Reist

"Still, look on the bright side you little brute. If I wasn't here to keep you under control, you'd have to be exterminated!"

- Altin Wuho

Reist was a Nightmare Demon of Droxine, one of the few to have survived his species' extermination prior to the Clone Wars. Able to use his telepathic powers to destroy his enemies, Reist was controlled by one of the Galactic Empire's Human replica droids, Altin Wuho, who kept the Nightmare Demon contained under a lead hood, which suppressed his powers. Wuho also kept Reist contained in a floating sphere, while aboard Captain Dirk Balor's Imperial-class Star Destroyer. While Balor was in the Lapez system, the Imperial forces encountered Alliance to Restore the Republic pilot Luke Skywalker, and sought to destroy him.

Reist was dispatched to destroy the young pilot, and was placed in a homing missile by Wuho, which was then fired at Skywalker's T-65 X-wing starfighter. As the missile was affixed to the fighter, Skywalker was shot down over Lapez-3. As the pilot landed, Reist entered his mind, creating all manner of nightmarish visions and apparitions. Just as Skywalker lost all hope, he was able to break through Reist's apparitions with the power of the Force, and overcome the Nightmare Demon by striking him with his lightsaber. While mortally wounded, Reist, with his dying words, urged Skywalker to destroy Wuho. The young Rebel did so, before burying Reist on Lapez-3.

Psychic killer
"Reist is his name, Captain&hellip; Reist and I shall take care of Skywalker for you&hellip; or mostly just Reist."

- Reist

Reist was a Nightmare Demon, a species largely wiped out prior to the Clone Wars. He possessed considerable telepathic powers, which allowed him to enter the minds of his adversaries and create all manner of visions and illusions. Through the illusions, clamped himself to the mind of his victims, and drained them of all hope, before proceeding to derive them of their life. He was partnered with the Human replica droid Altin Wuho, an agent of the Galactic Empire&mdash;Wuho was immune to Reist's telepathic powers, and by extension, the Nightmare Demon hated the droid. He was kept contained by a lead hood, which blocked his telepathic powers, and was furthermore kept in a spherical bubble, which floated. Reist was also hated by members of the Imperial Military, who perceived him as a filthy animal. His existence was only permitted since Wuho kept his powers in check.

In 3 ABY, Wuho and Reist were stationed aboard an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which was in turn patrolling the Lapez system. An Alliance to Restore the Republic T-65 X-wing starfighter entered the system, the Star Destroyer's captain, Dirk Balor, deployed TIE/ln starfighters to the bridge. Reist was brought to the bridge with Wuho, who kept the Nightmare Demon contained. The Alliance pilot displayed considerable skill, and the Star Destroyer's long-range scanners revealed that pilot had a bionic hand. Balor immediately realized that the pilot was the infamous Luke Skywalker, a hero of the Rebellion. Although Balor was pleased that he would be able to capture Skywalker, Wuho insisted that he and Reist would be the ones to catch the pilot, although he admitted that the Nightmare Demon would be doing most of the work.

Tormenting Luke Skywalker
"He's still alive&hellip;" "He won't be for long&hellip;"

- Captain Balor and Altin Wuho

Wuho took Reist away from the bridge, and down to a special launch bay. There, a special homing missile had been prepared. Taunting the Nightmare Demon, Wuho deactivated the containment bubble, and placed Reist in the missile. The Nightmare Demon's hood was then removed, and he was sealed within the missile, which was then launched at Skywalker's X-wing fighter. As the Alliance pilot was busy outmaneuvering the TIE fighters, the missile secured itself against the his fighter's fuselage. Skywalker was then struck by one of the TIEs, and forced to land on Lapez-3. As the pilot made his makeshift landing, Reist began conjuring images in his head. First, he made it appear as though Skywalker's landing was far worse than it was, projecting an image of a shattered cockpit. He then showed Skywalker Lapez-3 to be a foreboding wasteland of hills shaped like skulls, and trees made from skeletons. In reality, it was a barren world, and Skywalker had landed relatively safely.

