Barkov

"Shea. Barkov. Deal with it."

―Werth Plouth orders Barkov and Shea Ganandra to take down Tey Sirrek^[2]

Barkov was a Lasat member of the Path of the Open Hand cult and its elite subgroup, the Children of the Open Hand. In 382 BBY, during the Battle of Jedha, he and the rest of the Children, under the leadership of Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Open Hand, raided many locations in the Holy City in search of the Rod of Daybreak, a Force artifact that could control the Nameless creatures. They eventually located it in a vault underneath the fallen Final Protector Jedi statue but were discovered by the Jedi Knight Vildar Mac and the thief Tey Sirrek. Plouth ordered Barkov to stop the attackers alongside fellow member of the Children Shea Ganandra, but Sirrek defeated the two using the Hand of Siberus, a Sith gauntlet.

Biography[]

"Hello, gorgeous. Where have you been all my life?"

―Tey Sirrek, while using the Hand of Siberus against Barkov^[2]

TeyUsingHOS-2022THR9 — Tey Sirrek (center bottom) uses the Hand of Siberus against Barkov (top left) and Shea Ganandra (top right).

Barkov was a Lasat member of the Path of the Open Hand cult. Because he had shown promise in the past,^[1] in 382 BBY,^[3] he was handpicked by one of the cult's leaders, the Nautolan man Werth Plouth who served as the Path's Herald, to be a member of the Path's elite subgroup, the Children of the Open Hand, which performed missions and stole Force artifacts for the Path's Mother, Elecia Zeveron.^[1] That year,^[4] during the Battle of Jedha, Barkov and the rest of the Children, under the leadership of Plouth, searched and raided many locations in the Holy City of the sacred moon Jedha, including the Temple of the Kyber and the Dragigan Annals, in search of the Rod of Daybreak, a Force artifact that could be used to control creatures known as the Nameless.^[1]

Eventually, Barkov, Plouth, and the rest of the Children confronted Jedi Master Leebon and^[5] Jedi Knight^[1] Oliviah Zeveron in the Dunes of Contemplation, near the Final Protector Jedi statue,^[5] which had fallen during the battle.^[1] After Plouth stabbed Zeveron^[5] and incapacitated Leebon, he found the Rod of Daybreak in a vault underneath the statue, but he was quickly discovered by^[6] the Kiffar^[1] Jedi Knight Vildar Mac and the Sephi thief Tey Sirrek.^[6] The Herald ordered Barkov to stop the two alongside Shea Ganandra,^[2] another member of the Children.^[1] Using a staff, the Lasat fought Sirrek and successfully knocked him down. When Barkov and Ganandra approached Sirrek, the Sephi picked up and put on the Hand of Siberus, a Sith gauntlet that had been kept in the vault. Using the gauntlet, Sirrek sent a blast of energy toward the pair, sending them both flying backward.^[2]

Personality and traits[]

Barkov was a Lasat^[1] with black hair^[2] who was considered physically imposing by Yana Ro, a fellow member of the Children of the Open Hand.^[1]

Skills and abilities[]

TeyGetsHit-2022THR9 — Barkov knocks Tey Sirrek down with a staff.

"Aah! Will everyone stop hitting me?!"

―Sirrek, while fighting Barkov and Ganandra^[2]

Yana Ro did not consider Barkov to be particularly skilled and believed he had been chosen for the Children of the Open Hand for his size, not his deftness.^[1] However, Barkov was a capable fighter and was able to quickly knock down Tey Sirrek while fighting him using a staff.^[2]

Equipment[]

During the Battle of Jedha, Barkov fought with a staff and wore full body armor, including a respirator mask and a large cylindrical object on his back.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Barkov first appeared in the seventh issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic. The issue was written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Andrea Broccardo and Marika Cresta, and published by Marvel Comics as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's^[5] Phase II^[7] on March 29, 2023.^[8] Three weeks before the release of the issue, he was pictured in a preview of the comic in the twelfth episode of the Star Wars: The High Republic Show.^[9] The character was first identified in the young-adult novel The High Republic: Path of Vengeance, also written by Scott,^[1] and published as part of Phase II on May 2, 2023.^[7]