Star Wars: Age of Republic - General Grievous #1 represents the concluding one-shot issue, the ninth, within the canon series of comic books titled Star Wars: Age of Republic. This particular issue saw its writing helmed by Jody Houser, the illustrations crafted by Luke Ross, and its release on March 13, 2019 through Marvel Comics.
THE TERRIFYING SEPARATIST GENERAL ATTACKS! During his pursuit of Jedi to eliminate, GRIEVOUS happens upon a force exceeding his expectations. What classified information will the cyborg assassin unearth within a forgotten Jedi sanctuary? Is it possible for Grievous to deal a devastating blow to the FORCE itself?
On the world of Ledeve, a female Mikkian Jedi ignites her lightsaber to defend herself from General Grievous, attempting to delay him so her padawan can escape. Grievous, brandishing four lightsabers, declares her efforts futile, and she struggles to resist but is ultimately defeated and killed by the cyborg. Her padawan, a human male, runs away in fear towards their Jedi starship, but is too late as Grievous intercepts him. Using his superior speed and size, Grievous swiftly eliminates the padawan before he can react. After collecting his lightsaber and datapad, Grievous discovers the Jedi were on Ledeve due to a nearby Jedi Temple, prompting him to proceed through the dense jungle and ascend the Temple using the claws on each of his limbs.
As he traverses a corridor lined with ancient Jedi statues, Grievous remarks that the Jedi erected them to symbolize their supposed glory, but he also possesses statues at his base on Vassek 3, statues he earned unlike those of the Jedi, leading him to destroy all the statues out of hatred. Further within the Temple, Grievous faces numerous traps designed to prevent deeper exploration, such as pits of lava or spikes, but he employs his cybernetic enhancements, including a grappling hook, to circumvent these dangers. Grievous eventually arrives at a towering chamber featuring a waterfall and notices a light emanating from within the water. Realizing he has reached his objective, he reaches into the water, attempting to grasp the light but feels nothing and retrieves an empty hand. Assuming it's a sensor malfunction and Jedi deception, he tries again, eventually resorting to fully immersing himself, and only upon his physical body making contact with the water does anything occur.
Grievous is transported to a dark void filled with various colored lights, where a mysterious voice inquires if he seeks knowledge, truth, or power. Grievous retorts that he desires nothing from the Jedi except their annihilation, and the voice recognizes his immersion in destruction, which he has brought upon himself. Suddenly, Grievous' appearance reverts to Qymaen jai Sheelal, his Kaleesh form prior to his transformation, and he asserts that he has evolved beyond this fleshly body, discovering power that terrifies the Jedi. As Grievous' limbs begin to detach from his body, the voice informs him that he seeks to destroy a power he cannot comprehend and has severed his own connection to it. He has replaced it with components whose strength he believes to understand, but his understanding is not strength. It is insignificant, and so is he, and that is all he will ever be. Grievous is ejected from the void and finds himself back outside the waterfall, prompting him to activate all four of his lightsabers and attack the waterfall in response to being called small, but to no avail.
Leaving the Temple in frustration, Grievous contacts the battle droid commander on a Separatist dreadnought in orbit, instructing them to target the coordinates he provides and commence firing. The dreadnought unleashes a barrage upon the Jedi Temple, completely obliterating it, and a satisfied Grievous observes the inferno from atop a cliff for hours. As he departs, he remarks that despite all their talk of power, they burn just as easily. However, even after the destruction and fire subside, the light emanating from the power within the Temple persists, shining brightly in the night.
While the precise chronological placement of Star Wars: Age of Republic - General Grievous #1 remains undefined, writer Jody Houser envisioned the narrative as occurring sometime after the Clone Wars episode "Lair of Grievous."
- UPC 759606091959; March 13 , 2019 ; Marvel Comics [1] 00111; Cover A; Paolo Rivera 00121; Cover B; Guru-eFX, Mike McKone 00131; Cover C; Lucasfilm Ltd. 00141; Cover D; Warren Fu 00151; Cover E; Guru-eFX, Pepe Larraz