A new “Star Wars” villain has been introduced in a comic series of the sci-fi universe: The Scourge is an AI swarm consciousness that could belong to the oldest entities in the entire galaxy.
The comic Star Wars: Dark Droids #4 by Charles Soule and Luke Ross represents a crossover event of Star Wars with Marvel. It is considered “canon”, meaning it is a continuation of the established universe, as known from the films.
In it, a new main antagonist has been established, who is said to be so old that the Sith might even appear young compared to him: The Scourge.
What is The Scourge? The Scourge is an AI swarm consciousness whose goal is to assimilate every life form (both synthetic and biological) that can feel; until The Scourge is the only consciousness in the entire galaxy.
A concept that might remind sci-fi fans among you of the Borg in Star Trek or the Cybermen in Doctor Who.
Even MeinMMO author Schuhmann is on an assimilation mission in his favorite game:
The consciousness also has its own council consisting of several androids, each representing a specific emotion or thought process.
The Scourge not only poses a threat to the Rebellion, but also to the Empire. It is thus a third powerful party in the Star Wars universe.
Where does The Scourge come from? The new Star Wars villain made his first appearance in the previous comic series titled Star Wars: Hidden Empire.
Here, the AI consciousness was freed from its ancient prison when a Sith artifact known as the Fermata Cage was opened.
How old is The Scourge? Given that The Scourge was imprisoned in a Sith prison, it seems likely that the swarm consciousness had already caused turmoil in the galaxy at least once before the current events in the comic.
And indeed, the comic provides information in a dialogue between the androids that there have been a total of three attempts by the villain to assimilate all life forms.
The 3rd attempt is the current one taking place in the comic series. The 2nd attempt took place in ancient times and is the one that led the Sith to imprison the consciousness.
However, there is no information regarding the first attempt. Thus, it could have happened even before the existence of the Sith.
Thus, The Scourge could belong to the oldest entities in the entire galaxy that originated before the Sith.
When is Star Wars: Dark Droids #4 available? If you want to read the story with The Scourge as the new main villain, you can do that right away.
Because as of today, November 15, 2023, the latest issue of the comic series is available with the fourth volume.
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