Warning: spoilers Ahead for Star Wars: The High Republic - The Blade #1!With the launch of The High Republic media campaign in 2021, Star Wars opened the door to an unexplored era featuring the Jedi at the apex of their power and influence. The High Republic Era spans centuries, introducing countless new stories and heroes to Star Wars' expansive lore. Among these heroes is Jedi Master Porter Engle, a man renowned as the greatest Jedi lightsaber wielder to ever live.
The center of his own new comic series, Porter Engle is known to his fellow Jedi as the "Blade of Bardotta." A member of the long-lived Ikkrukkian race, fans previously met Porter Engle later in the High Republic era as a portly, aging man more comfortable in a kitchen than a battlefield. Centuries earlier in his life, however, Porter was reputed to be the greatest lightsaber wielder of his time, his nickname earned from a display of lightsaber skill unmatched in perhaps all recorded history. This exhibition of lightsaber artistry, and a pivotal moment in Porter's life, will soon be revealed.
Unequivocally named as the best swordsman among the Jedi at the height of their power, Porter has already pulled off some stunning feats, such as deflecting a barrage of blaster fire perfectly aimed to shoot holes in a cluster of Sabacc playing cards. However, the summary for the upcoming issue 4 - from Charles Soule, Marco Castiello and Jethro Morales - promises fans will soon see him at his very best, in one of the franchise's greatest ever duels:
To save the innocent, to save his sister, to save himself… Jedi Master Porter Engle must embark on one of the most epic instances of lightsaber combat ever recorded in the Chronicles. It will change him, and Barash, forever.
Porter Engle Is About to Make Jedi History
One of the things that makes this promise so exciting is Porter Engle's ability to fight by wielding his lightsaber through the Force. Engle is able to out-duel other Jedi by employing his prodigious skill without even holding his blade. If even this is just a prelude to his history-making battle, Star Wars fans are in for something they've never seen before.
Haunted by the horrors he's witnessed in life, Jedi Master Engle will one day abandon being a "blade" for the Jedi Order. As The Blade builds to its climax in issue #4, it stands to reason that Porter's destined battle will not only cement his legend among the Jedi, but be the catalyst that leads him down a different path. The exact nature of Star Wars' epic upcoming lightsaber battle remains shrouded in mystery for now, but the veil is scheduled to be lifted this March.
Star Wars: The High Republic - The Blade #4 will be on sale March 29, 2023 from Marvel Comics