Susalee

Susalee was a Lonto who served as the representative for her people on the Convocation of the Force, a council of Force-based religious organizations based in the Holy City of the moon Jedha during the High Republic Era. In 382 BBY, Susalee oversaw many matters as a member of the Convocation, including the petition of the Yacombe organization for membership, the disappearance of many religious artifacts throughout the Holy City, and the bombing at the Temple of the Kyber.

Susalee was also present when the Path of the Open Hand cult petitioned for the disbandment of the Convocation. She defended the Lonto from the Path's Herald, Werth Plouth, when he accused them of abusing the Force. When Plouth then incited a riot in the lead-up to the Battle of Jedha after being rejected, Susalee participated in the riot by attacking people with vines after being psychologically affected by the Path's living weapon, the Leveler.

Biography

Defending the Yacombe

In 382 BBY,^[5] Susalee was a member of the Lonto species^[1] who represented it on the Convocation of the Force, a council of representatives from various religious groups affiliated with the Force that operated on^[2] the holy moon^[6] Jedha.^[2] That year,^[5] Susalee attended a meeting of the Convocation at the Convocation Chambers in Jedha City, where an envoy of the Yacombe religion arrived to apply for membership onto the Convocation. When the Fallanassi religion's representative Sirené Taran attempted to attack the envoy, believing that the Yacombe were dark-siders, Susalee held Taran back by wrapping their body with vines.^[2]

Susalee defended the Yacombe, citing their long history with the Lonto and insisting the Yacombe had renounced their allegiance to the dark side generations prior. The Matukai group's representative Waran Val then sliced through Susalee's vines with an axe, upsetting^[2] her,^[1] knocking her off balance, and causing her to cry out. After the envoy retracted their petition, Susalee decided that they should not discuss what had happened yet and look to the next day for a fresh perspective.^[2] That same year,^[1] a number of religious artifacts were stolen across all of the Holy City. Jedi Padawan Matthea Cathley told^[6] Jedi Master^[1] Vildar Mac that Susalee suspected they were stolen by spice runners to use as collateral for their deals.^[6]

Chaos on Jedha

Susalee later used her powers to help heal^[1] Master Mac's injuries that^[4] he^[1] sustained from a bombing at the Temple of the Kyber with tragia leaves, which she wrapped around his body with the Force. Mac tried to resist the treatment, but Cathley insisted that he go along with it and listen to Susalee's instructions. Susalee then revealed to him that Archivist Zumeg had died in the explosion, describing that he had "passed into the Garden Beyond." Susalee also told him that the Guardians of the Whills, who protected the Temple of the Kyber, had placed the thief Tey Sirrek in custody. Cathley then told Mac that they could not get any information about Sirrek from the thief's droid, SK-0T, because its memory had been scrambled in the explosion, which Susalee pointed out was convenient because of the accusations against Sirrek. Later, Susalee was present at a meeting of the Convocation with Mac where they discussed the potential perpetrators of the bombing, eventually deciding to present a cover story to the public that a buildup of gas had caused it.^[4]

When Werth Plouth, the Herald of a cult known as the Path of the Open Hand who disapproved of using the Force, petitioned for the Convocation to be disbanded and use of the Force to be temporarily banned, he also accused Susalee and the Lonto of abusing the Force. Susalee and Val defended the organization, insisting they only channeled the Force for the good of the natural world.^[4] After, when Plouth incited a riot, Susalee was mentally disturbed by the presence of^[7] the Leveler, a Nameless creature utilized as a weapon by the Path that preyed on Force-sensitives and caused them to hallucinate. As a result, Susalee lost control of her powers^[1] and attacked many rioting citizens and members of the Convocation with her vines while proclaiming that she was protecting the peace and the light. Jedi Master Leebon attempted to talk her down but failed.^[7] The riot evolved into the Battle of Jedha, ending when the Path retreated from the moon.^[1]

Personality and traits

Susalee was a member of the Lonto, a species that worshipped the light side of the Force and had a special connection to nature that they were very proud of. She was 1.85 meters (6 feet 1 inch) tall,^[1] had gray skin^[3] covered in dark lines, pink lips, and dark blue eyes. She wore half of her long brown hair tied up and wore the rest of it down her back.^[2] Like all Lonto, she was dedicated to channeling the Force for the good of the natural world and believed that people went to the Garden Beyond when they died.^[4] Due to their groups' history, she had an affinity for the Yacombe and stood up for them to the rest of the Convocation.^[2] When under the influence of the Leveler, Susalee became obsessed with protecting life and the light to the point that she began attacking people with vines.^[7]

Powers and abilities

Like all Lonto, Susalee was a light side Force-user^[1] who could use the Force to manipulate nature,^[3] including to control and grow plants. Using a mystical power the Lonto had, Susalee could also use plants to help heal injuries. However, Susalee lost control of her powers when affected by the presence of the Nameless.^[1]

Equipment

Susalee used vines and plants for various tasks, including as weapons. Through her powers, she also used them as healing aids^[1] and treated injuries with tragia leaves. She wore a blue triangle on her forehead, a leaf headdress, and a necklace made of leaves, which had a round blue ornament.^[4] Her pure silk Lonto robes^[3] consisted of a light green dress with a blue triangle on it, and a dark green cloak with gray sleeves that had blue ovals on them.^[4] She wore them with decorative ivy that could be manipulated and used as a weapon if necessary,^[3] and with sandals made out of vines and pink flowers.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Susalee was created by Cavan Scott and designed by Andrea Broccardo for the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative.^[3] She first appeared in Scott's comic story "Peace and Unity," which was illustrated by Broccardo and published by Marvel Comics^[2] on October 12, 2022,^[8] in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic^[2] as part of Phase II of the initiative.^[3] Her name was first revealed in the fourth issue of the series, which was also written by Scott^[4] and was published on January 11, 2023.^[9]

Part of the reason behind the creation of Susalee was that Scott wished to demonstrate that he liked plants^[3] after creating the sinister plant-like Drengir villains for the initiative.^[10] On October 1, 2023, Scott clarified that Susalee's species was Lonto,^[11] rather than the Lonto being a religious group.^[12] This was later confirmed by Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia, written by Megan Crouse and Amy Richau^[1] and released on November 9, 2023.^[13]

Appearances

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• "Peace and Unity" — The High Republic (2022) 1 (First appearance)
• The High Republic (2022) 1 (Indirect mention only)
• The High Republic (2022) 4 (First identified as Susalee)
• The High Republic (2022) 5
• The High Republic: Path of Vengeance (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)

Sources

• Star Wars: The High Republic Show: High Republic Phase II Deep Dive, Star Wars Celebration, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link) (Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
• The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II

Notes and references