Star Wars has introduced a new superweapon that makes the Death Star look tame. Superweapons have always been part of Star Wars, and the Sith in particular are obsessed with them. “Long ago, in forgotten times, when the Sith and Jedi fought for control of the galaxy, weapons there were, of unimaginable power,” Master Yoda observed in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He never imagined that a new age of superweapons was about to begin.

Star Wars is expanding beyond the Skywalker saga, stepping back into the past in books and comics as well as on the small-screen. Star Wars: The High Republic is set roughly 200 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, at a time when the Jedi believed the Sith to be extinct. This does not mean the Jedi are uncontested, though; rather, they are opposed by pirates known as the Nihil, who have weaponized Force predators known as the Nameless against the Jedi. But the Nameless appear to have triggered something far worse.

The Blight Is Destroying Entire Worlds

The High Republic’s Greatest Threat

To understand the Blight, you first have to understand the Nameless. These ferocious creatures literally consume the Force within a person, transforming them into a lifeless, calcifying husk. The mere presence of a Nameless twists and distorts the Force, subjecting Jedi to horrific visions that they struggle to fight past. But the apparent destruction, or consumption, of the Force appears to be having an effect on a cosmic scale.

Entire planets have begun to calcify,transforming into crumbling stone and eventually collapsing – an effect known as the Blight. This effect appears to operate like a virus, in that anything that touches a portion of the Blight becomes affected by it. Tessa Gratton’s Temptation of the Force reveals that a Jedi can push back against the Blight by feeding it with the Force, but it is relentless and insatiable, meaning the Jedi can never stop.

There are still many mysteries about the Blight. It appears to originate on worlds that were previously affected by a race of creatures known as the Drengir, monstrous carnivorous plant-beings who shared a hive mind. The precise connection between the Blight and the Drengir is unknown – but enough is certain for the Nihil to weaponize it.

The Nihil Have Turned The Blight Into The Most Dangerous Superweapon Ever

Now nothing and no-one is safe – not even Coruscant

The High Republic’s greatest villain is Marchion Ro, leader of the Nihil, and he has already figured out enough about the Blight to weaponize it. He has discovered an ancient artifact allowing him to resist the Blight, and he’s used that to transport chunks of affected material across the stars. Now, he can spread the Blight to any planet he wishes – and, disturbingly, Temptation of the Force ends with him traveling to Coruscant itself.

The Blight has become the most dangerous superweapon Star Wars has ever seen. It’s as destructive as the Death Star, wiping out entire planets, but it’s even worse because it is so gradual in effect. The Blight can be spread with ease, simply by sprinkling dust in the air. This is a superweapon so ferocious even Palpatine would have flinched for it, because he sought to control the Force rather than destroy it. It remains to be seen how the heroes of Star Wars can possibly stop it.

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