of Jakkucomic series dives deeper into the Acolytes' culture and religion, and visualizes how Sith artifacts influence their actions and tap into the dark side. Grand Moff Adelhard uniting with the Acolytes of the Beyond means this pretender to Palpatine’s throne could be about to unleash ancient Sith via their artifacts, creating a true threat for Luke Skywalker’s unseen years inStar Warscanon.
Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #4is available now from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