Reist then showed Skywalker his own grave, suggesting that the pilot had not survived through the crash. Reist then conjured up apparitions of two of Skywalker's friends, Han Solo and Chewbacca, before showing them being mercilessly gunned down by unseen assailants. As Skywalker reacted in horror, he was puzzled as to why Solo and Chewbacca were on Lapez-3. Reist heightened the verisimilitude of his vision by showing Solo's freighter, the Millennium Falcon, demolished and abandoned. Reist's next vision was of another of Skywalker's friends, Princess Leia Organa, who he displayed being struck by the blast of a neutrino grenade, before dying in the young pilot's arms. Reist then simulated the rapid decomposition of Organa's corpse, turning the vision of her into a skeleton as Skywalker "held" her. Reist followed that up with an apparition of Skywalker's mortal enemy, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. The Nightmare Demon's vision of Vader then removed his mask, revealing a skull beneath, before lashing out and attack Skywalker with his lightsaber. Within the vision, Skywalker drew his own weapon, and dueled the vision of Vader.

Death of the Nightmare Demon
"Reist? Dead? That's impossible&hellip;"

- Altin Wuho

Skywalker, who felt he was losing to "Vader," fled the battle, and Reist conjured stormtroopers to pursue him. The Alliance pilot began to lose all hope, but was then able to use the Force to overcome Reist's illusions, and see reality once again. By this time, Reist was physically sitting on Skywalker's chest, and although the vision was shattered, the Nightmare Demon was still able to prevent the young man from moving a muscle. A shuttlecraft containing Wuho landed on the planet to retrieve Skywalker and Reist, but the young Alliance pilot was able to use the Force to overcome the powers of the Nightmare Demon. Reaching his lightsaber, Skywalker ignighted the weapon, striking Reist in the chest, and mortally wounding him. The Nightmare Demon fell from Skywalker's chest, out of the X-wing, and hit the Lapez-3 surface.

As Reist lay dying, Skywalker took stock of his situation, and realized that his ship's C-37 computer relay had been blown in the crash landing, preventing him from leaving Lapez-3. Fearing that a squad of stormtroopers would emerge from the shuttlecraft, Skywalker hid as Wuho emerged, alone, looking for Reist. As Skywalker attempted to hijack Wuho's shuttlecraft, he telepathically called out to the young man, hoping to take vengeance against Wuho. He mentioned that Wuho had a C-37 unit about his person, before finally expiring. Skywalker was then prompted to confront the droid. The two battled briefly, before Skywalker hurled his lightsaber into Wuho, destroying him instantly. The pilot retrieved the C-37 unit from Wuho's remains, and repaired his ship. Before departing Lapez-3, he buried Reist's body in a makeshift grave, fashioning a tombstone with the Nightmare Demon's name upon it.

Personality and traits
"It is I, Reist. Taking vengeance at last on a master who has kept me imprisoned&hellip; a master I hate."

- Reist

Reist was scorned and reviled by members of the Imperial Military, particularly Captain Balor. The Nightmare Demon was told by his master, the droid Wuho, that their hatred for him matched his own hatred for the droid. Reist was particularly vindictive as well, seeking punitive action against his master when he was mortally wounded by Luke Skywalker. He urged the young Alliance pilot to destroy Wuho in his dying moments, before finally succumbing to his wounds.

Powers and abilities
"You know I'm not going anywhere until you've got that beast hooded again!"

- Captain Dirk Balor

Reist's considerably telepathic abilities allowed him to project images and visions into the minds of others, simulating totally fictional circumstances, environments, and individuals. He did this to control his victims, and when he held sway over them, he was able to prevent them from even being able to move in the real world. Despite this, his powers could be blocked by a lead hood. Reist was also able to communicate telepathically, talking directly to whoever he chose. The Nightmare Demon's powers were only broken by Luke Skywalker, a gifted user of the Force, who was able to break through the illusions, and overcome Reist's hold on him.

Behind the scenes
"Sounds scary, but Reist was a monkey with a skull for a head."

- Jason Fry, in "Comic Marvels"

Reist made his first and only appearance in The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149: Death Masque (1981), which was written by Steve Moore and illustrated by John Stokes. The character was also going to be profiled in the article Supernatural Encounters in the Star Wars Universe, by Joe Bongiorno, which was meant to be published in Star Wars Gamer before the magazine was ultimately canceled. In the article "Comic Marvels," published in Star Wars Insider 91 (2006), and written by Jason Fry, Reist was classified as an "Oddity" of the Marvel Comics Star Wars line.

Appearances

 * The Empire Strikes Back Monthly 149: Death Masque