Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #15! The Jedi stood as the premier authority in the the machinations of Emperor Palpatine and the raw power of his apprentice, Darth Vader. However, the Sith didn’t defeat the Jedi like the Sith of old would have. And now, fans know how Palpatine’s plot was so effective.

In Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #15 by Daniel José Older and Toni Bruno, the Jedi are continuing their war against a foe that nearly succeeded in taking control of the galaxy from the Republic: the Nihil. The Nihil is a galactic coalition of organized marauders that came together to take control over a large portion of the galaxy that came to be known as the Occlusion Zone. When the Nihil did this, they destroyed Starlight Beacon, murdering a great number of Jedi in the process - and since then, the Nihil have become more dangerous than ever.

The Nihil control powerful creatures called the Nameless, which hunt and consume Force-sensitives - including and especially Jedi. The Nihil have entire systems that act as their base of operations within the Occlusion Zone, they have vicious ‘soldiers’ that hunt Jedi specifically, and they are incredibly well organized. The Nihil have established their own form of galactic government, and their warfare tactics are brilliant, making them a legitimate threat to the Jedi, the Republic, and the entire galaxy. Indeed, the first few s of this comic say it all, as some of the Jedi believe that, “this feels like the end”.

The Method of Emperor Palpatine’s Takeover is Closer to the Nihil than the Sith

Palpatine was Another Nihil-Level Threat to the Jedi - Something They Weren’t Expecting

The Nihil nearly took over the galaxy by exhibiting superior war tactics to those of the Jedi and the Republic. They organized in secret, struck when the Jedi least expected it, took out a great number of Jedi in one fell swoop, and weaponized the perfect ‘soldiers’ against them with the Nameless. As this Star Wars comic points out, the Jedi are nearly defeated because of these methods of warfare, which explains why Emperor Palpatine was able to succeed where they failed.

Emperor Palpatine did exactly what the Nihil did: organized in secret, struck when the Jedi least expected it, took out the vast majority of the Jedi with Order 66, and weaponized the perfect soldiers against them with the Clone Troopers. In of war tactics, Palpatine followed the Nihil’s methods to a tee, which is interesting given that he conquered the galaxy in the name of the Sith.

The Sith of old wouldn’t have recognized Palpatine’s methods. Those Sith wouldn’t have plotted in the shadows and had an army of troopers do their dirty work for them. They would have taken the fight to the Jedi just as they did during the Jedi-Sith War. The old Sith would have challenged the Jedi head-on in a show of brutal conquest and glorious battle. In other words, Palpatine wasn’t the Sith-level threat the Jedi were expecting upon the inevitable return of the Sith, he was a Nihil-level threat, which is something the Jedi were not ready to endure again.

Palpatine’s Victory Makes Less Sense Because of the Nihil (At Least, On the Surface)

The Jedi Weren’t Ready for Another Nihil-Level Threat - But, Shouldn’t They Have Been?

Palpatine effectively used the proven tactics of the Nihil to defeat the Jedi and take over the galaxy, and since the Jedi were expecting a Sith Lord at that time, they weren’t expecting the next ‘Nihil-level threat’. But, shouldn’t they have? Yoda himself was alive and a member of the Jedi Council during the Jedi’s conflict with the Nihil, so it’s not like that happened in the ancient and forgotten past. Why weren’t the Jedi prepared for a threat like Palpatine?

Truth be told, the Jedi should have been more prepared for Palpatine after surviving the Nihil, but the fact that they weren’t honestly says more about Palpatine’s brilliance than the Jedi’s ineptitude. For one thing, Palpatine didn’t form his own government like the Nihil did. He pretended to with the Separatists while secretly taking control of the Republic from the inside. Plus, he didn’t use an obvious threat like the Nameless against the Jedi. He used their greatest resource - the Clone Troopers - against them.

So, why weren’t the Jedi prepared for Palpatine’s ‘Nihil-level threat’? Simple: Palpatine took the Nihil’s tactics and made them better. Emperor Palpatine didn’t follow the old ways of the Sith when it came to seizing power, and he improved on the proven methods of the Nihil - and that is exactly how the Sith overtook the Jedi in Star Wars.

Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures #15 by Dark Horse Comics is available now.